Sometimes things just slip out of your mouth that you immediately regret. And that was the case for Keith Hernandez on Tuesday night. 

While discussing the new-look, post-trade deadline Mets’ roster before a win over the Guardians, the longtime analyst referred to the players the team traded as “garbage.” 

“They definitely shuffled,” Hernandez said on the broadcast. “They brought in the truck and took out all the garbage. This is a turnaround for the club. It’s a new phase of this Mets season and future. Obviously Plan A didn’t work out … you’ve got a lot of young players here, it’s a look to the future.”

Once the game started, a 6-2 Mets victory, Hernandez apologized for his comments. 

“In that open I said, ‘got out the garbage.’ That’s a poor choice of words, folks,” Hernandez admitted.

“I don’t want these guys beating me up. They got rid of some very, very good players. I can’t believe that word came out of my mouth, so my apologies.”

In a sell-off amid their disastrous season, the Mets traded away nine players before Monday’s trade deadline – including seven pitchers. 

After trading long-time starter/long reliever David Peterson to the Cubs in late June, the Mets dealt another starter in Freddy Peralta to the Rays on Sunday for a trio of prospects. 

The Mets also traded Clay Holmes, their most reliable starter before injury in 2026, to the Cubs for top-100 prospect Jefferson Rojas. 

Aside from a remade starting rotation, Mets president David Stearns also revamped the team’s bullpen, dealing away four relievers in Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazoban. 

Freddy Peralta of the New York Mets throws a pitch during the third inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on July 26, 2026, in New York City. (Getty Images) Getty Images

While all four had been rumored in trade talks for over a month, it wasn’t a certainty Weaver and Brazoban would be traded. 

Stearns didn’t tinker with the offense much, but traded depth outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the Cubs in the Holmes deal.

Though the Mets bullpen and rotation will look quite different in the final two months of 2026, their lineup will likely stay similar to what it’s been all season.