The Mets won 89 games and advanced to the NLCS in 2024 and because of that, expectations will be high in 2025. But there’s the possibility they overachieved last year, even if their Pythagorean Record was only one win worse than their actual one. Even if that’s not the case, the Mets have a bunch of free agents and openings at the corner infield, at least one outfield spot and multiple vacancies in both the rotation and the pen. It’s going to be a wild offseason.
Here’s one way it could work out, as this will be an exercise to conduct the Mets’ entire offseason in one swoop. With the exception of one name, don’t get hung up on which players appear here. This is more about ideas, rather than specific individuals.
The big elephant in constructing a roster in 2026 is the Juan Soto decision. He’s young and incredibly talented and any team in the league would be lucky to sign him. But he’s also going to require a massive contract. Steve Cohen can afford that contract. So, for the Mets, the question becomes – should they?
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Brian, I appreciate your effort to put something together for discussion, but as everyone has their own opinion, I disagree with your plan completely. While the Soto contract is suffice and digestible, the pitching plan is not. Crochet may be worth that, but signing Maton and Quintana are non-starters for me. Too, Blackburn will be a free agent after this year and I fail to see why you couldn’t try to see how he has recovered. And, why is Megill in Syracuse again? If you cannot put him in your rotation, trade him off and gamble that he never “gets it”. As a fifth starter, I thought he was just fine when he came back from the minors. I have not put in the thought as to any proposals concerning the 2025 team like you have, but I am hoping that the team realizes that they lost to the Dodgers because of pitching and won the other series due to pitching, and that should be in the forefront of their efforts. I don’t want Taylor, nor do I want to roll the dice on Winker or Merrifield. Goldschmidt is fine, as is Marte as an outfield option along with McNeil. Inglesias as a tutor and backup works.
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It’s certainly fine to object to any individual player. But look more at the dollar figure than the actual player. Also, there’s no reason Cohen couldn’t spend more. Perhaps instead of Quintana on a one-year deal, it’s someone like Walker Buehler on a long-term contract. Yes, Buehler will be more expensive. But my payroll total is a little unrealistic, as it doesn’t get the club under the draft-pick penalty. So, they could spend more if they choose.
Megill is what he is – a guy who will tempt you with a good outing every now and then but who will get beaten up just as often. He’s a perfectly cromulent depth starter. I could see signing Blackburn with the idea of having him begin the year on a minor league rehab. As for Iglesias, if he’s content with a smaller role than he had last year, I’d like to have him back. But my guess is that he wants more playing time.