The Atlanta Braves are not expected to be trade deadline buyers, but over the past several weeks they have added to their bullpen. Specifically, Alex Anthopoulos is aiming to add players who could help the team win in 2026. For example, Atlanta traded for Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Tyler Kinley on Wednesday. Kinley has a club option for 2026, which the Braves can use if he pitches better away from Coors Field. The Braves have been calculated with their decisions so far, in part because they can afford to be. The Mets aren’t in the same position.

New York is leading the NL East and thus feels the pressure to win now. They signed Juan Soto to a $765 million contract just this past winter. Steve Cohen is the richest owner in baseball, and hired David Stearns in part to build an organization which rivals the Dodgers. In order to do that, Stearns has to be willing to trade away prospect capital for players he believes in. The Mets traded for San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers on Wednesday, and paid a hefty price for his services.

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Why the Mets traded for Tyler Rogers

Here is what FanSided’s Zach Rotman had to say about the trade:

“The Mets were linked to just about every high-end reliever that’s known to be available, so it should come as no surprise to see Stearns zag and acquire a reliever nobody linked them to,” Rotman wrote. “Rogers doesn’t throw as hard as guys like Ryan Helsley or Jhoan Duran, but he’s been a high-end bullpen arm for a half decade now. He’s an ideal addition to a bullpen that badly needed a set-up man for Edwin Diaz.”

The Mets traded right-hander José Butto, outfield prospect Drew Gilbert and right-handed pitching prospect Blade Tidwell to the Giants in exchange for Rogers. Butto has a sub-4 ERA in the majors already. Gilbert and Tidwell are both top-15 prospects in the Mets system.

Mets just did the Braves a huge favor in Tyler Rogers trade

While Rogers is exceptionally talented out of the ‘pen, he is also in a walk year, meaning their is no guarantee the Mets will keep him past this season.

By setting the market price for top bullpen talent, the Mets also did the Braves a huge favor, as they have a number of bullpen pieces they could potentially trade to contenders. Raisel Iglesias, for one, is expected to be dealt by Thursday afternoon. Iglesias hasn’t been great for the Braves this season, but he’s a former All-Star and closer who has electric stuff. While he won’t land Atlanta the same prospect capital Rogers did San Francisco, their asking price just went up.

Anthopoulos has no doubt taken note of this. Iglesias ought to be traded within the next 24 hours, and thanks to the Mets the Braves can rebuild their farm system on the fly.