It was a busy trade deadline for David Stearns and the rest of the Mets front office as they tried to shore up holes and prepare the team for the final two months of the season and a potential long playoff run.
Stearns was able to accomplish his number one goal of remaking the bullpen with the acquisitions of Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto — days prior — but also grabbed an outfielder in Cedric Mullins.
And outside of some household names, like Jose Butto and a couple of minor leaguers — more on them later — the Mets didn’t have to give up a lot to get these players. So, how did Stearns accomplish that?
“The story of this deadline, for us, is really an amateur talent acquisition and player development story,” Stearns said over Zoom after the 6 p.m. trade deadline. “Our amateur talent acquisition departments and player development group put us in position to have this type of deadline, where we were to go out and acquire players that would help us in the major league level and not touch some really high-upside players at the top of our system. Enormous credit to them.”
Stearns lauded Mullins’ athleticism and ability to affect games in ways that won’t show up in the box score, and the two-headed monster of Helsley and Rogers to give manager Carlos Mendoza more options to bridge to their star closer Edwin Diaz. But some of the minor league capital, specifically Drew Gilbert and Blade Tidwell in the Rogers deal, used to acquire some of these arms, were met with raised eyebrows.
The Mets president of baseball operations understands how good the team’s minor leaguers are, but also understands it needed to be done to compete this year.
“They’re good players, there’s no question they are good players,” Stearns said of Tidwell and Gilbert. “Proximity to the major leagues certainly factors into these types of deals. We believe we’ve traded a number of players who are going to play on TV and continue to play on TV and I hope they do… We are rooting for them. We are in a position where we thought these deals made sense, giving good players for good players who can help us in a more concentrated fashion right now. Never easy decisions to make, but it was the right decisions to make right now.”
Jun 3, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers (71) looks over his shoulder before a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the eighth inning at Oracle Park. / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
But while Stearns got the outfield bat and remade the bullpen, many felt the Mets would be better off trading for a starter to bolster the rotation. The current starters, outside of David Peterson, have not been able to give the team consistent length and a proven arm could rectify that.
Of course, the Mets did not deal for one at this trade deadline and Stearns explained his thought process.
“As we saw, there were some starting pitchers that were traded but not every pitcher who was rumored to be available was ultimately moved. We were engaged throughout,” Stearns said. “There’s multiple ways to build a pitching staff. We focused on the backend of the pitching staff. We’re really happy with the arms we were able to acquire who are going to pitch out of our pen. And we have confidence in the starters not only who are here, who will keep us competitive and help us win games, but also pleased with the development of some of the guys in Triple-A are progressing. We understand that they could, may not definitely, but they could be part of the mix going forward if needed.”
Those Triple-A arms, which include veteran Paul Blackburn, who was not dealt at the deadline, are options. How viable those options are remains to be seen, but Stearns believes the team is good enough to win it all this year and for years to come.
Since being hired after the 2023 season, Stearns has committed to making the Mets a sustainable winner and this trade deadline is just one part of it. So while many saw the moves for rental relievers as going all-in on a “window,” Stearns sees it as just another part of his grand plan.
“I don’t view this as windows. Our responsibility here is to give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs and win a World Series every single year,” he said. “That’s what this should be, that’s what we’re aiming for. I don’t view this era of Mets competitiveness as a window. I view it as the beginning of a long and sustained competitiveness at a high level. The moves we made help that this year without, in a very material way, sacrificing some really high-end talent that could help us in years to come.”
From 4 p.m. ET to a little after the deadline at 6 p.m. ET, MLB teams executed 24 different trades, 14 of which came after 5:30 p.m. ET. It was a wild flurry of roster transactions in which some teams remade their rosters, for better and for worse.
Not every notable player on the market was traded. Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan, Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr., Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease and Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller all stayed put despite days of reported discussions between teams.
Here are the winners and losers from this year’s trade deadline.
Winners
Carlos Correa, Astros third baseman
If you’re a high-priced player on a team that has clearly decided it has zero interest in continuing to compete for this season and possibly longer (more on that below), a homecoming is always welcome.
