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00:03how we doing everybody it's Tyler Ward aka Wardy here and in our latest breakdown on all things
00:08New York Metropolitans for the Street Out Flushing podcast here on the New York Post Sports YouTube
00:12channel or wherever you get your podcast we're gonna go ahead and deep dive ex-Mets that could
00:17find themselves returning to Flushing Queens for the upcoming season I know yeah you heard that
00:22correctly we're gonna get into these players and ultimately why the Mets may very well find
00:26themselves circling back in their respective markets and how maybe the bridge just hasn't
00:31burned out at all with the following players a lot to get into in this one so let us know
00:35your
00:35thoughts down below hit that like and subscribe one for more Mets content here on the New York
00:39Post Sports YouTube channel and of course thank you all so much for chiming in so to get right into
00:44our conversation let's begin here with the reliever you know when I think of former Mets relievers that
00:49have continued to pitch and pitch well I think of a handful obviously since leaving the Mets over the
00:54last couple years but there is one that definitely sticks out as someone who post traded line continued
00:59his dominance better than most and that of course had to have been AJ Mentor as we know AJ Mentor's
01:05story with the New York Mets sadly did not go really as planned the Mets signed him entering the 2025
01:10season but really did not pitch much more than a handful as he was down with ailment and that was
01:16also
01:16the previous offseason where he was returning from a hip injury that had him out the entire second
01:22half of the 2024 season his final year in Atlanta Braves uniform so AJ Mentor finally healthy in
01:27the year 2026 begins his regular season with the New York Mets with a north of 15 or so ending
01:33beginning to the year without allowing an earned run ironically the first home run and run he gave up
01:40this season was to Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves his former teammate but AJ though was nails and
01:46between the New York Mets and the Minnesota Twins in which the Mets acquired a big bopper of a home
01:51run
01:51hitter who strikes out a lot but hits a lot of bombs too and Billy Amick as well as Bruin
01:56Agbayani
01:57Benny's son in a trade for AJ who was a rental reliever 45 total total innings this year for the
02:03veteran Southpaw the unage of 32 an 8k per nine to a dazzling 1.58 walks per nine the home
02:10run rate
02:10was up this year at 1.77 and that continued as he went on to the Minnesota Twins and gave
02:15up bombs to
02:16guys like Aaron Judge in the second half a two and a half year a 3.8 expected year a
02:204.4 FIP and a
02:22expected FIP listen this is AJ's real first big sample back since you know this first half of the
02:282024 season because he only pitched 11 innings with the Mets before going down with the ailment in 2025
02:33AJ was fantastic here embraced the environment embraced the market for you know a guy that
02:39long time Atlanta Brave becomes a New York Mets and finds himself having success he embraced what it
02:44meant to be a Met he really enjoyed his time here so did his wife from everything that we saw
02:48and I really loved AJ's end of tenure comments stating how you know what if he can bring back
02:55a nice little prospect or two he'll be happy to do that for this Mets team so no L well
03:00between the
03:01two sides no bridge burned and if AJ does have the appetite to go back to Flushing Queens this is
03:06absolutely I think a relationship that could be rekindled because it does feel like that there's a level
03:11of unfinished business and speaking of unfinished business going on from AJ mentor let's get on to
03:17another reliever today but this would be the lone player in today's discussion which the Mets would
03:21actually have to trade for after they traded him away and yes it's Luke Weaver now I know you may
03:27say to yourself Tyler what are you talking about why would the Mets acquire Luke Weaver after trading
03:32him away well I don't know why don't you enlighten me why they wouldn't the Mets are already eating a
03:36fat
03:36chunk of that contract in which Luke will be owed around 11 million dollars next year as is and Luke
03:42was Jekyll and Hyde this year well with the New York Mets he was unhittable around like a one and
03:46a
03:46half or so year Ray he didn't allow a single run for what felt like north of two effing months
03:51with
03:51how good he looked and then he gets straight to the Pirates and a deal for Sammy Stifora the New
03:56York
03:56native infield prospect who we're very excited about and the farm myself included we go on to see Luke
04:01have a very unfortunate turn events happen one he sustains insane poison ivy which Luke explained
04:08himself best on just how bad it was for him to endure to the point that basically he had sleepless
04:13nights nights continued for about a month straight at least after being traded to the pits for Pirates
04:18in a very bizarre situation furthermore then we saw Luke obviously not pitched to his comfortability
04:23or to his dominance Jekyll and Hyde in which or how he was performing with the Mets versus what he
04:28did
04:28the Pirates a Pirates team that did not even make postseason play and when we look at Luke Weaver
04:33this season again combining the two sides when he was so much better with the New York Mets he still
04:38finished here with a 2.69 combined ERA and a three expected ERA a sub three FIP a three and
04:44a half
04:44expected FIP that's good for a 1.4 war season we're just under 10k per nine to a fantastic 2
04:49.3 walks per
04:50nine and a sub one home run per nine a 0.75 which has absolutely been something that's killed him
04:56in the
04:56past especially someone who's gotten more of a workload as a starter because he's just usually
