Mets made right choice to not overpay for elite closer

The New York Mets were incredibly active ahead of the trade deadline this year, with their front office having their sights on specific needs to upgrade the roster for the stretch run.

President of baseball operations David Stearns upgraded the bullpen in a major way. Left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles to kick things off. After that, the Mets landed Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals and Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants. In need of outfield help, Cedric Mullins came to New York from the Orioles as well.

It was an arms race between the Mets and their National League East rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. Both teams were in the market for the same positional upgrades. The Phillies made a huge splash, acquiring Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran in exchange for their young starting pitcher Mick Abel and top catching prospect, Eduardo Tait. It was a steep price tag, but one that their president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, was comfortable making.

Evidently, New York had a shot at acquiring Duran before their rivals did. As shared by Jon Heyman via Mets Batflip on X, the Mets and Twins were engaged in negotiations. However, things stalled because of the exorbitant asking price that Minnesota had placed on its star relief pitcher.

If New York wanted Duran, it would have to part with one of their star prospects. Right-handed pitchers Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat, outfielder Carson Benge or middle infielder/outfielder Jett Williams were requested; those are the top five-ranked prospects currently in the organization, with Benge being No. 1.