In his most recent column, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reiterated that the Pittsburgh Pirates are open to trading their competitive-balance round pick for the upcoming draft. This is the 34th overall pick in the draft.

The easy answer to whether or not the Mets should trade for that pick is easy – yes. A million times yes.

So why should they trade for it and what would it cost?

Mets Draft Picks

Currently the Mets have no second or fourth round pick because they signed Bo Bichette who has the qualifying offer. On top of that their first pick was pushed back ten spots to pick 27. Their next pick is not until pick 92 in the third round. The 34th pick can still find you first round value and the gap between that value and the typical players around pick 92 is massive.

Some standout names that were taken with the 34th pick in the last 20 years include

If we expand to include picks 35-40 you get

As you can see, there can be a lot of value to have at this spot in the draft.

More Bonus Pool Money

This pick comes with $2,897,400 attached to it in spending room for the draft. The Mets current pool amount is $6,730,900 so this would increase their spending limit to $9,628,300. This would increase their bonus pool by 43.05%. That opens up many new possibilities for how they can draft.

We previously broke down the different strategies the Mets can utilize here. Adding this comp pick can completely change their strategy. They can go all in on their first pick if a player falls to them without tanking the rest of their draft. They can go harder on high school picks that will require a higher signing bonus. They can make high risk moved while maintaining a strong floor in their draft. Adding this money would be a major win for the Mets.

What Would it Cost?

Some examples of past drafts including Competitive Balance Round A picks:

  • The Guardians acquired three and a half years of Patrick Bailey for the 29th pick in the 2026 draft and left-handed pitcher Matt Wilkinson
  • Orioles acquired three years of Shane Baz for 33rd pick in the draft and four lower level prospects
  • The Brewers acquired six years of Quinn Priester for the 33rd pick in the draft and outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez, and at the time a player to be named later
  • The Rays acquired three and a half Bryan Baker for the 37th pick the draft

The Bryan Baker trade may be the best comparison to use because that one took place on July 10, just days before the draft. At the time Baker had a 3.52 ERA across 38.1 innings pitched and to that point had pitched a total of 176.1 innings with the Orioles across four seasons to a 3.73 ERA. Baker is now the Rays closer.

The Pirates need bullpen help. They will likely target a left-handed leverage reliever and also want someone with control.

Maybe a trade that could work would be impending free agent Brooks Raley and reliever Huascar Brazoban, who has three years of control.

This is a trade the Mets should make.