Copyright yardbarker
The New York Mets are a franchise that perpetually exists on a roller coaster. All franchises have their ups and downs, but for the Mets, they seem to race through those peaks and valleys, as they have become very unpredictable over the past few years. In 2022, the Mets won 101 games behind NL Manager of the Year, Buck Showalter. In 2023, the Mets traded Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as part of a stunning fire-sale, and Showalter was out as the manager after just two seasons. President of Baseball Operations David Stearns entered the picture ahead of the 2024 season and immediately went to work on piecemealing a roster that was in bad shape after the mid-season teardown. The Mets got off to a slow start, found a winning combination once the calendar turned to June, riding an incredible surge of momentum into Game 6 of the NLCS. Expectations were sky-high for 2025, as the Mets gave the Dodgers a run for their money in October, then stole Juan Soto from the Yankees in free agency. The Mets opened the season with the best record in baseball through the first 60 games, before the rug was pulled out from under them in the middle of June. Come Game 162, the Mets were in a fight for their playoff lives, needing to beat the Marlins and for the Reds to lose to make the playoffs. The Reds did lose, but so did the Mets. Falling to their division rival, who celebrated the spoiler feat as if they had won a playoff series. When a team loses in that fashion, heads are going to roll. For the Mets, they chose the heads of basically everyone on their MLB coaching staff except manager Carlos Mendoza. The Mets hope some new voices will help, but at the end of the day, roster construction is everything. If you check with the fan base right now, Mets fans wouldn’t mind a similar overhaul to the roster as they got with the coaching staff. Really, though, the Mets are not as far away from a winner as some fans might think. With a few select moves, the Mets could have everything they need to make the postseason again, and make a deep run once they get there. They still have Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, top prospect Nolan McLean is going to be a betting favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year, and there is plenty more help on the way in the Mets’ burgeoning farm system. There are boxes the Mets need to check off this offseason to have a roster that is ready to compete atop the National League again in 2026. Let’s dive into what the Mets need to accomplish this winter. 1. Re-Sign or Replace Pete Alonso The New York Mets are not the Moneyball A’s, who need to recreate Pete Alonso in the aggregate. This is a team that consistently runs a $350 million payroll, which is due to take care of their own as he takes his second crack at free agency. Last time around, a market never materialized for Alonso, which led him to sign a two-year, $54 million contract with an opt-out after the first season. Alonso made the most of his pillow contract and is now declining the $24 million player option to look for his long-term deal. There are a couple of factors that prevented Alonso from getting such a contract last winter that no longer exist this time around. For one, Alonso no longer is saddled with the qualifying offer, something that does keep some teams from pursuing top free agents. Teams also knew Alonso was approaching a milestone with the Mets, as he was on the verge of breaking their franchise home run record. Pair the QO with Alonso’s unfinished business in New York, and then add in a bit of a down-year in 2024, and it is understandable that he didn’t get any long-term offers. This time around, Alonso is coming off a much better season, with all of his batted ball data pointing up instead of down, as Alonso proved he can still be one of the best overall hitters in the game. There were six hitters in baseball who finished the 2025 season with 80 extra-base hits. Shohei Ohtani led the pack with 89, then came Aaron Judge (85), Cal Raleigh (84) and Kyle Schwarber (81). Finally you had Alonso and Corbin Carroll both get exactly 80. That list very well could include the top two MVP finishers in each league. Meanwhile, Alonso won’t even get the most MVP votes on his team, but he was every bit as valuable as Soto to the New York Mets lineup in 2025. When Soto was struggling to find his clutch gene in his first year in blue and orange, Alonso came through time and again. With the Mets on the verge of elimination in Game 161, Alonso rifled an RBI double in the first inning, then hit a solo homer in the third. The Mets carried that momentum to a 5-0 victory. Two weeks prior, the Mets season felt like it was hanging by a thread when they were in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, which Alonso snapped by hitting a three-run walk-off homer in extra innings. I understand the inclination to change up the roster after a down season, but getting rid of your best clutch hitter and run-producer might not be the way to do it. Pete Alonso should be the Mets’ top priority this offseason, because replacing him is going to be a very difficult task. Free Agent Targets: Josh Naylor, Munetaka Murakami, Alex Bregman First, let’s address the elephant in the room: Alex Bregman is not a first baseman. He is, however, an excellent defensive third baseman and a star who could fill Alonso’s void, while being a leader in ways that maybe Alonso cannot. The Mets want to get better defensively, and shedding Alonso’s glove at first while picking up Bregman’s at third could improve their run prevention. They would still need to find a first baseman, but considering how well Brett Baty transitioned from third base to second base, first base might not be too tough a task for him. Mark Vientos has played some first base in the past, and top prospect Ryan Clifford is waiting in Triple-A. Swapping Bregman for Alonso would be about changing the fabric of the team, but it would leave the Mets without another 40-HR bat in the middle of their lineup. More traditional free agent replacements at first base include Josh Naylor, who will be considered the second-best first baseman in this free agent class, and Munetaka Murakami, a 25-year-old Japanese slugger who is expected to be posted in international free agency. Trade Targets: Yandy Diaz, Willson Contreras If the Mets decided to replace Alonso on the trade market, Yandy Diaz and Willson Contreras stand out as players who could be on the block. There is also a world in which the Mets pursue Contreras or Diaz, in addition to bringing Alonso back, as they could have room at DH if they trade Mark Vientos (more on that later). 2. Re-Sign or Replace Edwin Diaz For everything we said about Pete Alonso, the Mets find themselves in a very similar position with Edwin Diaz. With an opt-out looming in his contract, Diaz turned in his best season since 2022, his last time playing in a contract year. Diaz pitched to a 1.63 ERA, with a 0.87 WHIP and 98 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings pitched. It was his second year in a row striking out 38% of the batters he faced, as Diaz remains one of the best closers in baseball. Last time Diaz was due to enter free agency, he never actually made it to the open market, re-signing with the Mets in their five-day window to negotiate following the 2022 World Series. Maybe the Mets can come to terms with Diaz early again this year. If not, Diaz stands to be the top closer on the open market. Behind him, there are some intriguing names, but none would be a better fit than just re-upping with Diaz. Free Agent Targets: Robert Suarez, Raisel Iglesias, Devin Williams Robert Suarez is likely to be seen as the second-best closer in this free agent class, coming off a season where he led the NL in saves with 40, and pitched to a 2.97 ERA. Raisel Iglesias got off to a horrendous start with the Braves in 2025, before really coming on strong. And Devin Williams had a bad year with the Yankees, but has a great track record to fall back on. 3. Acquire an Ace to Headline the Mets’ 2026 Rotation
