It bears repeating that the MLB offseason continues to be in its early levels, the Mets are removed from a completed product, and there are many strikes to be made by president of baseball operations David Stearns.
That was true after Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso signed elsewhere this week, and it stays the case now.
However what’s much less clear is the place the Mets go from right here in a market the place most of the high obtainable gamers aren’t precisely apparent matches.
“I’m very optimistic about where our offseason is headed,” Stearns mentioned Tuesday, in between the exits of Diaz and Alonso. “We’ve got, certainly, work to do, but there are a lot of good players out there and I am confident that we’re really going to like where our team is once we get to Opening Day.”
Because it stands now, the Mets have holes at first base, left subject and heart subject.
They lack right-handed safety behind the lefty-swinging Juan Soto after the lack of Alonso, who signed a five-year, $155 million cope with the Baltimore Orioles.
And the Mets are nonetheless searching for the kind of No. 1 starter that eluded them final season.
Stearns recognized run prevention — the amalgam of pitching and protection — because the Mets’ precedence. However they’ve greater than 60 dwelling runs and 200 RBI to account for with out Alonso (38 homers, 126 RBI) and Brandon Nimmo (25 homers, 92 RBI), whom they traded to the Texas Rangers.
Behind deep-pocketed proprietor Steve Cohen, the Mets have the flexibility to spend on any free agent. And as evidenced by the Nimmo deal, which introduced again Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien, Stearns is keen to commerce gamers from the major-league roster to fill wants.
So who’re the Mets’ choices?
Kyle Tucker is the highest free agent and maybe the one one who may come near changing Alonso’s prodigious manufacturing.
However Tucker, a four-time All-Star, has performed completely proper subject since 2022, and the Mets have already got Soto there.
The lefty-hitting Tucker is anticipated to exceed a contract price $400 million over 10+ years. Signing him would imply a $90+ million annual dedication to 2 nook outfielders in Soto and Tucker.
And Tucker, who turns 29 subsequent month, has declined defensively in latest seasons. He, like Soto, might be destined for DH obligation sooner or later within the coming years.
Maybe a greater match is San Diego Padres proper fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who’s getting into his age 27 season and athletic sufficient to maneuver to left subject.
On this market, Tatis is discount with 9 years, $268 million left on his contract, and he bats right-handed, which might complement Soto.
However Padres common supervisor A.J. Preller shot down commerce hypothesis, saying San Diego intends to maintain Tatis even because the Seidler household explores promoting the workforce.
“If you want to say that’s untouchable, you can say that,” Preller mentioned this week.
That leaves Cody Bellinger, whose stellar outfield protection and skill to play first base make him a match for the Mets’ run-prevention mission.
However Bellinger has quite a few suitors, together with the incumbent Yankees, whose stadium is tailored for the 30-year-old’s left-handed swing.
Bellinger, who simply hit 29 homers with 97 RBI, could be an improve over Nimmo. However the Mets would nonetheless want so as to add one other right-handed bat, until they plan to guard Soto with Marcus Semien, 35, who batted .230 with a .669 OPS final season in his second consecutive yr of offensive decline.
The highest remaining free-agent first baseman is Ryan O’Hearn, one other lefty batter who graded above common defensively final season with the Orioles and Padres.
O’Hearn additionally hit .281 with 17 homers as a first-time All-Star, however he turns 33 in July.
Righty-swinging choices embrace Paul Goldschmidt, 38, who’s a free agent, and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras, 33, who’s a commerce candidate.
Whereas O’Hearn, Goldschmidt and Contreras would all be defensive upgrades and comparatively cost-effective, none is near the hitter that Alonso is – and all three are older than him.
There’s seemingly no one-for-one substitute for Alonso’s bat. Upgrading a number of positions — be it on offense, protection or each — may make the Mets a extra well-rounded membership.
One space with loads of room to enhance is the rotation, as Mets starters averaged simply 4.9 innings per begin final season and pitched to a 5.27 ERA from June 13 on.
An innings-eating ace would take strain off the remainder of the rotation and the bullpen, too, however the Mets have been reluctant to make long-term commitments to beginning pitchers since Stearns took over — a philosophy that adopted him from Milwaukee.
Dylan Stop set the market with a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, and 32-year-old Framber Valdez seems poised for a prolonged contract, too.
The subsequent tier of free-agent starters consists of Michael King, who’s brimming with upside however has handled accidents, together with a thoracic nerve subject in his proper shoulder in 2025.
Whereas buying and selling for back-to-back AL Cy Younger winner Tarik Skubal — whom Detroit president of baseball operations Scott Harris indicated isn’t untouchable — would instantly rework the Mets, it might price an incredible prospect haul.
And Skubal, a Scott Boras consumer, is due without cost company subsequent winter and may command a historic contract.
Then there’s the bullpen, the place the Mets have changed Diaz with Devin Williams at nearer.
Williams, a two-time NL Reliever of the 12 months with Milwaukee, posted a career-high 4.79 ERA with the Yankees final season, however underlying metrics present hope for a bounce-back.
However even when Williams returns to elite kind, his signing would mark a lateral transfer, as Diaz was arguably baseball’s greatest nearer in 2025.
The remainder of the bullpen stays a piece in progress, too, with left-handers A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley the one different clear contributors beneath contract.
The Mets missed out on All-Star right-hander Robert Suarez — who reached a three-year, $45 million contract with the Atlanta Braves — and will now want to buy within the Pete Fairbanks/Luke Weaver/Tyler Rogers vary to fill out their bullpen.
Once more, there are greater than three months remaining earlier than Opening Day, and the Mets will look a lot completely different by then.
However would an offseason wherein they misplaced Alonso, Diaz and Nimmo however added Semien, Williams and, say, Bellinger, King, Contreras and Fairbanks give the Mets a greater likelihood to compete in 2026 after this yr’s 83-79 end?
That’s as much as Stearns to resolve.
“Our resources that we have here are an enormous advantage,” Stearns mentioned, referring to Cohen’s willingness to spend. “As long as we allocate those resources intelligently, they’re going to continue to be an enormous advantage.”
