What did the Mets’ comeback win suggest about their trade deadline? Everything

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BALTIMORE — Every July baseball game can feel like a referendum on the team’s trade deadline posture. And when that July baseball game features one team aiming to buy and another likely to sell, it’s hard not to put the pieces together.

In their 7-6 10-inning victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, the New York Mets showcased why they need to add a significant bat, a frontline starter and multiple bullpen pieces. Within the same game, they showed why they don’t require any of those things, given the strength of the players already here.

So, to capture the spirit of a game with as many twists and turns as this one, let’s use a diary format to examine how the Mets should really feel about their roster in the second week of July.

7:58 p.m. — Orioles 1, Mets 0, Bottom 3

How good would Cedric Mullins look in a Mets uniform?

With one out in the third, Mullins walked and moved to second on a groundball to third, his speed preventing Ronny Mauricio from getting the lead runner. That became important a batter later when Jackson Holliday’s single scored Mullins easily for the game’s first run.

The Mets entered Tuesday ranked 24th in baseball in wins above replacement (0.5, according to FanGraphs) and OPS (.613) from their center fielders.

Mullins has 0.7 wins above replacement and a .710 OPS on the season. His defense hasn’t been as stout as usual, which drags that WAR down, but he’s generally solid there and would likely provide more offense than the Mets have been getting from Tyrone Taylor in the bottom half of the order. If the Mets are going to make a meaningful offensive upgrade, center field is probably the spot.

8:18 p.m. — Orioles 1, Mets 0, Bottom 5

How badly do the Mets need more offense?

They were shut out through five innings by Brandon Young, who entered the night with an ERA over seven. Young’s fifth inning, in fact, was immaculate: He struck out Jesse Winker, Jeff McNeil and Luis Torrens on three pitches each.

At this point, the Mets’ offensive resurgence as of late looked like it was interrupted for a night.

Brandon Young strikes out 3 batters on 9 pitches in the 5th inning!

He is the first @Orioles pitcher with an immaculate inning since Kevin Gausman in 2018! pic.twitter.com/uRiJHg180J

— MLB (@MLB) July 9, 2025

8:35 p.m. — Mets 2, Orioles 1, Top 6

Does Ronny Mauricio’s emergence mean the Mets don’t need bats as much?

Mauricio’s sixth-inning homer off Young got the Mets on the board and continued his stretch of solid production against right-handed pitching. Mauricio has started eight of the last nine games against righties, a run likely to continue with Starling Marte now on the IL through the All-Star break.

Mauricio is slashing .277/.347/.508 against righties this season, good for an .855 OPS. That’s third on the Mets, behind only Pete Alonso and Juan Soto.

If Mauricio can consistently be that productive against righties, well then, the Mets don’t need veteran insurance on the infield, and they might not need to make as big a splash at the deadline to acquire, say, Mullins to play center field.

“We’re seeing the quality of the at-bats and the impact,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s just good to see him playing with confidence. He’s feeling good about himself.”

Mauricio came through defensively in this game as well, starting a smooth 5-5-3 double play in the eighth and making a couple of other plays look routine.

“The more he plays, the more comfortable he gets,” Francisco Lindor said.

8:55 p.m. — Orioles 5, Mets 2, Bottom 6

Do the Mets need a starter?

Clay Holmes had cruised through five innings on 71 pitches before the Orioles got to him for four quick runs in the sixth. It started softly, with an 0-2 hit batsman and a pair of singles before Ryan O’Hearn laced a two-run double and Ramón Laureano a two-run single on sliders Holmes wished he had back.

“The first five innings were probably the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Holmes said, mentioning that he had his full repertoire working for the first time in several starts. “The sixth inning, I just threw some bad sliders.”

Going off Tuesday, it’s tempting to say Holmes shouldn’t face an opposing order a third time. After all, that’s when Baltimore pounced. However, entering the game, Holmes had actually been better the third time through an opposing order (.655 OPS) than the second time (.705).

Ultimately, the Mets’ evaluation of their rotation should hinge more on what they see from Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea this month than anyone else.

9 p.m. — Orioles 5, Mets 2, Bottom 6

Should the Mets just acquire the Baltimore bullpen?

When Holmes struggled, the Mets turned to Richard Lovelady and Alex Carrillo — two of the 11 different relievers they’ve called up over the last 21 days. (If you count the guys who have been called up multiple times, New York has made 15 roster moves to add a reliever over those three weeks.)

While the Orioles’ playoff odds dwindle, their bullpen remains strong. And it felt at times Tuesday as if they were auditioning their available relievers for a buyer like such as the Mets. Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez and Andrew Kittredge are all impending free agents who could help a bullpen out. They combined for three scoreless frames Tuesday.

9:32 p.m. — Mets 6, Orioles 6, Top 8

Do you even need a bottom half of the order if this is what the top half can do?

The “Fab Four,” as Steve Cohen referred to them on social media after the game, turned the game around in 15 pitches against Baltimore’s Bryan Baker (coincidentally, the club’s best set-up man coming into the night). Brandon Nimmo started it by fouling off three two-strike pitches before singling up the middle. Lindor homered to right, crediting Nimmo with the scouting report on Baker.

“He gave me the opportunity to see every pitch,” Lindor said. “That was a professional at-bat.”

After Juan Soto singled, Pete Alonso copied Lindor with another two-run homer to right. The four-run outburst tied the score at 6.

“They’ve got the ability to hit it out of the ballpark at any time against anybody,” Mendoza said of the top of his order. “We made some adjustments, and the at-bats got better.”

“When we’re at our best, we make pitchers execute,” Lindor said. “And if they don’t, we execute.”

10:30 p.m. — Mets 7, Orioles 6, Final

Soto comes through 🙌 pic.twitter.com/tkWkwAEdlH

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 9, 2025

Do the Mets need anything?

That scuffling back end of the bullpen? Reed Garrett delivered a scoreless eighth, and Huascar Brazobán earned the save with a 1-2-3 10th to strand the tying runner. (Edwin Díaz was himself in the ninth, retiring the side in order on 10 pitches.)

That offense? It scored seven runs in the last five innings of the game, with rallies delivered by the top and bottom of the order.

No, despite Tuesday’s win — “a hell of a win,” according to Mendoza — the Mets do have needs, and the Orioles remain an intriguing potential partner should they ultimately decide to sell. Mullins looms as one of the bigger acquisitions the Mets could make for their lineup, and Baltimore does possess several players that could boost New York’s bullpen.

Tuesday’s undulations reveal the dangers of extrapolating too much from one inning, from one game, from one isolated stretch of the season. The Mets have three more weeks to make their final decisions.

(Photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)

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