Correa was the first overall pick by the Houston Astros in 2012 and starred for the big-league team from 2015 to 2021. Despite exiting the team in free agency, he remains a popular figure with both the organization and its fan base. Astros players were reportedly elated to learn that Correa is coming back, and he confirmed to MLB.com that Houston was the only team for which he would’ve waived his no-trade clause.
His return to Houston will see Correa play a position other than shortstop for the first time in his professional career (all 1,492 games of it). The Astros specifically made this trade because a hamstring injury to Isaac Paredes opened up third base, and that’s where Correa will play for the foreseeable future. Correa was actually set to play third back in 2023, until his deal with the New York Mets went up in smoke.
This isn’t the same Correa that Astros fans might remember — the Twins were looking to move him for a reason and ate $30 million of his remaining $102 million to do so — but the chance to ride out your career with a franchise you’re more than comfortable with is something very few players get.
With four years of team control left after this season, any Miller trade was bound to be huge, and the San Diego Padres didn’t disappoint, parting with MLB Pipeline No. 3 overall prospect Leo De Vries and three other youngsters for Miller and starting pitcher J.P. Sears.
That’s a staggering price to pay, but Miller could easily make himself worth it by throwing some key innings for San Diego in the playoffs. He’s flanked by three other All-Star relievers in the Padres’ bullpen, but this is still about as ideal an outcome as he could have found with the A’s set to play in Sacramento until at least 2027.
Jerry Dipoto, Mariners president
The Seattle Mariners approached this deadline tied for the final AL wild-card spot and were clearly in need of an upgrade. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, baseball’s most prolific trade artist, delivered.
In exchange for a collection of lesser-known prospects, the Mariners got a new corner infield with first baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez, who ranks fifth in MLB in homers this season with 36, was the big prize, and it’s a reunion with a still-popular player in Seattle to boot.
Naylor and Suarez both figure to join the middle of the Mariners’ lineup, marking the kind of shift the fan base has been wanting for a very long time. The Mariners could have gone a little further, especially considering Suarez is a pure rental, but this is suddenly a very interesting roster if the rotation stays healthy.
The Mets’ bullpen
The Padres and Philadelphia Phillies both added big-time closers with Miller and Jhoan Duran, but no team reinforced its bullpen quite like the New York Mets.
The NL East is a two-horse race between the Mets and Phillies, and both teams took measures to make sure it won’t be their bullpens that cost them the crown.
Craig Breslow’s critics
The Boston Red Sox currently hold the second AL wild-card spot, and they did not act very interested in keeping it at the trade deadline, acquiring struggling Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May and reliever Steven Matz from the St. Louis Cardinals.
We figured the Minnesota Twins would be sellers at this year’s deadline. They are 51-57 and 5.5 games out of the final AL wild-card spot, they had some players set to hit free agency, and they weren’t going to waste the chance to save some significant money. But no one thought they would go this far.
Here’s the full list of Twins players who play on other teams after Thursday:
Carlos Correa, SS (Astros)
Willi Castro, UTL (Cubs)
Jhoan Duran, RHP (Phillies)
Griffin Jax, RHP (Rays)
Danny Coulombe, LHP (Rangers)
Chris Paddack, RHP (Tigers)
Harrison Bader, OF (Phillies)
Ty France, 1B (Blue Jays)
Louis Varland, RHP (Blue Jays)
Brock Stewart, RHP (Dodgers)
That is 10 players, or 38.5% of the active roster. That’s their five (five!) best relievers and five players with multiple years of team control remaining. And the Twins could have done even more, as Joe Ryan was arguably more valuable than any player on that list.
This all makes more sense when you consider the team is reportedly $440 million in debt (they save $70 million from the Correa trade alone), but that’s a galling amount of talent to part with and still consider yourself a big-league team. Fans can stop watching this team this year and, sadly, probably for a while.
The L.A. Dodgers
The Mets got better. The Phillies got better. The Padres got better. The Dodgers got … slightly better?
Even after a relatively inactive deadline, this is one of the best teams in baseball on paper, but that’s kind of the problem. The Dodgers are very talented, but injuries and a struggling bullpen have prevented them from breaking out of a crowded pack in the National League. The Padres are only three games behind them and now have good reason to believe they can catch them.
