Mets' collapse could open intriguing trade possibilities for the Cubs

The 2026 season is barely a month old, but it's never too early to look toward the trade deadline for reinforcements. The Chicago Cubs, who have surged to the top of the NL Central via a nine-game winning streak, are particularly well-suited to be buyers once the beginning of the second half rolls around.

We've already discussed how Jefferson Rojas is a frequently mentioned trade candidate if the Cubs do find themselves in blockbuster discussions. Let's shift our focus to the sellers, particularly one of the league's most talent-rich yet disappointing teams: the New York Mets.

Jonah Tong is touted as their most likely trade candidate (per David Schoenfield of ESPN), but don't get your hopes up. The Mets are only trading him if they get their season back into win-now now territory, and the deal just wouldn't line up for the Cubs, since they'd have to trade some of their best MLB pieces to pry Tong out of New York.

However, it's the other candidates that Schoenfield mentions that should be of particular interest to the North Siders. Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes have been two of the Mets' best starters this year, and both are slated to hit free agency following the season (assuming Holmes declines his player option).

Either would serve as a game-changing rental and a tidy replacement for Cade Horton in the Cubs' rotation... if Jed Hoyer and company can work their magic on David Stearns.

Clay Holmes or Freddy Peralta would represent the trade deadline blockbuster the Cubs failed to engineer in 2025

Now, there's no guarantee that the Mets will become sellers. They finally broke free of their 12-game losing streak with back-to-back victories over the Twins, and their roster was rebuilt from the ground up over the offseason to compete this year.

Still, they sit toward the bottom of the National League standings, and the LOLMets brigade is out in full force earlier than their usual June swoon. Their star newcomers (Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, etc.) just haven't jelled with the established core of stars in Queens. They may need to save face and build around Tong and Nolan McLean if things keep going south.

The Cubs shouldn't need to approach the trade deadline with a desperate attitude. The resurrection of Shota Imanaga, combined with the emergence of Edward Cabrera, has given them a star duo to build around. Likewise, Colin Rea and Javier Assad have been brilliant as injury fill-ins this year, and Justin Steele should return at some point soon.

Then again, we saw how the failure of last year's trade deadline sunk this team in October. You can never have too much good starting pitching. As the Cubs know firsthand, Peralta fits that bill. Holmes, with his 2.10 ERA and history of handling high-leverage situations out of the bullpen, does as well.

Acquiring either would be the kind of mid-season lift a contending team can rally behind. To get to that point, we all need to put our heads together and root for a continued Mets collapse.

Though, in truth, that may happen without our help anyway.

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