With the trade deadline approaching tomorrow at 6 PM, David Stearns has reportedly been exploring deals to bring a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher or everyday center fielder to Flushing. The expectation is that the Mets would look to acquire a rental to fill one of those needs, such as Dylan Cease or Merrill Kelly on the pitching side and Luis Robert Jr. or Cedric Mullins in the outfield. But if the Mets decide to make a bigger splash than anticipated, there are two high-profile targets on either
side of the ball who could make an impact on the franchise for years to come: Joe Ryan and Steven Kwan.
A 29-year-old right-hander with the Minnesota Twins, Ryan has quietly been establishing himself as one of the top starting pitchers in baseball over the past few seasons. Since 2022, there are only four starters with at least 10.0 K/9 and at most 2.0 BB/9 in 200+ IP: Zack Wheeler, Tarik Skubal, Jacob deGrom, and Joe Ryan. This season, Ryan earned his first All-Star selection, currently holding a 2.82 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 121.0 IP.
Ryan’s bread and butter is his four-seam fastball, a pitch which has propelled him to at least a 93rd-percentile fastball run value in each of the past four seasons despite it never averaging more than 94.0 mph. His fastball’s effectiveness is in part due to his above-average extension and low arm angle, a formula reminiscent of the former Met Wheeler. He also throws the pitch 52.4% of the time, marking the fourth-highest usage of a four-seam fastball among qualified pitchers behind Freddy Peralta, Mitchell Parker, and Kevin Gausman.
Across Ryan’s division, the Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan is a two-time All-Star reminiscent of a bygone era. Kwan’s calling card isn’t his pop, but rather his ability to spray the ball to all fields and his refusal to strike out, boasting the second-best Whiff% and K% in MLB this season among hitters with at least 150 PA. As a left fielder, Kwan has won the Gold Glove Award in each of his first three MLB seasons (2022, 2023, and 2024) and currently holds the best arm value among outfielders in baseball with five Fielder Runs according to Statcast.
As Jon Heyman reported, if the Mets traded for Kwan, they would try to move him or Brandon Nimmo to center field. Despite the 27-year-old’s defensive prowess, his Outs Above Average—a Statcast metric based on range—has been on a noticeable decline, dropping from nine in 2022 to seven in 2023 to five in 2024 and finally to a neutral zero thus far in 2025. With Kwan’s sprint speed also falling from 28.4 ft/sec as a rookie to 26.9 ft/sec this season, a move to center field would seem a questionable route. Nimmo’s OAA and speed aren’t on an upward trend either, with both grading out around league average. If the Mets did acquire Kwan, a more tactical solution might be to move Juan Soto—whose OAA is fourth-worst among all qualified outfielders—into the role of everyday designated hitter, though the Mets’ high-paid star might not be too enthusiastic about losing his spot on the diamond.
Both Ryan and Kwan are under team control through the 2027 season, meaning it would likely take a combination of top prospects (not necessarily their untouchable trio of RHP Jonah Tong, RHP Nolan McLean, and SS/OF Jett Williams) and major league talent (such as Mark Vientos and Jeff McNeil, who the Mets have reportedly been including in trade talks) to get a deal done. Neither the Twins nor Guardians are clearly committed as sellers at the deadline in the first place, as Minnesota currently sits 5.5 games out of an A.L. Wild Card spot, while Cleveland is just 3.5 games out. But both teams have reportedly been hearing offers, with the Twins “listening on everyone,” according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, and the Guardians “trying to move” both Kwan and Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, according to MLB’s Mark Feinsand. Cleveland’s chances of moving Kwan and Bieber increased after closer Emmanuel Clase became the second Guardians reliever placed on paid leave due to a gambling investigation, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
If the Mets go big and part with valuable pieces this deadline, it should be to land one of these two consistent, controllable players. In Ryan, they would get a high-strikeout, low-walk, top-of-the-rotation stalwart for three potential postseason runs. In Kwan, they would get a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, two-time All-Star, top-of-the-order bat through his age-29 season. Mets fans are understandably wary of sacrificing prospects at the trade deadline, but Ryan and Kwan aren’t the typical two-month rentals; wherever they land, they should be among the league’s best for years to come.
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