David Lennon: Mets' Luke Weaver is in trade-deadline limbo
Mets reliever Luke Weaver pitches during the eighth inning against Atlanta in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The cruel irony of this lost Mets season? One of the few things they managed to do right in trying to build a World Series contender must now be broken up and the pieces auctioned off to help another team accomplish the same exact goal.
Deep down, that has to sting for president of baseball operations David Stearns, who assembled the Mets’ effective high-leverage bridge to $51-million closer Devin Williams, only to rip it apart before Monday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline.
On Wednesday, in Game 1 of the split-doubleheader, interim manager Andy Green used that group to lethal effect yet again, deploying Huascar Brazoban and Luke Weaver for two scoreless innings (1 hit, 1 strikeout) in the Mets’ 3-2 victory. Carson Benge’s two-out RBI double in the seventh inning delivered the second straight win over Atlanta and third over an NL division leader, including Sunday’s 8-3 victory over the Dodgers.
A big reason for the Mets’ limited success this season is the bullpen, whose ERA (3.89) ranks 10th in the majors, but over the past two weeks, has been the fourth (2.43), tied with the Brewers. Their overall seventh-ranked WHIP (1.25) -- equal to the Dodgers -- was fifth (1.05) during that same 14-day stretch.
Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter, both free agents, are virtually guaranteed to be pitching someplace else very soon. Brazoban is under team control for three more years, so that ups his trade value. The real prize, however, is Weaver -- and his future remains less certain.
The only reason Weaver isn’t automatically headed out the door like the others is due to the fact the Mets have him under contract next season for another $12.5 million, the back end of his two-year, $22 million deal. While that’s hardly considered cheap, it’s a decent price for a closer-quality reliever such as Weaver, and the Mets’ faith in him -- coming off a surprising late-season meltdown with the Yankees a year ago -- was one of Stearns’ rare Ws from the past winter.
Presumably, the Mets plan to be a playoff contender in 2027, and with that in mind, already having Weaver is a nice building block. But no one even knows how much of a season there’s going to be next year -- due to the possibility of games being lost to an extended labor battle over a new CBA -- and that makes future Weaver less of a priority in the present.
“Nobody knows how the next few days are going to go, especially for someone we have a chance of having in 2027,” Green said. “So I’m not going to let my emotions get mixed up on that.”
For his part, Weaver is ready to roll with whatever happens. But he also knows he’s pitched his way to becoming a very coveted deadline piece, as Weaver has allowed just one earned run (0.30 ERA) in his last 29 outings, a span of 31 innings, dating back to May 1 -- the only reliever in the majors to do so over that stretch (min. 25 IP). He also has the second-best WHIP (0.70) and fourth-best opponents batting average (.135).
“I’ve had a lot of experience through different waves of these circumstances,” said Weaver, who’s been traded twice, grabbed off waivers twice and signed as a free agent four times in bouncing between seven teams over 11 years. “Experience to lean into offseason, in-season, for good, for bad, so I think that gives me peace.
“My wife and I understand this game, so we’re mentally prepared to an extent. But we’re also, not by any means, one foot out the door right? We’re settled into where we’re at. We’re doing our thing. There’s some peace and understanding that it’s out of our control and we’ll adjust any way we need to.”
Weaver certainly doesn’t appear flustered between the lines, which is another big selling point for someone who’s excelled on the New York stage, now for both teams. That’s why a Bronx reunion makes so much sense, and a source indicated Wednesday that the Yankees are very interested in bringing back Weaver, despite his turbulent finish over there toward the end of last season.
What Weaver has done since, however, has probably made the Yankees regret not making him an offer during the winter. Now he’s on the radar of every contender, and with other top relievers like Mason Miller and Aroldis Chapman seemingly staying put, that only tips the scales further to the Mets’ advantage on the bidding front -- especially with the extra year of team control.
Stearns signed Weaver with a championship in mind. Maybe we can’t rule that out yet for the Mets in 2027, but Weaver is much closer to that goal if he’s shipped to another team in the coming days. And it seems likely the Mets are going to get an offer they can’t refuse. With Stearns already under siege for the Flushing dumpster fire, he’d probably prefer to deal him somewhere besides the Bronx, but that’s going to depend on what comes across his desk before Monday’s deadline.
Weaver can’t help but think about the potential trade scenarios, but he says family and friends haven’t bugged him about it. He’s a Met until further notice, and while there is a percentage chance he stays, it’s probably shrinking by the day.
“This isn’t a team where you’re looking to the future and thinking how long is this going to take to get there,” Weaver said of the Mets’ blurred championship vision. “It’s New York -- they’re certainly trying to make it happen. That’s what it sounds like and that’s what I signed up for at the beginning, right? Whether we can continue to do that and build towards something or if it’s to help somebody else, I think we all understand that mutually.”
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
