As with the past few offseasons, the New York Mets rank among the most intriguing teams to watch this winter.
There’s a generational hitter in Juan Soto on the free-agent market that they’re expected to compete for. There’s a franchise cornerstone in Pete Alonso who just hit free agency. In Steve Cohen, they have the league’s wealthiest owner. And, as if an aside, they essentially have to remake their pitching staff, again.
The only thing we know with certainty: The Mets will be busy.
With the offseason underway and the annual general managers meetings beginning Tuesday, here’s an outline of where the Mets’ roster stands, featuring all the key dates and decisions ahead.
Mets owner Steve Cohen could be active this offseason as several top free agents meet the team’s needs. (John Fisher / Getty Images)
Major team needs
The Mets need to firmly be in the mix for Soto. Many in the industry expect them to be.
They need to establish what they’re comfortable with in terms of money and years to retain Alonso, who turns 30 next month.
They need to rebuild their pitching staff. New York’s rotation features turnover; three of their starters became free agents. The Mets will return Kodai Senga, but they may look for more at the top of the free agents list. Marquee names Corbin Burnes and Max Fried should be worth exploring as well as mid-tier options to fill out innings in a reliable way. In the bullpen, the Mets need to find high-leverage options to bridge the gap to closer Edwin Díaz.
Also, the Mets need to figure out their outfield. Brandon Nimmo looks like the only everyday player. He shifted from center field to left field in 2024. Who will be in center field for 2025? What about right field? Starling Marte has missed a lot of time with injuries over the last couple of years but projects to at least be in the mix. The Mets can also use Jeff McNeil in the outfield.
Free-agent roster decisions
The list of the Mets’ free agents runs long:
Pete Alonso, 1B
Sean Manaea, LHP
Luis Severino, RHP
Jose Quintana, LHP
Jesse Winker, OF
J.D. Martinez, DH
Jose Iglesias, 2B
Harrison Bader, CF
Ryne Stanek, RHP
Adam Ottavino, RHP
Drew Smith, RHP
Brooks Raley, LHP
Of that group, Alonso stands out at the top.
In terms of importance, Manaea comes next. In one of the offseason’s most obvious calls, Manaea decided to opt out of his $13.5 million contract for next year and become a free agent, league sources said.
The deadline for teams and players to exercise contract options is Monday. The only other decision involving the Mets is their club option on right-handed reliever Phil Maton. It’s a tougher call, considering Maton emerged as a reliable late-inning option toward the end of the regular season. He would provide some stability. On the other hand, although Maton’s option, valued at $7.75 million, isn’t a huge figure, it likely projects as a bit of an overpay and the Mets may prefer flexibility at the outset of the offseason. Maton would be owed a $250,000 buyout.
Monday is also the deadline for clubs to tender qualifying offers to eligible free agents. It is worth $21.05 million. Clubs get compensated in the draft with picks if a player rejects a qualifying offer. Alonso is a lock to receive one. Manaea probably gets one, too. The only other candidate is Severino. Of the three, Severino would have the only interesting call if he were to receive one. He’d probably prefer a multiyear deal after injuries forced him to accept a one-year pact last winter, but he loves playing in New York and the figure represents a decent amount of money for his value.
After the Mets’ playoff run, several players shared that they wanted to return. The Mets have an interest in re-signing a few of them, notably Alonso and Manaea, but there’s no way of knowing yet the likelihood of any potential reunions.
Arbitration/non-tender decisions
The deadline for clubs to tender contracts to players not on guaranteed deals is Nov. 22. Non-tendered players become free agents. The deadline to exchange arbitration figures is Jan. 9.
Here are the Mets who are arbitration-eligible:
David Peterson, LHP
Tyrone Taylor, OF
Tylor Megill, RHP
Luis Torrens, C
DJ Stewart, OF/DH
Paul Blackburn, RHP
Sean Reid-Foley, RHP
Alex Young, LHP
Peterson pitched like a keeper.
Taylor, Megill and Torrens all profile as useful depth players.
Those four players should all be easy tender decisions.
Stewart, Reid-Foley and Young are probably on shakier ground. They could be non-tender candidates. None of them have minor-league options remaining.
Blackburn is the most interesting case. The decision on him became more complicated with his back injury and subsequent surgery to repair a leak of his spinal fluid. He will be out the entire offseason. MLB Trade Rumors estimated his arbitration figure at $4.4 million.
Rule 5 draft protection decisions
The deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft by adding them to the 40-man roster is at 6 p.m. on Nov. 19.
None of the Mets’ best prospects need protection. However right-handed starting pitchers Mike Vasil and Dom Hamel each at least warrant conversations. Neither pitcher performed well for any consistent period in Triple A last year. But, in theory, both are part of the Mets’ next wave of depth.
Significant coaching/front-office vacancies to fill
The Mets do not have any known openings on their major-league coaching staff under manager Carlos Mendoza.
Elsewhere, there’s some turnover heading into president of baseball operations David Stearns’ second year. Stearns said he still wasn’t in any rush to hire a GM. But there have been changes to the international scouting department. The Mets hired Laiky Uribe as assistant director of international scouting, league sources said. Uribe worked as an international cross-checker for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’ll join James Kang, whom the Mets recently added from the Cleveland Guardians as New York’s new director of international scouting.
(Top photo of Pete Alonso: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
