The New York Mets ended up being the biggest sellers at the MLB trade deadline, with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer highlighting the multitude of departures from the team by August 1st. While general manager Billy Eppler said recently that they would not do a fire sale after moving Scherzer, their actions were the exact opposite.

Now after a flurry of trade deadline moves, Eppler opened up about their decision dismantle the roster and enter a full rebuild.

“You have to go through a little pain to get where we want to go. … Our organization is making strides for a better future,” Eppler said, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

The Mets endured quite the pain on Tuesday afternoon for sure. After sending Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers in the build-up of the deadline, they then traded Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros. Making things worse for them, they could be in the hook for $54 million to pay Verlander as a result of the deal.

Among other moves at the deadline, the Mets moved outfielder Tommy Pham to the Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as reliever Dominic Leone to the Los Angeles Angels.

While Billy Eppler seems to be providing hope for the Mets, the issue is it doesn't seem like they will be able to contend real soon. As Scherzer revealed recently, he was apparently told that the franchise will instead focus on building for 2025 and 2026. It basically ruled out the possibility of the team making a run for Shohei Ohtani when the Angels star  enters free agency in 2024.

“I asked kind of what's going on, and [Eppler's] answer was he's now shifting vision and they're looking to compete now for 2025 and 2026 — 2024, it was not going to be a reload situation in New York,” Scherzer revealed while speaking about his trade to the Rangers.

It's hard to assess the direction that the Mets are heading to after their decision to blow up the roster. Hopefully, though, the New York faithful will be able to see some glimmer of hope from the team when they start tinkering the roster again in the offseason.