04:59throwing meatballs but Luke Weaver though he was awesome in a Mets uniform he loved being in New
05:04York he continued his dominance in New York going back to his last couple years where he was very
05:09good with the New York Yankees and I think Weaver is absolutely someone who would embrace coming back
05:13as long as Mets had interest again we're already eating a good chunk of his contract and he didn't
05:18pitch nearly as well for the Pirates so let's take him back let's give them a lesser prospect than
05:23Sammy Stifora and let's call it a day I don't really think it's that hard to grasp to wrap our
05:28head around so on one hand for the Pirates they're like you know we're only having Luke at a fraction
05:35of the cost here why would we want to give him up but the the counter is he also didn't
05:40perform
05:41nearly as comfortably during his time when he was with uh the the Pittsburgh Pirates if he dominated
05:46just as good as he did when he was with the New York Mets and that would be a different
05:50conversation
05:51but if we look at the side by side and just as to in the statistics when he was with
05:55the Mets
05:56versus the splits of one he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates I mean they were rather significant let's
06:00pull them up pull them up right now to tell you guys in real time here uh no we're not
06:05going to
06:06look at postseason cumulative because there was no playoffs for Luke Weaver no matter if he was on
06:11the Mets or the Pirates this year well as we go on to see between the two sides here everybody
06:16let's
06:17pull this up here we go okay as a New York Met this past season Luke Weaver did the following
06:26if
06:27this could just pull up that would be awesome again we do not need postseason numbers we just need
06:31regular season I don't know why it keeps popping up and doing that okay as a New York Met we
06:36are
06:36looking at a 1.84 ERA and 44 innings that include 25 hits allowed 10 runs 9 earned emphasis on
06:44the 9 earned
06:45runs here and a potent bad average of 162 and it's well under one whip as a Pittsburgh Pirate
06:52five-year rate in 18 games 16 innings we saw a total of 17 hits allowed and 9 earned runs
07:00so he gave up the same amount of earned runs as he did during his time with the Mets but
07:05this was
07:06literally a quarter of the sample basically so uh all I know though is that if the New York Mets
07:11have
07:11the appetite to want to bring Weaver back again we know what he can do at not only the big
07:17league
07:17level but specifically with the New York Mets here and he's someone who I don't think we need any
07:22selling as to what to expect from him and I think he'd be the first to tell you that he
07:26expects better
07:27than what he did there in Pittsburgh so uh bring me back Luke Weaver let me know how you guys
07:32feel
07:32about that in the comments down below because going on from Luke let's get on to another former New York
07:37Yankee pitcher turned New York uh Matt and that is now going to be Clay Holmes okay Clay Holmes was
07:43only traded by the New York Mets because he had value and his value was significant between himself
07:49and Tyrone Taylor they helped muster a return for the 68th best prospect in Major League Baseball
07:54Premier League Pipeline's latest rankings and shortstop stud 21 year old Jefferson Rojas who will be at the
08:00Major League level for the New York Mets in 2027 Clay Holmes was very solid this year overall and when
08:06he
08:06returned from his injury that obviously had him out a bit such a shame that he missed as much time
08:10as
08:11he did with the fracture he still did have over 100 innings this year a right around 7k per nine
08:15a 3.7 walks per nine a 0.5 home run per nine which is awesome a 3.29 ERA
08:20a 3.87 expected ERA 3.6 FIP
08:23and a 3.89 expected FIP that's just under a two war season uh for a second consecutive year were
08:30in his
08:30first year as a true starter since his days as a Pittsburgh Pirate in the late 2010s before coming over
08:35of the Yanks as a dominant reliever for them and then an up down reliever uh we went on to
08:40see his
08:41first year with the Mets 165 innings three and a half ERA 4 expected ERA 1.9 war and the
08:47most
08:47consistent starter you could rightfully argue from start to finish for the New York Mets in the 2025
08:52season what was a failed year for them for Holmes not only did he express his interest in staying with
08:58the New York Mets but he expressed thorough interest and being extended and wanting to stay here and being a
09:03part of changing the tide of the narrative this is the same Clay Holmes that was not even utilized in
09:08the two postseason games in which the Cubs faltered in dramatic fashion to the San Diego Padres so for
09:15Clay who's now for agent entering his age 34 season looking for a price range of anywhere likely from 60
09:21to 75 plus million dollars in that Sean Minaya type of realm on a likely I'd imagine you know anywhere
09:26from two to four year deal uh the Mets absolutely have a level of interest they just didn't want to
09:32extend
09:32him and feel like that that hand was forced knowing that there's a lot of uncertainty with
09:36depending CBA and wanting to see how things would shake out for the remainder of the year after
09:40trading him so I think that they were smart by maximizing his value and I really do believe that
09:45Clay Holmes has a role as Chapman 2016 written all over him as someone who was traded away by the
09:51Yankees to the Cubs in 2016 Chapman goes on to win the World Series with them and then the Yankees
09:56in
09:56turn land a nice little prospect by the name of Glaber Torres at the time and then once the Cubs
10:01run is done
10:02a roleless return right back to the Bronx with the Yankees so for the Mets here I definitely see a
10:08scenario where at minimum one of the following players that we discussed today that becomes a
