LAS VEGAS — The theme of the Mets offseason is run prevention, which is basically only a fancy phrase for protection. For a staff with some nice particular person defenders, the Mets performed some mind-boggling unhealthy protection at instances in 2025.
Sure, there have been nice performs made and video games that had been saved by excellent defensive efforts, however the little issues the Mets didn’t do resulted within the Mets giving up a median of 4.41 runs per recreation. As a staff, the Mets had a complete fielding run worth of -6, and completed the season with -13 outs above common. In 2024, the Mets had 6 outs above common over the course of the common season.
The underside line: Each participant on the roster has to enhance their talents to area their positions cleanly. That is the message from president of baseball operations David Stearns.
“We’re going to need our current group of players to play better defense,” Stearns mentioned in Las Vegas this week on the MLB Common Supervisor conferences. “The brand of baseball — the brand of defense — that we played over the last two months of the season wasn’t close to good enough. It has to get better.”
The query now turns into, how can the Mets get higher? How can a staff filled with veterans get to a spot the place they’ll restrict the elemental miscues and psychological errors that permit their opponents to take additional outs and create additional runs?
“I think the first thing is the recognition that it’s just as important as offense,” Stearns mentioned.
Stearns sees an over-reliance on offensive manufacturing. You possibly can’t win video games for those who don’t rating runs, and also you gained’t keep within the lineup for those who’re not serving to the staff rating runs. Stearns doesn’t see this as a Mets-specific concern, reasonably a league-wide line of pondering.
“This is not just the Mets, it’s everywhere because offense is so much easier to see,” Stearns mentioned. “Scoring runs is so much easier to see, in some ways, and easier to measure, than preventing runs, especially defensively, that we focus so much of our training time and our efforts and our energy on, how can I get better offensively? How can I get the most out of myself on any given day from an offensive production standpoint? At times, we forget about the other side of the ball.”
Too typically final season, supervisor Carlos Mendoza lamented the state of the Mets’ protection. A former infielder and infield coach, the skipper was clearly annoyed by the top of the season. The outfielders weren’t chopping down runners, the infielders had been bobbling routine grounders, the catchers had been shedding observe of the play and the pitchers weren’t backing up performs.
These had been issues they practiced and drilled, not simply in spring coaching, however deep into the season.
When it comes to metrics, Francisco Lindor had one of many worst seasons of his profession. Accidents doubtless performed a job. Regardless of the shortstop’s insistence that the damaged pinky toe suffered in early June wasn’t a hindrance in any manner, Stearns thinks it affected his lateral motion, which might clarify the -5 OAA transferring laterally towards the third-base aspect. Late within the season, it was elbow discomfort he struggled via.
Lindor not too long ago had a cleanout process and is anticipated to be prepared by spring coaching.
“I think when you combine those, and you’re playing every single day at the major league shortstop, it’s going to cause you to probably not make a couple of plays that you normally would make,” Stearns mentioned.
Tyrone Taylor continues to be penciled into heart area, regardless of the provision of free agent heart fielder Cody Bellinger, who possesses a far superior bat. However Taylor is a plus-defender and offered insurance coverage for Juan Soto in proper area. Soto didn’t thoughts that Taylor took balls away from him in right-center area at instances, principally marveling at his skill to trace powerful fly balls and correctly time diving catches.
Nevertheless, Soto’s protection was an issue final yr. Brandon Nimmo didn’t present the identical protection in left area the Mets have turn into accustomed to. Stearns made no excuses for 2 of the staff’s cornerstone gamers, and he’s assured they’ll have higher seasons in 2026.
That confidence comes from their willingness to be coached, their previous performances and a brand new teaching employees. Stearns known as Kai Correa, the membership’s new bench coach, “one of the best defensive coaching minds in the game.”
The Mets nonetheless worth positional flexibility, and Stearns doesn’t need to sacrifice any versatility. This implies Jeff McNeil may play as a lot heart area as he did final season, and Brett Baty will doubtless play extra third base than second. The beginning rotation is heavy on ground-ball pitchers, however the swing-and-miss arms like Nolan McLean are on their manner.
Offseason plans can change after the GM supervisor conferences when executives get a really feel for the expertise obtainable and determine league tendencies. For the Mets, nothing has modified. The precedence continues to be protection.
“Step 1 is ensuring that we all understand how important the other side of the ball is,” Stearns mentioned. “Step 2, I think we’re very excited about the coaching staff we’re putting together to help our players get better defensively.”
