The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.The tradeMets get: SS Sammy StafuraPirates get: RHP Luke WeaverPirates emphatically address clear need at back end of bullpenMets: A-
Pirates: B+It’s not Mason Miller or Adrian Morejón, but the Pirates probably landed the best reliever that will actually be moved at this trade deadline. A year after sending closer (and hometown kid) David Bednar to the Bronx, the Pirates have summoned Weaver from Queens to save their bullpen. He will bring much-needed stability to the late innings.Weaver, a converted starter who found his footing in the Yankees bullpen, signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets this past offseason. As one of my colleagues wrote in The Athletic’s trade deadline Big Board: “Little of David Stearns’ offseason overhaul of the Mets has worked, and Weaver is the reason this sentence starts with ‘little’ instead of ‘none.’”
Weaver, 32, has a 1.84 ERA and a 0.818 WHIP in 44 innings this season. Those are refreshing numbers for Pirates fans who have spent this summer watching the likes of Gregory Soto, Mason Montgomery and Yohan Ramírez attempt to hold leads late in games. The Pirates’ bullpen ranks 22nd in the majors in ERA (4.34) and 24th in WHIP (1.41). The Pirates traded for Camilo Doval over the weekend and could still use another leverage arm.That Weaver’s addition costs the Pirates Stafura, a well-regarded position-player prospect, will sting. They wouldn’t have parted with him for a rental. But for one-plus years of Weaver, it is worth the cost in prospect capital to reinforce the bullpen with a playoff spot in sight. — Stephen J. NesbittMets keep adding new faces in hopes of rectifying 2026 disasterMets: B