To be fair, the Dodgers didn’t make bad moves. Brock Stewart gives them a very solid arm in a bullpen that needs it. Alex Call, acquired from the Washington Nationals, gives them a decent platoon in left field alongside Michael Conforto. And they probably weren’t going to get much use out of Dustin May going forward.
But those are just improvements on the margins, and we’re used to the Dodgers taking at least one big swing at the deadline. They brought in multiple key players to their World Series run last year and have previously acquired the likes of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Manny Machado, Yu Darvish and Rich Hill under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
Consider this deadline a big bet by the Dodgers that they have enough talent returning from the injured list to remain the NL’s top dog.
Luis Robert Jr., White Sox outfielder
The luster was sand-blasted off Robert a while ago, but it’s getting ridiculous how long he has been surrounded by trade speculation.
Once again, some teams were reported to be discussing the outfielder with the Chicago White Sox. And once again, the White Sox opted to keep him. He has two $20 million team options remaining on his contract.
Robert is essentially a reclamation project, given his struggles since his All-Star season in 2023, but you would have to imagine he’d be fine with removing himself from the White Sox organization in any way possible. Instead, he’ll remain with a team currently holding a 40-69 record.
At least there are fewer ignominious records for the Sox to break this season.
Carlos Correa is headed back to Houston, and Eugenio Suarez is headed back to Seattle after the flurry of trade deadline dealing. (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports)
Tommy Pham, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andrew Heaney are still Pirates, at least until the offseason, as is Mitch Keller, who received significant trade interest amid a career year.
It’s hard to say the Pirates didn’t leave talent on the table. Then again, they’ve never exactly been known for seizing the day under Cherington.
The Padres’ farm system
There might have been only one GM in MLB who would’ve made that Mason Miller trade from the Padres’ side: A.J. Preller.
Yes, Miller is amazing, but you know who else might be amazing? De Vries, a switch-hitting shortstop who might have the highest ceiling of any player in the minor leagues. The A’s loved Miller, but this was likely not a hard decision for a team prioritizing its future years in Vegas over its Sacramento present. Get ready for the Leo de Vegas shirts.
Thursday might have been the apex of Preller as a concept; he has never been shy about trading high-ceiling prospects when a star is on the table. From Thursday morning to Thursday afternoon, the Padres traded away 13 prospects for Miller, designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn, outfielder Ramon Laureano, infielder Will Wagner and starting pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr.
SS Leo De Vries (#1) RHP Braden Nett (#3) LHP Boston Bateman (#4) SS Cobb Hightower (#6) RHP Ryan Bergert (#7) RHP Tyson Neighbors (#12) RHP Henry Baez (#13) RHP Eduarniel Nunez (#17) C Brandon Valenzuela (#26) 1B Victor Figueroa (#29) RHP…
You can probably expect the Padres’ farm system to go down a few rankings next time around. The baseball world keeps assuming Preller’s aggression will eventually catch up with him, but we all know what would make the prospect price worth it.
From 4 p.m. ET to a little after the deadline at 6 p.m. ET, MLB teams executed 24 different trades, 14 of which came after 5:30 p.m. ET. It was a wild flurry of roster transactions in which some teams remade their rosters, for better and for worse.
Not every notable player on the market was traded. Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan, Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr., Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease and Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller all stayed put despite days of reported discussions between teams.
Here are the winners and losers from this year’s trade deadline.
Winners
Carlos Correa, Astros third baseman
If you’re a high-priced player on a team that has clearly decided it has zero interest in continuing to compete for this season and possibly longer (more on that below), a homecoming is always welcome.
Correa was the first overall pick by the Houston Astros in 2012 and starred for the big-league team from 2015 to 2021. Despite exiting the team in free agency, he remains a popular figure with both the organization and its fan base. Astros players were reportedly elated to learn that Correa is coming back, and he confirmed to MLB.com that Houston was the only team for which he would’ve waived his no-trade clause.
