Mets Reportedly Expressed Interest in Rays Slugger at Trade Deadline

Were the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays close to a deal this past summer?

Jul 13, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Mets hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays will be heading into the offseason as a team that could potentially make a couple of trades with some desirable veterans. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering there were rumors about some of those players this past summer. 

Due to the team falling apart a bit in the second half of the year, the Rays were both buyers and sellers in 2025. This isn’t a very common practice, but it was one that Tampa Bay felt like was a good idea at the time. 

However, despite having a lot of desirable assets at the deadline, the team elected to hold on to some of them, likely with the intention of revisiting things over the winter. The Rays will have a number of veterans entering the final years of their contracts, and these players will be prime candidates to move. One name could end up being a game-changer and he was reportedly discussed over the summer. 

Anthony DiComo of MLB recently wrote about the Mets being interested in Rays slugger Yandy Diaz at the trade deadline, but ultimately nothing happened last summer. 

Could Diaz Have Changed the Mets’ Fortune?

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The Rays were certainly an active team at the deadline in terms of both buying and selling. Tampa Bay wasn’t afraid to make some moves for players that would be controllable beyond 2025 to help set them up for the future. 

Diaz was a name that was being mentioned at the trade deadline and according to DiComo, the Mets were a team that was interested. That doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, as New York was seeking some help offensively and they were very aggressive as well this past summer. 

With Pete Alonso at first base, the potential pursuit of Diaz would have likely been for him to fill the designated hitter spot. Even though he does have experience at third base, he hasn’t played there a ton of late. 

Adding the slugger certainly would have helped improve the Mets’ lineup, but it was really the starting rotation that ended up needing more help. New York appeared to have a strong trade deadline on paper when it happened, but the team ultimately missed the playoffs. 

As they head into the winter, they will undoubtedly be looking to make some improvements once again. With Alonso’s future with the team uncertain, it will be interesting to see if they circle back to trying to acquire him.