ORLANDO, Fla. — The winter conferences have began and rumor has it Mickey Mouse has full no-trade safety. Massive, if true.
Baseball’s marquee offseason occasion brings nearly everybody within the sport beneath one roof. Even with the arrival of know-how and distant work, gathering in a single central location nonetheless appears to encourage groups to get offers performed. For the Mets, the wheeling and dealing began a number of weeks in the past, and with two key free brokers, the membership has some holes of their roster to fill.
Listed here are the storylines to observe for the Mets this week in Orlando.
EDWIN DIAZ AND PETE ALONSO
We all know the Mets are pursuing Edwin Diaz, the All-Star nearer, to pair him with right-hander Devin Williams within the bullpen. If they will get Diaz to re-sign for the second time, they’ll have a formidable bullpen that additionally consists of high-leverage left-handers A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley. Diaz is rumored to be in search of a contract much like his final one, which was $102 million over 5 years, with an opt-out after 2025. The 31-year-old opted out to develop into a free agent.
What we don’t know but is how arduous the Mets are working to carry again first baseman Pete Alonso. On the normal supervisor conferences in Las Vegas final month, president of baseball operations David Stearns mentioned he needed to see what Alonso’s market seems to be like, however thus far, one hasn’t materialized.
The doubtless explanation for that’s as a result of the pitching markets are the extra lively ones in the mean time. Final yr, Alonso signed shortly earlier than spring coaching. He’s hoping to keep away from that this time round, however he may need to attend till after Kyle Schwarber indicators to see what his market seems to be like.
STARTING PITCHING
The Mets have mentioned they need an ace, nevertheless it’s not clear what number of can be found this winter. There may not be many. Framber Valdez, who’s scheduled to attend the conferences in individual, is likely one of the few free-agent aces and the Mets have had some curiosity within the left-hander.
A two-time All-Star who retains the ball on the bottom, Valdez helped the Houston Astros win a World Collection in 2022, and AL Pennants in 2018, 2019 and 2021. There’s a query of his character given the incident final yr by which he threw at his personal catcher, however the Mets haven’t been afraid to take probabilities on gamers with questionable clubhouse reputations in latest seasons. They signed Tommy Pham in 2023 and traded for Jose Siri in 2025.
In the case of pitchers accessible by way of trades, it seems as if Detroit Tigers ace and two-time Cy Younger Award winner Tarik Skubal isn’t accessible. The Milwaukee Brewers may make Freddy Peralta accessible, and the Pittsburgh Pirates could have some pitchers accessible, however not Paul Skenes.
SENGA’S SUITORS
Apart from pitching acquisitions, the Mets have approached right-hander Kodai Senga a couple of commerce, however the pitcher has mentioned he would like to stick with the Mets. Senga has been largely disappointing since his rookie season in 2023, spending a lot of the season on the injured record in 2024, and failing to bounce again after a hamstring pressure sidelined him for a number of months in 2025. The outcomes have been so poor the Mets needed to ship him to Triple-A, the place they weren’t any higher.
The Mets are usually not contemplating asking him to maneuver to the bullpen. Senga may be very particular and methodical about his routine and the way he cares for his physique, however between the language and cultural boundaries, the Mets discovered it tough to speak with him at instances. It’s the relative inflexibility that has led the Mets to consider he’s higher as a starter. They wish to give him one of the best probability to succeed, which implies retaining him in a beginning position.
The membership has rising younger pitchers in right-handers Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat. Whereas they’d like to carry on to all three of them, Tong and Sproat may assist them on the commerce market.
OTHER NEEDS
The bullpen wants greater than Diaz, and left subject stays a query mark now that Brandon Nimmo is in Texas. Jeff McNeil is penciled in because the left fielder proper now, however the Mets have mentioned they’d prefer to capitalize on his positional versatility. Or, they may commerce McNeil, who might be 34 subsequent season and has one other yr left on his contract with a membership possibility for 2027.By buying and selling Nimmo, Stearns has made it clear that nobody is secure, apart from gamers like Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.
CROWDED INFIELD
There are too many younger infielders between Triple-A and the Main Leagues, and never sufficient spots for them to play. Marcus Semien, the Mets’ new second baseman acquired within the Nimmo commerce, is obstructing Luisangel Acuña as a right-handed hitter. Stearns mentioned he didn’t see it that manner, however with a ceiling as a proficient defender, he may be the logical candidate to commerce for pitching.
So far as prospects go, Jett Williams stands out as one the Mets may look to commerce. Carson Benge is nearer to creating the Main Leagues than Williams as an outfielder, and there isn’t a spot for Williams to play within the infield as a shortstop and second baseman. Williams, an undersized speedster, was not drafted by Stearns, so the manager may not have a powerful want to maintain him.
However that’s purely speculative at this level.
In spite of everything, the winter conferences are all about hypothesis.
