The New York Mets entered play on Monday 11 1/2 games out of a postseason spot and tied for the fewest wins in the National League.
The Mets added Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver in the offseason, and the moves have not been enough to make them a winning team again. With the trade deadline approaching and the postseason looking like an impossibility, the Mets could get some calls on Weaver. He signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets in free agency and has been involved in recent trade rumors.
Weaver has a 1.95 ERA in 35 games this season. He has recorded 41 strikeouts and issued nine walks. He is under club control for one more season, and trading him could net the Mets a young player who can help them in the future. Weaver was asked about the possibility of being traded on Sunday.
"It’s impossible to walk through this life and not hear the noise,” Weaver said before Sunday's win, per NJ.com's Max Foodman. “It’s out of my control. It’s out of our control. Whatever happens, we don’t have a say in it. It’s part of this business. We’ve already seen stuff happen this year that wasn’t what we expected in any regards."
Weaver would make any contender even better, and relievers are always a hot commodity at the deadline. He has experience as a closer for the New York Yankees, so teams in need of a closer could actually make a move for Weaver and make him the ninth-inning guy.
Weaver gets a ton of swing-and-miss and chase, ranking in the 88th percentile for whiff rate and 89th percentile for chase rate. He is set to make $12.5 million next season and figures to be a player many teams target in the coming weeks.