His return to Houston will see Correa play a position other than shortstop for the first time in his professional career (all 1,492 games of it). The Astros specifically made this trade because a hamstring injury to Isaac Paredes opened up third base, and that’s where Correa will play for the foreseeable future. Correa was actually set to play third back in 2023, until his deal with the New York Mets went up in smoke.
This isn’t the same Correa that Astros fans might remember — the Twins were looking to move him for a reason and ate $30 million of his remaining $102 million to do so — but the chance to ride out your career with a franchise you’re more than comfortable with is something very few players get.
With four years of team control left after this season, any Miller trade was bound to be huge, and the San Diego Padres didn’t disappoint, parting with MLB Pipeline No. 3 overall prospect Leo De Vries and three other youngsters for Miller and starting pitcher J.P. Sears.
That’s a staggering price to pay, but Miller could easily make himself worth it by throwing some key innings for San Diego in the playoffs. He’s flanked by three other All-Star relievers in the Padres’ bullpen, but this is still about as ideal an outcome as he could have found with the A’s set to play in Sacramento until at least 2027.
Jerry Dipoto, Mariners president
The Seattle Mariners approached this deadline tied for the final AL wild-card spot and were clearly in need of an upgrade. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, baseball’s most prolific trade artist, delivered.
In exchange for a collection of lesser-known prospects, the Mariners got a new corner infield with first baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez, who ranks fifth in MLB in homers this season with 36, was the big prize, and it’s a reunion with a still-popular player in Seattle to boot.
Naylor and Suarez both figure to join the middle of the Mariners’ lineup, marking the kind of shift the fan base has been wanting for a very long time. The Mariners could have gone a little further, especially considering Suarez is a pure rental, but this is suddenly a very interesting roster if the rotation stays healthy.
The Mets’ bullpen
The Padres and Philadelphia Phillies both added big-time closers with Miller and Jhoan Duran, but no team reinforced its bullpen quite like the New York Mets.
The NL East is a two-horse race between the Mets and Phillies, and both teams took measures to make sure it won’t be their bullpens that cost them the crown.
Craig Breslow’s critics
The Boston Red Sox currently hold the second AL wild-card spot, and they did not act very interested in keeping it at the trade deadline, acquiring struggling Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May and reliever Steven Matz from the St. Louis Cardinals.
We figured the Minnesota Twins would be sellers at this year’s deadline. They are 51-57 and 5.5 games out of the final AL wild-card spot, they had some players set to hit free agency, and they weren’t going to waste the chance to save some significant money. But no one thought they would go this far.
Here’s the full list of Twins players who play on other teams after Thursday:
Carlos Correa, SS (Astros)
Willi Castro, UTL (Cubs)
Jhoan Duran, RHP (Phillies)
Griffin Jax, RHP (Rays)
Danny Coulombe, LHP (Rangers)
Chris Paddack, RHP (Tigers)
Harrison Bader, OF (Phillies)
Ty France, 1B (Blue Jays)
Louis Varland, RHP (Blue Jays)
Brock Stewart, RHP (Dodgers)
That is 10 players, or 38.5% of the active roster. That’s their five (five!) best relievers and five players with multiple years of team control remaining. And the Twins could have done even more, as Joe Ryan was arguably more valuable than any player on that list.
This all makes more sense when you consider the team is reportedly $440 million in debt (they save $70 million from the Correa trade alone), but that’s a galling amount of talent to part with and still consider yourself a big-league team. Fans can stop watching this team this year and, sadly, probably for a while.
The L.A. Dodgers
The Mets got better. The Phillies got better. The Padres got better. The Dodgers got … slightly better?
Even after a relatively inactive deadline, this is one of the best teams in baseball on paper, but that’s kind of the problem. The Dodgers are very talented, but injuries and a struggling bullpen have prevented them from breaking out of a crowded pack in the National League. The Padres are only three games behind them and now have good reason to believe they can catch them.
To be fair, the Dodgers didn’t make bad moves. Brock Stewart gives them a very solid arm in a bullpen that needs it. Alex Call, acquired from the Washington Nationals, gives them a decent platoon in left field alongside Michael Conforto. And they probably weren’t going to get much use out of Dustin May going forward.
