Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter delivering as rare strength with their Mets tenures nearing likely end

MILWAUKEE — Brooks Raley counted down the minutes to the trade deadline in the visitors clubhouse in Kansas City three years ago, half expecting a call into the manager’s office to tell him he had been traded by the Mets. That call never occurred.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.This time, the veteran lefty reliever, in the final year of his contract for a sputtering team, understands it makes more sense that he will be a former Mets pitcher by Aug.

3. Raley’s lefty cohort in the bullpen, A.J.Minter — who is also a free agent after this season — holds the same mindset: his days with the Mets are likely numbered. “This isn’t the ideal situation for the Mets and what we wanted to do here,” Raley said Tuesday at American Family Field.

“But it’s also the reality of what’s to come.” Together, Raley and Minter have given the Mets a top one-two combination from the left side in a bullpen that serves as a team strength. Raley, 38, entered the day with a 2.02 ERA in 40 appearances this season.He first arrived to the Mets in a trade with the Rays before the 2023 season and then re-signed with the club last year while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Minter, 32, began play with a 1.80 ERA in 20 appearances this season.

He signed a two-year contract worth $22 million with the club before last season, but was lost in April to a torn lat.He returned this season in May and has found success with a fastball that has averaged 92.9 mph — a drop from 94.5 mph last year. Minter, a former Braves reliever, noted this is the first time he’s been part of a trade deadline for a team that is selling. “I am going to keep doing my best until they tell me to go somewhere else,” Minter said.

“Just keep going out there and performing for this team and go out there and win and see what happens.”  Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Pum...