The New York Mets reached the All-Star break with a nightmarish first half behind them and a sell-off already in front of them. After being built to contend for the National League East and the National League pennant, they are now an obvious seller before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
That is why Devin Williams' answer on Sunday landed with so much force. Asked what he would do over the break to get a mental reset after a blown save, he said, “Anything but this.”
The line fit the mood around a club that has every reason to be glum. Steve Cohen said he was “extremely worried” about 2027, and the Mets have spent most of 2025 trying to stop a collapse that began in the middle of the season and never really eased. The pitching staff has not been good enough since things went south, and that failure now shapes what comes next more than any single game does.
The trade deadline gives the front office its first real path to change the direction of the roster. Freddy Peralta, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley and Tyrone Taylor can reach free agency after the season, while Clay Holmes has a player option he will almost certainly decline. Luke Weaver has been one of the sport's best relievers this season, and Huascar Brazobán has been a valuable utility knife, so the Mets have pieces that can draw interest even if they are not thinking in terms of need-for-need swaps to bring back major-league talent. They want the best prospects they can get, and that matters because the second half is not only about surrendering ground. It is also about creating room for younger arms to show what they can do.
Zach Thornton has pitched well in his three big-league appearances, enough that he should get a longer look and a chance to build toward an Opening Day spot next season. Jonah Tong should also get a more sustained look once the Mets trade a starter. If the club moves some combination of Minter, Raley, Weaver and Brazobán, the bullpen opens further, and Joey Gerber, Jonathan Pintaro, Dylan Ross and perhaps a returning Dedniel Núñez could get a head start. The Mets could also deal from their relative strength at catcher, giving the deadline a chance to do more than trim payroll and less than solve everything.
That is the balance in front of them now. The Mets are already being treated as sellers, but the final 65 games still matter because they can help determine which younger players are ready to matter next and how much help the front office can extract before Aug. 3. The reset has started, and the deadline will decide whether it is a modest correction or the first hard step toward a deeper rebuild.
