The New York Mets went into the 2023 campaign with sky-high expectations after a historic offseason that saw them sign the likes of Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, and others. In total, they spent nearly $500 million to hopefully give them a roster that could compete for a World Series.

Instead, the Mets missed the playoffs by a mile with a 75-87 record and ultimately traded both Verlander and Max Scherzer at the deadline, signaling a completely different direction. Speaking at Spring Training down in Florida, Verlander got brutally honest on the 23′ season where he also believed the ball club was capable of big things.

Via The New York Post:

“I thought we had a chance to be great,” he said. “I wish I had a restart. You can’t go back though.”

If the Mets were actually contending, JV would undoubtedly be in a NY uniform right now. He wouldn't be back with the Houston Astros. That being said, the front office decided to get rid of Verlander and Scherzer's big contracts and hit the reset button, one could say.

It's hard to understand how the Mets weren't better. Justin Verlander and Scherzer are Hall of Famers who will go down as two of the best pitchers to ever toe a big league mound, Buck Showalter is a legendary skipper, and the roster had talent from top to bottom. However, it just didn't come together and injuries didn't help.

Verlander also spoke on the “diva” comment from last season and made sure to clarify with his Mets teammates that was now how they felt about him:

“Everyone I spoke to said, ‘JV that’s not the case,’ ” he said.

An anonymous Mets person told the Post Verlander was a diva, but it was seemingly not the case, as Verlander confirmed. Now, he'll look to win another ring with Houston while New York will aim to get back into contention in the coming years with some intriguing talent coming through their minor league system.