Mets questioned by former MLB executive for Tyler Rogers trade

The New York Mets may have paid an overly steep price for Tyler Rogers, despite an otherwise strong deadline.

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The New York Mets made several moves ahead of MLB's trade deadline to bolster their odds of contending for a World Series this year.

A majority of the additions they made were viewed in a very positive light, with general manager David Stearns taking full advantage of how deep the organization’s farm system has become in recent years. The Mets plugged several of the holes they believed to have on their roster, acquiring center fielder Cedric Mullins and left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles in two separate deals, along with right-handed reliever Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Not a single top 5 prospect was surrendered in any of those deals, acquiring upgrades for a fair price, as all three players are likely rentals, all playing out the final months of their current contracts before hitting free agency this winter.

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The same can be said for right-handed relief pitcher Tyler Rogers, who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants. He is also set to hit free agency this winter, but the price to acquire him, on paper, was a lot steeper than any of the team’s other deadline acquisitions.

To land him, New York parted with major league reliever Jose Buttó and two of their top 15 prospects: right-handed pitcher Blade Tidwell and outfielder Drew Gilbert. In the opinion of Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required), it was too much, giving the Mets the superlative of biggest overpay.

The former MLB executive noted that Buttó was controllable until 2030, and believed that offering a package of two of the three players would have been enough to land Rogers. At first glance, it does seem like a lot to give up for a rental, albeit one who is amongst the most reliable and dominant relief pitchers in baseball.

MLB trade deadline superlatives - https://t.co/S9ItflRyuX

— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) August 4, 2025

But when taking a deeper dive into the package, it becomes clearer why New York was okay parting ways with what seems to be so much talent.

40-man roster crunches were quickly approaching and both Tidwell and Gilbert has been falling behind other prospects in that pecking order. Gilbert in particular was going to have to be added to the 40-man or be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft in a few months.

Meanwhile, Buttó didn’t have any options remaining, which would have created a potential logjam in the bullpen when combined with the additions of Soto and Helsley. The right-hander also didn't possess the upside that many of New York's relievers had, which made his departure easier to swallow despite the multiple years of team control.

Essentially, the Mets viewed these three players as spare parts, so combining them into a package and acquiring a player of Rogers’s caliber makes sense. Their bullpen does seem to be better off with the submariner as a setup man, and they can still choose to bring the 34-year-old back in free agency.