Mets Player Most Likely to Be Traded This Offseason

There is a lot to like in Mauricio's game, including his prodigious power and solid ability to defend at multiple positions, but the Mets haven't seen enough to give him an extended look at the big-league level. The Mets notably mothballed Mauricio down the stretch of 2025, deeming his minor league option more valuable than him playing regularly, while Billy Eppler waited until September 2023 to promote him despite strong minor league production.

The fact that multiple regimes haven't given Mauricio serious consideration for a big league opportunity speaks volumes about the organization's lack of confidence in him as a potential core piece. The decision to leave Mauricio in the minors for most of this season, including during a stretch run where the Mets had opportunities to find at-bats for him, felt more like the organization preserving his trade value for the offseason.

Limiting Mauricio's major league opportunities while allowing him to continue posting strong numbers while playing regularly at Triple-A gives the Mets the theoretical possibility of using him as a trade chip in the offseason. Keeping Mauricio means the Mets would essentially be guaranteeing him a spot on their Opening Day roster since they'd have to expose him to waivers to get him back to the minors.

That path would likely lead to a claim from a team in a rebuilding phase, eager to give Mauricio a chance to prove his skills with regular playing time. The return on a Mauricio trade wouldn't be stellar since the Mets don't have a ton of leverage, but adding a prospect or a similarly distressed asset in need of a change of scenery certainly makes sense.

If the Mets proceed with their current position player group under contract (assuming Bo Bichette opts in) and use Baty as a reserve infielder, they'd have 11 of their 13 position player spots accounted for. One of those still needs to be a reserve outfielder, meaning Mauricio's return would block the Mets from adding a player they could need, like a first baseman.

The idea of Mauricio being a core Met was a nice one, but the ship has sailed. Expect Stearns to try to recoup some value from Mauricio instead of risking him getting claimed on waivers for nothing.