Wednesday, October 15

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 16 seasons full-time on the beat.

NEW YORK -- For the Mets, the offseason arrived too soon.

For teams in their position, October offers a chance for reflection, before Hot Stove action begins in earnest in November. Until then, the Mets have plenty of time to ponder the questions that will keep them occupied throughout the offseason. Such as:

1) Will the offensive core remain intact?

This issue mostly pertains to Pete Alonso, who has already stated his intention to opt out of his contract and become a free agent. If the Mets let Alonso walk this time around, they won’t find a slew of readymade solutions on the open market, where Josh Naylor (2.2 WAR in 2025) profiles as the best available option. Enough shine has come off Mark Vientos’ reputation that moving him to first base no longer seems like a slam-dunk fallback, leaving a trade as perhaps the best avenue to replace Alonso -- if the Mets don’t re-sign him.

Moving on from Alonso isn’t the only way to break up this core, but it sure does seem like the easiest, given that Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo are all under guaranteed big-money contracts. The Mets could also move on from Jeff McNeil, who has one year and $17.75 million remaining on his deal, but they’ve resisted chances to trade McNeil in the past.

It’s a long way of saying that breaking up this core could prove difficult enough for the front office to wonder: how much merit would there be in doing it at all?

2) How will the Mets rebuild their bullpen?

Not only did David Stearns’ decision to build a super bullpen at the Trade Deadline backfire on him, but all the principals of that relief corps could be gone. Edwin Díaz has an opt-out in his contract that he’s near-certain to exercise. Earlier this month, Stearns dodged a question regarding his appetite to re-sign Díaz, but his track record suggests he doesn’t favor handing big-money deals to relievers.

Beyond Díaz, Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto and Ryne Stanek will all become free agents. A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley are likely to return, but Reed Garrett and Dedniel Núñez will spend next season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Certainly, the Mets will look to backfill some of those spots with arms from within their own organization, including late-season callup Dylan Ross (Mets’ No. 20 prospect who never wound up appearing in a game). Even so, the team is once again going to have to buy up multiple bullpen arms. If Díaz leaves, this could become New York’s most complete bullpen overhaul in years.

3) What will the Mets do to their rotation?

This question comes down to whether the Mets need to make a big splash, executing the type of all-in deal they simply didn’t at the Deadline. Sandy Alcantara should still be available on the trade market, for instance. Joe Ryan or Pablo López could possibly be had. But the prices aren’t going to be much cheaper than those that gave Stearns sticker shock three months ago. (So convicted was Stearns in his desire to stand pat on the rotation that, when asked about it last week, he replied: “I think our fan base would actually be perhaps even more upset if we had made some of those moves.")

If prices again prove too high for Stearns’ taste, he could break character and invest big money in a top free agent like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez or Michael King. Otherwise, the club will be putting serious faith in incumbent options Nolan McLean (Mets’ No. 1 prospect, No. 11 overall by MLB Pipeline), Brandon Sproat (No. 5 prospect), Jonah Tong (No. 4 prospect, No. 46 overall), Christian Scott, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, David Peterson and Kodai Senga. Simply adding a mid-rotation arm won’t do much if anything to augment that group.

4) How can the Mets improve their defense?

Repeatedly during his end-of-season press conference, Stearns pointed to run prevention as the area the Mets most need to improve. Run prevention, of course, is a two-pronged ideal. Part of it is pitching. The other part is defense.

As a team, the Mets were a below-average defensive unit in 2025, largely because three of their everyday players, Soto, Alonso and Nimmo, produced negative Outs Above Average totals. By season’s end, manager Carlos Mendoza found himself regularly choosing between offensive- and defensive-minded lineups, rather than relying on players who provide value in both areas.

Replacing Alonso with a better defensive first baseman would be one way to improve team defense, but it would likely come at the expense of offense. If Carson Benge (Mets’ No. 2 prospect, No. 21 overall) can make an impact in center field next season, that could be another easy fix. Still, the Mets are more than a tweak away from becoming an excellent defensive team. They’ll canvass the free-agent and trade markets for alternative solutions.

5) What will Stearns and Mendoza look for in a coaching staff?

After a busted playoff run, change was inevitable. The Mets took that even further, parting ways with the majority of their coaches -- including pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes. Mendoza and Stearns now can shape that staff however they see fit.

Of particular intrigue is the replacement of Hefner, who not so long ago garnered accolades as one of the best young pitching coaches in baseball. This analytically driven front office will have specific criteria in mind; they’ll likely want someone collaborative who can fit into their existing pitching program.

Who led the Mets in RBIs during the 2000 National League Championship Series?

A) Benny Agbayani

B) Edgardo Alfonzo

C) Robin Ventura

D) Todd Zeile

• After the season, Senga addressed what’s becoming an increasingly cloudy future for him. Can the Mets rely on their one-time ace going forward?

• No real surprise here, but Reed Garrett will miss all next season recovering from Tommy John surgery. It’s a blow to the bullpen.

• Sam Dykstra has an excellent rundown of the Mets prospects participating in the Arizona Fall League.

Answer: D) Zeile

Zeile drove home a team-high eight runs over five NLCS games in 2000, including five combined RBIs in Games 4 and 5 -- both wins over the Cardinals.

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