How Mets can somewhat salvage disastrous 2026 season with one trade

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How Mets can somewhat salvage disastrous 2026 season with one trade originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New York Mets are having one of the worst seasons of any team in Major League Baseball. While the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, among others, are having worse seasons, the Mets' 2026 season is worse considering their expectations.

From a World Series contender to one of the more likely teams to sell at the trade deadline, this year has been a disaster. But there is a way to somewhat salvage things this season.

As MLB.com's Anthony DiComo noted, the Mets' trade deadline need this year is controllable starting pitching. If the Mets could somehow compile a package together to land a controllable starting pitcher using their trade chips this year, it would be a big win.

How Mets can somewhat salvage their 2026 season with one trade​

"If the Mets can turn their tradeable assets into a pitcher to help the 2027 starting five, that would be a boon for a team that's suffered through one of the worst rotation seasons in recent franchise history," DiComo writes.

Adding a controllable starter this summer by the August 3 trade deadline is something that a team in the Mets' position, as sellers, might normally not pursue.

But, since the Mets are aiming to contend in 2027 and beyond, with the 2026 season hopefully just a blip on the radar, adding a starter who's under control for a while longer makes a lot of sense.

Fortunately, looking around the league, the Mets will have some options. On the Los Angeles Angels, Jose Soriano or Reid Detmers could be on the move, both of whom are under club control through the 2028 season.

Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins is under control through 2027, while Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha are both under control through 2028.

MORE: Blue Jays trade idea swaps two top-10 prospects to Mets for Freddy Peralta

Any of those five would be a huge upgrade for the Mets' rotation in 2026 and into the future. While it might not make the most sense for the Mets to be buying at the deadline with their poor record, this kind of scenario makes sense.

Using Freddy Peralta, Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, and maybe some others like Francisco Alvarez and Luke Weaver to land controllable starting pitching would help make up for how bad this season has gone.

The Mets could also aim to land MLB-ready starting pitching prospects in exchange for their trade chips, adding players who could factor into the big leagues during the 2027 season and beyond as controllable pieces.

While 2026 might be a disaster, if the Mets could trade for a starter who's under control for a while longer using their expiring assets, it would be one positive takeaway from a terrible season.

More MLB news:​

• Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez is planned NL All-Star starter
• 3 reasons why Braves are perfect fit for Tarik Skubal at MLB trade deadline
• Padres have ‘no choice’ but to be trade deadline sellers if things don’t turn around
• Phillies DFA No. 13-ranked prospect Jean Cabrera to keep Bryan De La Cruz
• Rays trade idea sends top-10 prospect in MLB to Tigers for Tarik Skubal

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