Some trade suggestions from ESPN and MLB.com have mentioned outfielder Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles as a potential trade target. Coming off their 91 win season last year, the Orioles this year can only be described as a tremendous disappointment. Baltimore is currently 11 games under .500 and are 13.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead and are 8.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox for the third and final wild card spot in the American League. Because of their implosion, Baltimore is expected to be a big seller at the deadline, with pending free agent Mullins being one of their bigger names on the move. 

In 81 games this season, Mullins is hitting for a horrendous .218 batting average, with an OPS of .708. With only one season so far posting an OPS of .730 or better, and one full season of a batting average above .255, Mullins' bat just hasn't developed while with the Orioles. With each passing season, it seems more and more likely that his lone All-Star season in 2021 was nothing more than an aberration. Though maybe a change of scenery awakens his potential. 

A better target for the Mets could be Jo Adell, center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels are currently two games under . 500 and are four games behind the Red Sox for the final AL Wild Card. They face a tough stretch coming out of the All-Star break that will make or break their season. LA flies east to play the Phillies for three, then coming to New York for a three game series against the Mets. After that, the Angels fly back home to face division rivals Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, both of whom sit above LA in both the division and wild card race. 

At 26, Adell seems to be finally putting everything together. Making his debut during the COVID shortened 2020 season, Adell has struggled to find any consistency in his time in the majors. But in 2025, Adell is hitting for a .247 batting average and an OPS of .818 with 21 HRs and 57 RBIs in 91 games for the Angels. With two more seasons before Adell reaches free agency it is highly unlikely the Angels move him, especially since it would only make them worse this season and likely next. But trading Adell would likely provide a major boon to a barren farm system, currently ranked last out of 30 teams according to MLB.com.

Another outfielder that has been floated as a potential trade target for the Mets is Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran. Like Adell, Duran is under team control for another few seasons, becoming a free agent after the 2028 season. But Duran has a much different skill set than Adell. Adell's biggest threat is his power bat, while Duran relies more on his speed. 2024 proved to be a breakout campaign for Duran, being named to his first All-Star team and winning the All-Star MVP. In his first full year in the majors last year, Duran hit for a .285 with an excellent OPS of .834. Duran mashed 21 HRs out of the leadoff spot while scoring 111 runs. He also lead all of baseball in doubles with 48 and tied for an MLB best 15 triples with Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. 

This year, Duran has regressed a bit. He has only hit .257 and has an OPS almost 90 points lower than it was last year with .752. Despite the lower average and OPS, Duran's counting stats seem to be in line with his production from last season. Through almost two-thirds of the season, the young outfielder has launched eight HRs and has 50 RBIs. Duran also has scored 53 runs while smacking 25 doubles and an American League leading 10 triples. 

With the Red Sox having won 10 games in a row heading into the All-Star break, the Red Sox are in prime playoff position and likely won't be sellers come the July 31st deadline. So why would they look to move one of their better players? Especially someone as young as Duran at age 28? Boston has a glut of young outfield prospects waiting in the wings, including the top ranked prospect in all of baseball, Roman Anthony. Since Duran becomes arbitration eligible after this season, the Red Sox might look to move him before he becomes more expensive. 

For third base, there really is only one prime target that will be available, Eugenio Suárez of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The slugging third baseman is expected to have many potential suitors including the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and a potential reunion in the Seattle Mariners. While his batting average is a bit low at .254, Suárez has been a one man wrecking crew for the D-Backs this year. Named to just his second All-Star team, Suárez has crushed an NL leading 35 HRs this season so far and driven in 85 runs to boot, also to lead the National League. With his power numbers surging, Suárez's bat would provide a shot in the arm for the Mets lineup that already has great sluggers in Pete Alonso and Juan Soto. 

Arizona is hovering around .500 at 49-50 and are nine games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead. But they're just four and a half games back of the San Diego Padres for the final NL wild card. It's unknown at the moment what Arizona plans to do at the deadline. Since Suárez is a free agent at the end of this year, trading him before he walks away for nothing might be the best decision to make. 

The Mets pitching staff as a whole has been elite- widely considered to be one of the best staffs in all of baseball. They currently are seventh in strikeouts and fourth in ERA at 3.61. But the big bugaboo throughout this year and even last season has been walks. Right now the Mets have the fourth most walks in MLB with 357, behind only the Chicago White Sox, the nomad Athletics and the Angels. For the most part Mets pitching has been able to limit the damage and keep the team in games. But adding extra arms for both the bullpen and the starting rotation would help keep some of the better arms fresher down the stretch. 