But those are just improvements on the margins, and we’re used to the Dodgers taking at least one big swing at the deadline. They brought in multiple key players to their World Series run last year and have previously acquired the likes of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Manny Machado, Yu Darvish and Rich Hill under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
Consider this deadline a big bet by the Dodgers that they have enough talent returning from the injured list to remain the NL’s top dog.
Luis Robert Jr., White Sox outfielder
The luster was sand-blasted off Robert a while ago, but it’s getting ridiculous how long he has been surrounded by trade speculation.
Once again, some teams were reported to be discussing the outfielder with the Chicago White Sox. And once again, the White Sox opted to keep him. He has two $20 million team options remaining on his contract.
Robert is essentially a reclamation project, given his struggles since his All-Star season in 2023, but you would have to imagine he’d be fine with removing himself from the White Sox organization in any way possible. Instead, he’ll remain with a team currently holding a 40-69 record.
At least there are fewer ignominious records for the Sox to break this season.
Carlos Correa is headed back to Houston, and Eugenio Suarez is headed back to Seattle after the flurry of trade deadline dealing. (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports)
Tommy Pham, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andrew Heaney are still Pirates, at least until the offseason, as is Mitch Keller, who received significant trade interest amid a career year.
It’s hard to say the Pirates didn’t leave talent on the table. Then again, they’ve never exactly been known for seizing the day under Cherington.
The Padres’ farm system
There might have been only one GM in MLB who would’ve made that Mason Miller trade from the Padres’ side: A.J. Preller.
Yes, Miller is amazing, but you know who else might be amazing? De Vries, a switch-hitting shortstop who might have the highest ceiling of any player in the minor leagues. The A’s loved Miller, but this was likely not a hard decision for a team prioritizing its future years in Vegas over its Sacramento present. Get ready for the Leo de Vegas shirts.
Thursday might have been the apex of Preller as a concept; he has never been shy about trading high-ceiling prospects when a star is on the table. From Thursday morning to Thursday afternoon, the Padres traded away 13 prospects for Miller, designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn, outfielder Ramon Laureano, infielder Will Wagner and starting pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr.
SS Leo De Vries (#1) RHP Braden Nett (#3) LHP Boston Bateman (#4) SS Cobb Hightower (#6) RHP Ryan Bergert (#7) RHP Tyson Neighbors (#12) RHP Henry Baez (#13) RHP Eduarniel Nunez (#17) C Brandon Valenzuela (#26) 1B Victor Figueroa (#29) RHP…
You can probably expect the Padres’ farm system to go down a few rankings next time around. The baseball world keeps assuming Preller’s aggression will eventually catch up with him, but we all know what would make the prospect price worth it.
Mikal Bridges’ first season reunited with his Villanova crew in New York didn’t live up to the steep five first-round picks price paid for him, although Bridges started to find his footing and had some critical defensive moments in the playoffs.
That, along with his potential fit in new coach Mike Brown’s system, had the Knicks and Bridges agreeing to a four-year, $150 million contract extension, something first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania and since confirmed by multiple other reports.
That is slightly less than the $156 million max he could have gotten this summer, Charania notes. While it may not seem like much, the giveback should give the Knicks more financial flexibility and help them avoid the dreaded second luxury tax apron in future seasons. Bridges also could have waited a year, become a free agent and gotten a larger five-year contract but took this deal instead.
This deal locks up the Knicks’ core — Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Bridges — for two more seasons, which becomes three years if KAT and Hart pick up their player options. Bridges’ $37.5 million average salary on this contract is the fourth highest on the team (behind Towns, Anunoby and Brunson). That the Knicks were willing to pay Bridges that much now suggests they think Giannis Antetokounmpo is not going to be available this coming season.
Bridges had an up-and-down first season in New York, averaging 17.6 points a game and shooting 35.4% from 3, his lowest percentage since his rookie season. However, he seemed more comfortable in Tom Thibodeau’s system as the season went on and had some critical defensive plays in the playoffs, helping the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. Bridges is considered one of the players most likely to benefit from the up-tempo, more ball movement system new coach Mike Brown is expected to bring to Madison Square Garden next season.
