The Mets tore down the roster at the 2023 deadline, trading away stars and major league veterans who were going to be free agents after the season. Several years later, some of the smaller name trades the Mets made at the deadline look to be more notable than two big ones that involved Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Mets prospects Jeremy Rodriguez, Marco Vargas and Ronald Hernandez were all acquired from trading Tommy Pham and David Robertson.
The biggest trade, at the time, was sending Max Scherzer to the Rangers for Luisangel Acuña, who was part of the trade package for Luis Robert Jr. this off-season. The next largest trade was sending Justin Verlander to the Astros for Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford. Drew Gilbert was traded in package of players for Tyler Rogers in the 2025 deadline.
Ryan Clifford is all that remains from the two big trades the Mets made in the 2023 deadline, and he’s back in camp with a non-roster invitation this spring. He’s coming off of a couple of successful seasons. He was previously blocked by Pete Alonso, now he’s blocked by Jorge Polanco on a two-year deal. He is almost ready for the majors, will the Mets have a spot for him?
Clifford was ranked the 86th prospect in baseball this month by Baseball Prospectus, who ranked seven players in the top 101. MLB Pipeline had Clifford as the sixth-best prospect in the Mets system at the end of 2025, with a projection that we’ll see the first basemen / outfielder at some point in 2026 with the Mets.
In 2024 Clifford hit .228/.372/.421 across Brooklyn and Binghamton. His power really popped once he got to Binghamton hitting 18 homers over 99 games with a 133 WRC+, which was third in the Eastern League that season. This continued last season as he slashed .237/.356/.470 across Binghamton and Syracuse, hitting 29 home runs and 23 doubles.
Clifford’s numbers fed into the Pete Alonso debate this off-season. Arguments against signing Pete Alonso to any deal longer than three years centered around the possibility of Ryan Clifford. After Alonso signed with the Orioles, Clifford’s name popped up as a possible solution (with Vientos) before the Mets signed Jorge Polanco. The Polanco contract takes the pressure off of Clifford right now.
That leaves Clifford with a few different paths to the majors, which are all contingent on him playing well in Syracuse this season. Clifford will only see significant playing time at first base in 2026 if there is an injury to Polanco that is significant enough to give Clifford major playing time. This is also contingent on Mark Vientos not working out at first. Clifford could be the starting first basemen for the Mets in 2027 if there is more shifting around the Mets infield. This feels unlikely though because even if the Mets lose Bo Bichette after one season, the Mets still have Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio who all could keep Jorge Polanco at first. The Mets could also be looking all the way to the 2027 trade deadline, trading Polanco with a couple of months left on his deal and starting Clifford’s time in the majors then.
Clifford’s other major path to the majors involves the outfield. When he wasn’t DH’ing, he played in the outfield about 40% of the time in 2025. The Mets prefer Carson Benge for the open right field spot right now, especially since the stop-gap plan seems to be Brett Baty and MJ Melendez. If Clifford gets off to a really hot start in Syracuse he could force himself in this conversation. This path seems less likely though than the infield.
Clifford is a prospect who will be ready to take that next step to the majors either this season or next season. With multiple players blocking his path, it’s difficult to see exactly where he fits in. A strong start in the minors could force his name into the conversation or make him into a trade piece for the July deadline.