The return of both Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea from the injured list gives the Mets a much needed boost after weeks on the shelf. But the rotation could still use an extra arm. The team isn't desperate for an ace level pitcher like other teams may be, but getting another quality starter to add to an already very good rotation can only help. Two other starters, David Peterson and Clay Holmes are either close or have surpassed their career highs in innings pitched. Kodai Senga missed a month due to a hamstring strain, only returning on July 12th against the Royals. Sean Manaea made his season debut the next day after missing all of the first half due to an oblique injury. Adding a sixth starter in the rotation would help alleviate and add innings to this ailing staff. 

For the last few weeks, rumors have been swirling about the Mets looking to acquire Pittsburgh Pirates starter Mitch Keller. In 2025 Keller has pitched well for a horrendous Pirates team, posting a 3.48 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP with a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.5:1 through the All-Star break. Despite his individual success, Keller has nothing to show for it with an abysmal 3-10 win/loss record. At 39-60 the Pirates are guaranteed to be sellers at the deadline yet again. With the 29 year old right-hander signed for another three seasons at the price of about $15M per year, Keller is going to be an in-demand pitcher for top contending teams. The Mets or the Cubs should be especially interested since they can potentially take on more of the contract value in exchange for less prospects in return.

Severino is an interesting case. Severino signed with the Oakland Sacramento Athletics this past offseason
for 3 years, $67M- the largest contract ever in A's history after 10 years in New York between the Yankees and Mets. But he has been one of the worst pitchers in all of baseball, pitching to an ERA of 5.15 and a WHIP of 1.41. Severino also leads the league in both hits allowed with 122 and earned runs given up with 65. While waiting for their new ballpark in Las Vegas to be built, the A's share their home stadium with the Sacramento Rivercats, the San Francisco Giants AAA team. Pitching in a minor league park for home games has done nothing to help Severino's cause. At home he has an ERA north of 6, a WHIP higher than 1.5, a batting average against of .302 and opponents OPS of .802 in 66 innings at Sutter Health Park. The road has been much friendlier to Severino, pitching to an ERA of 3.04 and WHIP of 1.14 and giving up just 12 extra base hits across 48 innings. 

Last year for the Mets, Severino was one of their most reliable pitchers, with a serviceable ERA of 3.83 and WHIP of 1.25 in 200 innings including a deep playoff run to the NLCS. Before signing his new contract with Oakland Sacramento, Severino did express his desire to stay with the Mets. If the A's are willing to pay off some of that contract, a reunion between the two sides would make sense.

Another potential reunion that might make sense for the Mets is Seth Lugo. Now pitching for the Kansas City Royals, Lugo was a member of the Mets from 2016 until 2022 before leaving to sign with the San Diego Padres. Used almost exclusively as a reliever during his time in Queens, Lugo has made a name for himself as a starter. Last season Lugo finished runner up in the American League Cy Young race behind Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers. Lugo pitched to an ERA of 3 over 200 innings with a WHIP of 1.08, while striking out 187 batters. Lugo helped lead the Royals to their first playoff appearance since their World Series win back in 2015 over the Mets. 

This year, Lugo has been just as great for Kansas City. pitching to a 2.94 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 100 innings so far. A potential free agent after this year (Lugo has a player option for 2026), there is a chance that any trade for Lugo is only as a rental, potentially leaving anyone high and dry with no Lugo nor any prospects traded away. But that risk is worth it to get someone of Lugo's caliber.

Closer Edwin Díaz has been nothing short of lights out for the Mets in 2025. Having an elite closer such as Díaz makes the end of games so much easier. But the bridge to Díaz has been anything but great. Both setup men Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek have both struggled to maintain leads, Garrett especially since June. Getting another plus reliever, especially someone with closing experience, would be hugely beneficial. 

As previously mentioned, the Pittsburgh Pirates are having an abysmal year and are likely to sell off some of their high profile players, continuing a perpetual cycle of not keeping their star players. After a rough 2024 where the righty reliever pitched to an ERA near 6, Bednar has rebounded excellently. Last year it was widely believed that Bednar was tipping his pitches and got annihilated as a result. In 2025, Bednar has looked like his old self, pitching to a 2.53 ERA and 1.13 WHIP while saving 13 games for a dreadful Pirates team. The two-time All-Star would be a great acquisition to help steady a bullpen that's been faltering of late. 

While his name has not come up in any trade rumors as of yet, like Bednar, Jansen would be a strong anchor to help steady the Mets bullpen. As the Angels closer this year Jansen has been stellar, locking down 17 saves for Anaheim, pitching to a 3.28 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. For as good as Jansen has been, removing one rough outing against the Detroit Tigers in early May where he allowed six earned runs, his numbers improve dramatically. Aside from that one game, Jansen has an ERA of 1.80 and a WHIP of 1 even. At 37, the former World Series champion is up there in age, but he would an anchor to help boost this Mets bullpen.

As one of the World Series favorites heading into the season, the Mets are dangerously close to seeing things slip away. Making moves for any of the players listed above will help stabilize and reignite their play to what it was the first two months of the year. Standing pat is simply not an option.