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PITTSBURGH — Even when the losses started to pile up and it became obvious that 2026 would not be the Mets’ year, Luke Weaver still wanted to stay. The right-hander signed with the club for two seasons thinking he was going to a contender, yet even when the Mets fell out of contention early in the season, Weaver still wanted to remain with the team to make an impact and help mentor younger arms, something he expressed to president of baseball operations recently.
“I was very upfront; I told him, ‘I hope you know I want to stay. I made my commitment, but I understand how this goes,'” Weaver said Friday at PNC Park, the ballpark he now calls home. “It’s not my first rodeo, it’s not his — it’s not a lot of ours. So, at the end of the day, you’ve just got to — as a player — sit back and understand the process and adapt as quick as possible.”
Weaver is trying to adapt in Pittsburgh as a member of the Pirates. The Mets traded Weaver and cash considerations to the Bucs Monday for 21-year-old shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura, a local out of Westchester County. The club dismantled about half of the bullpen and replaced them with journeymen minor leaguers, as well as traded outfielder Tyrone Taylor and starting pitchers Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes.
Weaver is still sad without his “best friend” Clay Holmes. The two were practically joined at the hip, so much so that Weaver, who doesn’t drink much coffee, would go with Holmes to try new coffee shops on the road, something closer Devin Williams can’t help but laugh about now.
In his age-32 season, Weaver had an incredible stretch of 27 innings without allowing an earned run, pitching to a 1.84 ERA over 44 innings, with a 2-1 record, one save and 15 holds. With a year left at $11 million on his contract — and the Mets willing to retain salary — he quickly became one of the most coveted relievers on the trade market. It wasn’t something he realized until media members started asking him about the trade deadline.
It’s not what anyone expected at the start of the season when the Mets were a trendy pick to win the National League. Weaver still isn’t quite sure how it got to this point, but he’s come to the same conclusion as many others this season that too much change all at once made it difficult to create any chemistry.
“A lot of people that were brought in, a lot of new faces. I don’t think it was necessarily a bad thing, but I think people underestimate change and how hard it is to adapt in such a short amount of time,” Weaver said. “A lot of great teams that we’ve seen in the past have a lot of chemistry. They have a lot of deep-rooted connections that have [developed] over time. It’s not always like that, but there are a lot of those history-book teams that have that, and I think it just got taken for granted how much that needed to happen.”
It was happening off the field. The Mets were spending time away from the ballpark, and for the most part, they all enjoyed getting to know one another. Several players have described the clubhouse as a solid group of hard-working guys who just weren’t able to play clean, cohesive baseball. There was no identity, no momentum created and nothing they could lean on to get them through the toughest times of the season.
Weaver didn’t see it as a leadership issue, but he didn’t see the team getting to another place where they could overcome the setbacks.
“There’s extra gears that need to happen in certain moments, and they don’t always click at the same time,” Weaver said. “Our game has got different facets of positions, and we’ve got to be clicking at the same time, or you’ve got to outdo something to help cover up the other. That’s hard to do through 162 games.”
It’s been tough for the Pirates as well. Since acquiring Weaver, they’ve lost their last three straight and fallen to 4.5 games out of the Wild Card standings. They aren’t giving up — they really can’t after making trade deadline acquisitions for the first time in years — but the Pirates do face a steeper climb than they did a week ago. Weaver hasn’t pitched yet since Pittsburgh trailed all three games against the Milwaukee Brewers.
He’s proud of what he accomplished this season with the Mets, and said if they go on a Red Sox-like run, he would be rooting for them.
Just not this weekend in Pittsburgh.
“[I showed] resilience in a scenario that wasn’t like all rainbows and butterflies,” Weaver said. “Being able to stay locked into my process and the things I do individually as a baseball player, but also [learning from] all the past experiences from being in those situations. Trying to be somewhat of a light, and just to help kind of guide some moments, or other guys that might be struggling.”
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“I was very upfront; I told him, ‘I hope you know I want to stay. I made my commitment, but I understand how this goes,'” Weaver said Friday at PNC Park, the ballpark he now calls home. “It’s not my first rodeo, it’s not his — it’s not a lot of ours. So, at the end of the day, you’ve just got to — as a player — sit back and understand the process and adapt as quick as possible.”
Weaver is trying to adapt in Pittsburgh as a member of the Pirates. The Mets traded Weaver and cash considerations to the Bucs Monday for 21-year-old shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura, a local out of Westchester County. The club dismantled about half of the bullpen and replaced them with journeymen minor leaguers, as well as traded outfielder Tyrone Taylor and starting pitchers Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes.
Weaver is still sad without his “best friend” Clay Holmes. The two were practically joined at the hip, so much so that Weaver, who doesn’t drink much coffee, would go with Holmes to try new coffee shops on the road, something closer Devin Williams can’t help but laugh about now.
In his age-32 season, Weaver had an incredible stretch of 27 innings without allowing an earned run, pitching to a 1.84 ERA over 44 innings, with a 2-1 record, one save and 15 holds. With a year left at $11 million on his contract — and the Mets willing to retain salary — he quickly became one of the most coveted relievers on the trade market. It wasn’t something he realized until media members started asking him about the trade deadline.
It’s not what anyone expected at the start of the season when the Mets were a trendy pick to win the National League. Weaver still isn’t quite sure how it got to this point, but he’s come to the same conclusion as many others this season that too much change all at once made it difficult to create any chemistry.
“A lot of people that were brought in, a lot of new faces. I don’t think it was necessarily a bad thing, but I think people underestimate change and how hard it is to adapt in such a short amount of time,” Weaver said. “A lot of great teams that we’ve seen in the past have a lot of chemistry. They have a lot of deep-rooted connections that have [developed] over time. It’s not always like that, but there are a lot of those history-book teams that have that, and I think it just got taken for granted how much that needed to happen.”
It was happening off the field. The Mets were spending time away from the ballpark, and for the most part, they all enjoyed getting to know one another. Several players have described the clubhouse as a solid group of hard-working guys who just weren’t able to play clean, cohesive baseball. There was no identity, no momentum created and nothing they could lean on to get them through the toughest times of the season.
Weaver didn’t see it as a leadership issue, but he didn’t see the team getting to another place where they could overcome the setbacks.
“There’s extra gears that need to happen in certain moments, and they don’t always click at the same time,” Weaver said. “Our game has got different facets of positions, and we’ve got to be clicking at the same time, or you’ve got to outdo something to help cover up the other. That’s hard to do through 162 games.”
It’s been tough for the Pirates as well. Since acquiring Weaver, they’ve lost their last three straight and fallen to 4.5 games out of the Wild Card standings. They aren’t giving up — they really can’t after making trade deadline acquisitions for the first time in years — but the Pirates do face a steeper climb than they did a week ago. Weaver hasn’t pitched yet since Pittsburgh trailed all three games against the Milwaukee Brewers.
He’s proud of what he accomplished this season with the Mets, and said if they go on a Red Sox-like run, he would be rooting for them.
Just not this weekend in Pittsburgh.
“[I showed] resilience in a scenario that wasn’t like all rainbows and butterflies,” Weaver said. “Being able to stay locked into my process and the things I do individually as a baseball player, but also [learning from] all the past experiences from being in those situations. Trying to be somewhat of a light, and just to help kind of guide some moments, or other guys that might be struggling.”
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