Execs believe Mets could trade promising slugger for Tarik Skubal

Could the Mets deal this slugger in a potential trade for Tarik Skubal?

Sep 23, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) gestures to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the eighth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

As the New York Mets enter the offseason after falling well short of their expectations this year, fixing the rotation is poised to be the team's top priority this winter.

Throughout their three-and-a-half month collapse from mid-June until the end of the regular season, New York's struggling rotation was a main catalyst for the Mets' decline from being one of the best teams in baseball at 45-24 on June 13 to going a dismal 38-55 the rest of the way. And with the Mets knowing that adding a frontline ace this winter is their main focus, of course, Tarik Skubal's name is being mentioned around the team.

After reports that the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and the Detroit Tigers are $250 million apart in contract talks, trade rumors surrounding Skubal are now beginning to unfold. With the Mets expected to be interested in the lefty hurler and perhaps the favorite to acquire him, would a trade for Skubal mean the Amazins' would have to deal this promising slugger to the Tigers?

In an October 18 article for SNY, John Harper reported that an NL executive believes that, aside from potentially wanting top pitching prospects from the Mets, catcher Francisco Álvarez could be a potential piece Detroit may want in a trade for Skubal.

Scouts and execs on complications in Mets' potential trade for Tigers' Tarik Skubal (via @NYNJHarper) https://t.co/W6NKDe7ndA pic.twitter.com/BqbMF0rkSw

— SNY (@SNYtv) October 18, 2025

“Other than pitching, Álvarez could be the key,” one exec said to Harper. “It depends how the Tigers’ scouts evaluate him. He showed some growth after the Mets sent him to Triple-A, but is he still a 30-home run guy as he was projected to be when he came up? As a catcher, that would make him a difference-maker and something to help justify the trade from a PR standpoint.”

Álvarez, who turns 24 years old next month, is coming off another disappointing and injury-plagued season for the Mets in 2025. After being held to just 100 games in 2024, he played in just 76 games this year.

Read More: Who New York Mets might trade for Tarik Skubal

The young slugger missed nearly the first month of the regular season after fracturing his left hamate bone during live batting practice in March. After being activated off the injured list on April 24, Álvarez began to struggle both offensively and behind the plate, resulting in New York demoting him to Triple-A Syracuse on June 22.

Álvarez returned to the Mets on July 21 after slugging 11 home runs in 19 games for Syracuse, and he replicated that success in the major leagues. In the 21 games since his recall, Álvarez slashed .293/.388/.603 with three home runs and nine RBI. But a common theme for the young backstop this season popped up yet again, as Álvarez landed back on the IL after tearing his UCL in his right thumb while sliding head-first into second base during the Little League Classic on August 17.

Despite needing surgery that would end his season, Álvarez opted to get it during the offseason and attempted to play through the injury pain. This also resulted in him suffering another injury when he fractured his left pinky after getting hit by a pitch during a rehab game for Syracuse.

He would only miss 18 games and returned for the final month of the regular season, finishing with a slash line of .256/.339/.447 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in 76 games. Even with the significant time missed, Álvarez's resurgence after returning from Triple-A allowed him to post a career-best .787 OPS.

Just a massive, go-ahead, two-run homer for Francisco Alvarez who stopped at first base to scream into his own dugout. He was fired up. He should be. pic.twitter.com/Ye3Fs6wwf2

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 24, 2025

While adding Skubal would undoubtedly make the Mets' rotation a lot better, trading away Álvarez for a rental piece might be a hasty decision, as Skubal is set to become a free agent after next season.

Álvarez may have strung together another disappointing season for the Mets in 2025, but this is the same player who slugged 25 home runs during the 2023 campaign, as well as looking like a completely different hitter after his recall from the minors. Keeping him may be the right decision for the Mets in the end.