Monday, October 12

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 17 seasons full-time on the beat. 

NEW YORK -- One day after the regular season concluded, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns sat behind a podium and stated the obvious.

“Having an end-of-season press conference at the end of September, it’s not where you want to be,” Stearns said. “It means our season hasn’t gone as we expected, as we hoped.”

Stearns went on to catalog not only the Mets’ shortcomings, but also the optimism that a reasonably productive second half provided. While the Mets figure to have another active offseason, it may not be as hyperactive as in years past, given the presence of so much young talent on their roster. The Mets already answered one major question at the end of September, when they named Andy Green their full-time manager and handed him a three-year contract.

Their most pressing remaining queries are these:

1. Will the Mets acquire an ace? 

Or do they already have one? Do they even need one? Heading into this season, the Mets thought Freddy Peralta would be the answer to their rotation problems, but Peralta instead contributed to the team’s severe first-half underperformance. He then moved on to the Rays, where he morphed back into the best version of himself.

Without Peralta, the Mets will return five obvious rotation options in Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton, Jonah Tong and Sean Manaea, plus depth pieces like Tobias Myers, Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill (who could end up back in the bullpen), as well as near-ready prospects Jonathan Santucci (No. 2), Jack Wenninger (No. 8) and Gary Gill Hill (No. 16).

At his end-of-season press conference, Stearns mentioned wanting 10-12 starting pitchers in the organization at the start of Spring Training. While at least one of those will come from outside the organization, Stearns declined to answer a question regarding his desire to shop at the top of the market -- in other words, to pursue Tarik Skubal, the best starting pitcher available. Committing hundreds of millions of dollars to a soon-to-be 30-something starter is not Stearns’ MO. But picking and choosing lesser starters has yielded checkered results for him. In 2024, it worked brilliantly. In 2025, it did not.

2. Will Bo Bichette opt in? 

The answer to this is probably yes, but until Bichette actually puts pen to paper, it will remain an open question. Earlier this season, as Bichette struggled to adjust to New York, it seemed plausible that he could opt out of the final two years and $84 million on his contract to seek a new deal on the open market. Bichette eventually settled into his new home, but his overall numbers -- just a .702 OPS in 160 games, plus below-average defensive work at third base -- left much to be desired.

If he opts out, Bichette will find it impossible to eclipse his current deal’s $42 million average annual value. Even if he does wish to opt out for non-financial reasons, Bichette can still do so a year from now at age 29, presumably off a better platform season. For all those reasons, he is likely to stay. Bichette’s decision is due five days after the World Series ends.

3. Which bullpen arms are answers? 

After trading half their bullpen at the Trade Deadline, the Mets took long looks at Senga, Nate Lavender, Jefry Yan, Daniel Duarte, Jonathan Pintaro and Dedniel Núñez, among several others who were already healthy members of the relief corps. Devin Williams will reprise his role as closer in 2027, but beyond him, no one is guaranteed a job.

One decision point centers on Senga, and whether the Mets will use him as a starter or a reliever. Lavender and Núñez probably did enough to warrant inclusion in the 2027 Opening Day bullpen; Yan and Pintaro probably didn’t. But Spring Training will matter for all these players, especially considering the Mets are highly likely to import a slew of new arms from outside the organization. Expect lots of signings and lots of competition.

4. Who will start on the right side of the infield?

Stearns and Green have both made it clear that Marcus Semien won’t be guaranteed anything heading into his second season with the Mets (other than the $46 million remaining on his contract, that is). At first base, meanwhile, the Mets will give at least some reps to Jared Young, who’s coming off a serious concussion and figures to face some external competition.

It’s a fluid situation. Assuming Bichette opts in, the Mets will be set on the left side of the infield, which means Brett Baty will see most of his starts at first and second base. This could be as simple as Baty and Semien platooning at second, while Young and a right-handed complement do the same at first. But Stearns figures to add at least one player from outside the organization to the mix, and prospects Jefferson Rojas (No. 1, No. 68 in MLB), Mitch Voit (No. 4) and Émilien Pitre (No. 10) could all play a role before this is settled.

5. Will Carson Benge win the National League Rookie of the Year?

Until late September, most of the industry assumed Sal Stewart of the Reds would win the award. But while Stewart submitted a flawed final month, Benge developed into one of the game’s best players, collecting 23 hits -- including four homers and three doubles -- over his final 15 games to tighten this race. Benge finished the season as one of only six Major Leaguers to rank in the 70th percentile or better in all three of Statcast’s batting, baserunning and fielding metrics. He’s a more well-rounded player than Stewart, full stop.

The only question is whether that will be enough to unseat Stewart, a traditionalist’s dream candidate, who hit 32 homers and drove home 111 runs while playing in all 162 games. Ballots have already been cast, but the announcement won’t take place until mid-November.

McLean finished his season 12-10 with a 3.16 ERA. Who was the last Mets pitcher to lose double-digit games with an ERA that low?

A) Mike Hampton

B) Marcus Stroman

C) Steve Trachsel

D) Frank Viola

• Young is progressing well since sustaining that scary concussion in September. I caught up with the first baseman to see how he’s doing.

• More from Stearns’ end-of-season press conference here.

B) Marcus Stroman

Stroman went 10-13 with a 3.02 ERA in 2021. Only 29 players in Mets history lost double-digit games with an ERA of 3.16 or lower.

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