#new-york-mets

#new-york-mets

The Mets had been too troubled by injury and addiction and natural attrition to come close to repeating in the years after '86. Getting to watch that utterly dominant and worryingly disinhibited team so early in my life as a fan was disorienting and set some very strange expectations; watching it fall apart, little by little and then all the way down to stinking rubble, was my first and most painful lesson in what being a fan is mostly like.

We've started to see some top free agents come off the board as the MLB offseason has gotten rolling: Kyle Schwarber back to the Philadelphia Phillies, Pete Alonso to the Baltimore Orioles and Dylan Cease to the Toronto Blue Jays. The closer market also moved quickly: Devin Williams to the New York Mets, Edwin Diaz then ditching the Mets for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Robert Suarez to the Atlanta Braves and Ryan Helsley to Baltimore.

Well Miami Marlins fans, are you of the glass half-full or glass half-empty persuasion? Or to put it more simply, just how much do you hate the New York Mets. For there's no question that the suffering that started with Miami eliminating them from the playoffs in the final weekend of the season has continued into the offseason for fans of the Metropolitans. Pete Alonso? Gone. Edwin Diaz? Not just gone, but a bleeping Dodger.

Not too concerned just yet. There's a lot of winter left, and the Mets are going to make moves. They have the money and the prospects to add elite talent. It's clear that Stearns believes the Mets' core wasn't good enough after such a disappointing season. Losing Díaz and Alonso -- on top of trading Brandon Nimmo -- is certainly tough to swallow for Mets fans because those three players were so beloved. The Mets aren't going to stand pat.

Amongst the Mets' lengthy to-do list this winter is to address a starting rotation that needs a significant overhaul after last season's collapse. So anything linking former Houston Astros ace and free agent Framber Valdez to Queens would be understandable. According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, the Mets are trying to get a six-year, $200 million deal over the finish line for the veteran right-hander, who is coming off a down year in which he went 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA.

That means significant interest in two of the top talents in Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, both of whom will cost a pretty penny. Bellinger, who spent last season with the Yankees, is projected to receive a shorter-term deal of five to six years, which will come in at a value north of $140 million. Tucker, meanwhile, could secure a decade-long deal worth over $400 million.

According to team president David Stearns, rookie center fielder Carson Benge is legitimately in the mix for a spot on the 2026 roster. While the Mets navigate decisions around their veteran roster and long-term core, they are also clearly committed to creating opportunities for younger talent. SNY reported that Stearns emphasized that the club must remain cognizant of rising young players when shaping the major-league team, signaling a shift toward youth development as a key part of the organization's plan.

Veteran reliever will exercise his $11MM player option to return to the Mets in 2026, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

The Mets had the right idea in making Max Scherzer the highest-salaried pitcher of his generation three years ago. It was easy to envision Scherzer as a co-ace to Jacob deGrom fronting a championship rotation. But the problem with that $130 million contract was the execution. Rather than being the final Cooperstown-worthy piece for a title run, Scherzer's Flushing legacy ultimately is one of failure.