10:12reality they didn't burn all these bridges they just want to maximize value and they also gave
10:15these guys better opportunity actually going to playoff run I'm sure Clay appreciated that
10:19as I'm sure the David Peterson even with how wishy-washy he was for the Mets this year as he
10:24was the
10:24first big domino to fall for them and guys that they traded you know to begin the selling if you
10:29will
10:29of the 2026 send-off so going on from Clay Holmes who I'm very much in favor of because I
10:35think he's
10:35a perfect veteran to blend with the McLeans the Scots the Thorntons the Tons and the eventual
10:40Santucci's of the world but I also think for what you would have to give up to land him price
10:46-wise
10:46it's just very beneficial because you know what he's going to bring not only as a starter but in
10:51New York he can pitch in New York he has been one of the more steady starters for the Mets
10:56the past year
10:56and a half regardless of him getting a little bit older he doesn't have a lot of mileage on his
11:00arm
11:00because again he's been a reliever for the majority of his career and an absolute worst to say things
11:05really didn't work out with Clay he is someone who I'm sure would dominate as a reliever again if you
11:08really had to transition him back there but either way though as a starter option he would be a perfect
11:13fit in this rotation currently and it wasn't like the Mets wanted to trade Clay's that they felt
11:18inclined to because they kind of got an offer that they couldn't refuse and I do not blame them
11:23whatsoever for taking Jefferson Rojas and trading away two rentals that the Mets could still bring
11:28back should there be mutual interest which leaves us with last but most certainly not least Tyrone
11:34Taylor the other piece to this puzzle of a trade Tyrone is entering his age 33 season and was a
11:40man
11:40possessed when he got traded to the Chicago Cubs he batted well over 300 he was literally nuts he batted
11:46late north of 400 if not the entire time and between the two teams this year 97 games and 241
11:51play
11:51appearances is the smallest sample he's had since 2023 a 279 batting average of 325 on base a 502
11:58slug batted 27 above league average as a batter and the second highest worst season in his career at
12:041.5 as a plus offensive and defensive player not only was Tyrone an absolute man possessed for the
12:09Cubs after being traded there like he was putting up PCA numbers offensively it's not even funny how good
12:14he looked in his limited sample but Tyrone's an elite defender as well so you saw him of course have
12:19the
12:19fantastic range that he did when he was getting the outfield starts and with the only pinch hit at
12:24bat that he had in the wild card round he had himself a big boy hit why because that's Tyrone
12:28Taylor that's how in game two other lost the Padres so Tyrone 11 home runs 36 runs scored 38 RBIs
12:35so I think he definitely juiced things up a little bit between it being a walk year and also it
12:40being
12:41a great environment or there was playoff momentum going on I think both things are true I think Tyrone
12:46will likely not put up these numbers next year unless he has that same small sample but I also
12:51will say this as long as he wants to come back to the New York Mets I'm fine with giving
12:56him a sample
12:56as big as this because that's that's more than content for your fourth outfielder you know Nick
13:01Borobito I definitely have optimism in for what he could be at the major league level and that may
13:04very well be the biggest reason as to why Tyrone Taylor doesn't return to this New York Mets team
13:09but if Tyrone has an appetite to be in the same role as he has been the last couple years
13:12with Mets
13:12as more of an appetite for that than maybe what he would be getting elsewhere because there is a
13:17comfortability with the Mets they know him so well and knowing Soto is going to get more DH reps as
13:21he
13:21gets older that will benefit a guy like Tyrone to get some starts here or there maybe to wrap up
13:25a
13:25series or in certain matchups against lefties especially if he puts up whopping splits the
13:30way that he did here this was literally the best season of his career in K percentage at 17 percent
13:34the last like five years of his career is average 21 to 25 percent in strikeout percent so very
13:40impressive stuff for Tyrone to not only eliminate his strikeout rate but really look like an effective
13:44player still maybe even better than what the Mets thought that they initially had so if Tyrone
13:49doesn't get a more guaranteed option opportunity elsewhere and if he does have that level to want
13:54to come back to New York again this is a guy that we know can play here as a high
13:57-flying outfielder who
13:58is a perfect blend and balance with the AJ Ewings and the Carson Benges of the world and is someone
14:04who
14:04was beloved in the clubhouse and we know has that type of energy that is beneficial to the club when
14:10they're really trying to ride momentum you know Tyrone was part of the good in the Mets down the
14:14stretch in 2024 and bested Harrison Bader as getting more of those starter reps in 2020 uh 2024 2025
14:21Tyrone was no bueno not good at all and then in 2026 we saw a rejuvenated Tyrone Taylor especially when
14:27he returned from injury for that final number of weeks before me traded to the Cubs but Mets fans we
14:32want
14:32to hear your thoughts in the comments down below of all the players that we broke down today which
14:36ones do you think are best to return the New York Mets in 2027 after initially being partnered with
14:41please let us know thank you all so much for watching and be on the lookout for more content
14:46regarding the New York Mets and all things all things New York sports here on the New York Post
14:51Sports YouTube channel this is your latest podcast for straight out flushing and this is your guy Tyler
14:55Ward signing out peace out everybody