Mets’ biggest 2026 MLB trade deadline mistake

The New York Mets were sellers at the MLB trade deadline. They were not as aggressive when it came to selling as some people expected, but they still traded a number of players. The Mets are hoping to bounce back next season, so they decided to keep many of their young stars. However, did the team make any clear mistakes?

Sure, Francisco Lindor wasn’t traded, but he’s under contract for years to come and he has underperformed this season. Trading Lindor would have meant receiving less value for him than what they could. While he was mentioned as a trade candidate, it never truly seemed like the Mets were going to trade Lindor before this year’s deadline.

The ball club also failed to trade Luis Robert Jr. Similarly to Lindor, he has been limited by injuries and has underperformed while on the field. There was not a necessity to move him.

One player who wasn’t consistently mentioned as a trade candidate was infielder Bo Bichette. In all reality, he is the star the Mets should have traded.

Not trading Bo Bichette was Mets’ trade deadline mistake

Sure, Bichette has not had a great season either. As of this story’s writing, the 28-year-old is hitting just .256/.299/.368 across 114 games played. He has 11 home runs and 16 doubles as well.

Bichette, however, has impressed in recent seasons, is a two-time All-Star and has an opt out after the season. While he is not guaranteed to exercise the opt out given his underperformance, it would not be surprising to see him test free agency once again. After all, he has a proven track record and many teams would love to add an often reliable right-handed bat such as Bichette.

There is a chance that Bichette could leave the Mets in free agency, meaning the team would not receive anything in return for him. If they had traded him before the deadline, the Mets could have received multiple star prospects or possibly even MLB talent.

The Mets could have reset their timeline to win by moving Bichette this season. As currently constructed, they feature an underwhelming team with multiple star players. Trading Bichette would have allowed them to address areas of need on the roster to build a more complete overall baseball team.

Regardless of whether or not Bichette opts out of his deal, deciding not to move him before this season’s trade deadline — considering the Mets’ current circumstances — was a mistake.

How Mets can bounce back

Hope is not lost for the Mets. Some bad teams simply don’t feature many established veterans or star players. The Mets happen to have stars they can build around.

The problem is that many of their stars have underperformed. Still, when you have Juan Soto leading the way, there is always an opportunity to build a contender around him.

New York needs to add reliable pitching during the offseason. The ball club needs more consistency in that department. The offense has questions as well, but the Mets have a number of young hitters who could take steps forward sooner rather than later.

Moving on from some of their veterans in the future — such as Lindor and Robert — could lead to crucial playing time for talented prospects with bright ceilings. Bringing in a new core of players around Soto could help this Mets ball club emerge as a true World Series contender within the next few seasons.

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