The 2025 New York Mets' season came to an end in September after 162 regular season games — something that seemed unthinkable as recently as June.
The Mets were 45-24 on June 12 with a 5.5-game lead on the Philadelphia Phillies. They went 38-55 the rest of the way, sending a $340 million roster into the offseason with nothing to show for it.
The morning after game 162, a 4-0 loss to the Miami Marlins in a game that would have put them in the postseason had the Mets won it, The Athletic posted a lengthy feature on exactly what went wrong.
“We were a better team, talent-wise, this year than we were last year,” a veteran Mets player said. “Everyone will always compare this year versus last year. On paper, we are a much better team this year than we were last year, and I don’t think it’s necessarily close. It just didn’t work.”
That means this offseason is going to be more complicated for team president David Stearns than simply letting some players go and acquiring some others. That's part of it, of course, but the talent level is undeniable. And with more than $200 million already committed to 2026, the team needs to figure out how to better maximize the players it has.
Here are the offseason priorities for the Mets.
Pete Alonso must play out his prime with Mets
Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor may be better overall players, but Alonso is the heartbeat of the franchise. The team came dangerously close last year to letting him get away and that can't happen again in 2026 — particularly when the Mets' crosstown rivals just might be in the market for a first baseman after an end-of-season disappointment of their own.
Alonso is going to command a healthy price tag in 2026, but it's with good reason. The 30-year-old is coming off his fourth straight All-Star appearance, leading the league in doubles this season (41) while hitting 38 home runs. Alonso's .871 OPS was the best since his magical 2019 rookie year.
The Polar Bear bet on himself in 2025, signing a one-year deal with the Mets in hopes of proving his worth in the free agent market, which he was unable to take advantage of last year. That bet paid off.
The Ry relievers have not worked out
The Mets' second half was a disaster, but you can't say Stearns and company didn't try. One of the moves that was supposed to solve their bullpen woes was a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for reliever Ryan Helsley. He led the league in saves last year with 49 and was having a representative 2025 season — until the trade. Helsley was a disaster in New York, pitching to a 7.20 ERA in 22 appearances. And the numbers are only that good because he finished the season strong with seven shutout innings over his last six games.
Ryne Stanek, whom New York acquired at the deadline last year, was better, but not by much. After faltering for the Mets down the stretch last year, he appeared in 65 games for the Mets in 2025, building a 5.30 ERA with a 1.571 WHIP.
The Mets know they need to retool their bullpen in 2026. They also know where to start.
The Mets need to pick a lane in their starting rotation
The good news for the Mets is that they have options to assemble a strong rotation. Kodai Senga's rough end to the season shouldn't dismiss the great 2023 and start to 2025 that he had. There's also reason to believe David Peterson and Clay Holmes could be legit rotation options. The team can cut its losses with Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea while still being set up well.
But that's not the only option the Mets have. Three of the Mets' top five prospects are starting pitchers who made their MLB debuts in 2025.
“My continued emphasis is doing everything we can to support our development infrastructure and developing starting pitchers,” Stearns said via The Athletic. “Ultimately, that is where we’re going to have sustained success. But going into this offseason, I’m not going to take anything off the table.”
Now is the time for New York to decide if it wants to go all-in on the youth movement or trade a couple high-end pieces to fill needs elsewhere. If that's the route that organization takes, then it can also look to a free agent market with pitchers like Chris Sale, Dylan Cease and Ranger Suarez potentially available.
New York will need to get creative to improve its defense
The Mets' defense let them down in a major way in 2025. It was an issue all year, but it seemed to crop up at the most inopportune times. The 19 errors in the Mets' final 29 games are bad enough. The bigger issue is that there's not a simple solution.
Soto ranked as one of the worst defensive position players in baseball this year, but the guy is arguably the best hitter in the game, so he is more-or-less stapled to right field. Pete Alonso is in a similar situation. And while Lindor's season-long numbers look good, he had his own share of costly miscues.
That's all to say there isn't much maneuvering that can be done.
“We’re going to have to be open-minded on our position player grouping so that we can improve our run prevention,” Stearns said. “Does that mean there are robust changes? I don’t know. Does it mean people will be playing different positions? Maybe. Does it mean we ask people to play different roles? Maybe.”
