The Pittsburgh Pirates have started the season off strong. They are also 6-3 in the month of May. Hopefully, they’re competitive throughout the summer and bolster the roster via trades. While the trade market is usually barren until late June, there is one team that may become a seller much earlier than that. According to MLB analyst Bruce Levine, the New York Mets could start selling off major pieces, like offseason trade acquisition Freddy Peralta, as soon as the start of June if they don’t put things back on track. Although the Pirates may not need to go after a big fish like Peralta, the Mets still have some other interesting players worth noting that the Pirates should trade for. Here are two Pirates-Mets mock trades that could help both clubs.
Two Pirates-Mets Mock Trades Worth Pondering
Mock Trade #1:
Pirates Acquire: 1B/3B Mark Vientos
Mets Acquire: INF Yordany De Los Santos
Mark Vientos looked like he was becoming one of the best slugging third basemen in the league in 2024. He hit 27 home runs in just 454 plate appearances and put up a 133 wRC+. However, since then, he has produced roughly league-average results. He is hitting just .233/.287/.415 with a .304 wOBA and 97 wRC+ since the start of the 2025 campaign. Vientos has only hit 22 home runs over his last 575 plate appearances. It also doesn’t help that he has -25 defensive runs saved and -15 outs above average at third base throughout his career.
However, Vientos has some promising underlying numbers this year. He is currently carrying a .348 xwOBA and .510 xSLG%. Both would be career-best marks for him. His xwOBA on contact (xwOBACON) comes in at .431, nearly the same as his .446 mark from 2024. His bat speed sat at just 71.2 MPH in 2025 (36th percentile) and has climbed to 73.1 MPH (64th percentile). He is also hitting an ideal launch angle 38% of the time (80th percentile). He has never been above 35% in his career in the launch angle sweet spot rate.
Mark Vientos’ 5th home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/DrKr979dzW
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 9, 2026
Heading back to Queens in the first of these Pirates-Mets mock trades would be Yordany De Los Santos. He is a high-ceiling prospect in the Pirates’ system. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in the 2021-2022 offseason, De Los Santos ranked as one of the best international prospects in his class. Although the young infielder lit up low-level pitching, he has struggled against A-Ball hurlers. He has spent the last three seasons bouncing between the Florida Complex League and Bradenton; however, he finally got a shot at High-A Greensboro this year.
Although De Los Santos missed a few weeks with an injury, the results have been promising to start the 2026 season. He already has 11 hits, including four home runs, over his first 42 plate appearances of the year. His 23.8% K% and 7.1% BB% do not stand out on paper. However, his contact rate hovers around 70%, an improvement from the 67.4% he posted in 464 plate appearances in 2025.
While De Los Santos has some risk with his hit tool, he is above-average or better in multiple other facets of the game. The infielder has shown above-average power potential. Plus, De Los Santos is a switch-hitter. He is also a good runner with enough range to play an up-the-middle position. Most of his playing time in his pro career has come at shortstop, but he has plenty of experience at both second and third base.
Mock Trade #2:
Pirates Acquire: LHP Brooks Raley (Reliever)
Mets Acquire: INF Jack Brannigan
Brooks Raley has become one of baseball’s more underrated left-handed relievers since his 2022 breakout. After returning from Tommy John surgery in 2025, Raley picked up right where he left off, tossing a strong 25.1 innings to end the year. He hasn’t skipped a beat in 2026, allowing just two earned runs over 15 innings of work. In that time, only one ball has left the park, and Raley has struck out 31.6% of batters with a solid 8.8% walk rate.
Raley is on the older side, as this is his age-37 campaign. However, despite his age and 2024 Tommy John surgery, his stuff has not diminished. The veteran left-hander has a 110 FanGraphs Stuff+ mark. Raley is not a long-term commitment either, as he is a free agent at the end of this year. He is set to make $6.5 million in total in 2026. Given that the Mets will likely look to move short-term commitments, Raley should be on the radar as a Pirates trade target.
Rumor: The Pirates are “kicking the tires” on a trade for Mets setup man Brooks Raley.
The 37 year old left-hander is in the final year of his deal.
Right-handed hitters are batting only .205 with a .560 OPS off Raley.
Nothing imminent. But there is due diligence. pic.twitter.com/RQQOhlw9eU
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) May 11, 2026
Pittsburgh would send near-MLB-ready outfielder Jack Brannigan to New York in the second of these Pirates-Mets mock trades. Brannigan is rebounding at Double-A Altoona after missing a large portion of 2025 due to injuries. He is slashing .242/.324/.495 with six home runs over 111 plate appearances. Brannigan has a respectable 9% walk rate, leading to a wOBA and wRC+ of .359 and 107, respectively. He has spent all his time in the field at shortstop, but has plenty of experience at both second and third base.
Brannigan is a quality defender at all three of the infield positions he plays. There’s no question his arm is strong enough to play on the left side of the infield. He was drafted as a two-way player out of Notre Dame and hit upper-90s off the mound. His above-average speed gives him some range up the middle. Brannigan also has pop, posting an isolated slugging percentage around .250 in both 2023 and 2024. However, his hit tool is the biggest question mark regarding Brannigan’s profile. Since reaching Double-A, he has struck out 28.6% of the time. His contact rate this year is just 64.9%. The Pirates added Brannigan to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
