Mets Trade A.J. Minter to Twins for Prospects Bruin Agbayani, Billy Amick as Deadline Selloff Begins

The Mets kicked off their trade deadline selloff Thursday night, sending left-handed reliever A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for infield prospects Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick. The deal, first reported by SNY’s Chelsea Janes, marks New York’s first move of what’s expected to be a busy week before Monday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline.

New York enters the deadline buried in last place in the NL East at 38-53, with playoff odds that have all but evaporated. Rather than pretend otherwise, president of baseball operations David Stearns is now making the calls scouts expected weeks ago — moving impending free agents for young talent that can help the roster in 2027 and beyond. Minter, who can become a free agent this winter, was one of the more obvious trade chips on the roster given his contract situation and the Mets’ lack of incentive to keep him past August.

Why Minter Was the First Domino to Fall

Minter signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets in January 2025 after eight seasons in Atlanta, but the marriage was defined almost entirely by injury. A torn left lat ended his first season in Queens after just 13 appearances, and he didn’t return to a big-league mound in 2026 until late May. Once healthy, though, he was arguably the best version of himself in years — a 1.42 ERA with 17 strikeouts across 19 innings this season, and reports of a sub-1.00 WHIP during stretches of his return. For a rebuilding club, a hot but pending free-agent reliever is exactly the type of asset you flip rather than risk losing for nothing in free agency.

The return brings the Mets two projectable infielders rather than immediate big-league help, which tells you plainly what New York’s priorities are right now. Amick, 23, was Minnesota’s second-round pick in 2024 out of Tennessee and has swatted 23 home runs at Double-A Wichita this season, hitting .217/.338/.482 while logging time at both first and third base. Agbayani, 19, was a sixth-round pick in 2025 and carries one of the more sentimental storylines of deadline week — he’s the son of Benny Agbayani, the outfielder who became a folk hero in Queens for his walk-off heroics during the Mets’ 2000 pennant run. The younger Agbayani has split time at second, third and shortstop in his first full pro season and was ranked as Minnesota’s No. 29 prospect before the trade.

What It Means for the Betting Markets

This trade is unlikely to be the last domino, and that matters for anyone tracking Mets futures markets. New York was already priced as a near lock to miss the postseason before the deal, and continuing to subtract from the big-league bullpen only reinforces books treating this season as effectively over in Queens — expect any lingering Mets postseason futures to keep drifting toward the bottom of the board as more names get moved out over the next few days.

On the other side, the Twins sit right in the thick of the American League Wild Card race, a game and a half back with a roster that’s been buying rather than selling. Adding a proven, high-leverage left-handed arm like Minter — even a rental — is the kind of marginal upgrade that can tighten a bullpen for a stretch run, and it’s worth watching whether Minnesota’s Wild Card and division futures see any positive movement in response. Bullpen depth is often undervalued by bettors relative to its actual impact on close, late-inning games, and a lefty who’s been this dominant since returning from injury slots directly into high-leverage spots that show up disproportionately in tight, bettor-relevant contests down the stretch.

For Mets fans, the more relevant number going forward isn’t Minter’s ERA — it’s how many more veterans follow him out the door before Monday’s deadline. With reports suggesting more trades are on the way, this is a story that should keep developing, and each subsequent move will add more context to just how aggressively New York is retooling for 2027.