The New York Mets were among the most disappointing teams in Major League Baseball in 2025. It's clear that owner Steve Cohen is never going to sit idly by and accept last year's failure to make a postseason appearance without making key changes prior to the start of the new season.
In addition to Cohen's desire to build a championship team, general manager David Stearns knows there are specific weaknesses that must be addressed. The Mets have needs in the outfield, and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins may be able to give the Mets a game-changing player that is missing from their lineup.
Buxton would appear to be a good fit for the Mets and would fit in nicely with Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor surrounding him in the New York lineup. However, if Alonso leaves the Mets and takes his 38 home runs with him, the “nice” addition of Buxton to the lineup would become a “must-get” player who would quickly become a fixture at Citi Field.
It looks more and more likely that the Mets will be saying good bye to Alonso. General manager David Stearns offered this pearl at the Winter Meetings regarding the powerful first baseman.
“I think we’ve been pretty clear throughout the process that we’d love to have Pete back — we certainly made that clear to his agent right at the start of free agency,” Stearns said. “We also respect — just as we respected last year — that this is a process, and Pete has earned the right to go through the free-agent process, to evaluate the market. And we will see where that leaves us.”
It sure sounds like Stearns is preparing for life without Alonso. At least he realizes it's a distinct possibility
Bringing Buxton in would pay dividends
The addition of Buxton through a trade would give the Mets an outfielder with speed, power and the ability to go get the ball in the power alley. That's Buxton at his best, and the soon-to-be 32-year-old was at his best in 2025. He slashed .264/.327/.551 with 35 home runs and 83 RB along with a spectacular 24-0 stolen base to caught stealing ratio.
The key to Buxton's season was his ability to stay in the lineup for 126 games, the second-greatest amount during his career. He played 140 games as a 23-year-old in the 2017 season, but he was nowhere near as productive at the plate as he is now.
Buxton has been viewed as a potential superstar since he came up to the Twins in 2015, but he had never hit more than 28 home runs prior to last season. He has unearthed the ability to drive the ball out of the ball park on a consistent basis.
The Mets have a very dangerous lineup, and Soto and Lindor also give the Mets the combination of power and speed to make them a very dangerous team on any given night. But offering a third player who fits this description puts the Mets in another category — especially if they lose the power bat of Alonso.
Buxton has three years remaining on his contract that is scheduled to pay him $45 million. He has a no-trade clause in his contract, but playing for a team with World Series potential may be the enticement he needs to offset that directive.
Mets would have to give up a solid starter for Buxton
The Twins are a team that clearly needs help in multiple areas, but perhaps the most vital area is pitching.
The Mets appear to be willing to move one or more of their starting pitchers, and David Peterson could be the hurler that is traded in order to acquire Buxton. Peterson started 30 games for the Mets last year and 15 of those starts were of the quality variety — meaning 6 innings or more with 3 earned runs or less.
The left-handed Peterson had a 9-6 record while pitching 168.2 innings. He averaged 8.0 strikeouts per 9 innings and he had a 4.22 earned run average.
Peterson is an imposing presence on the mound at 6-6 and 240 pounds. He made the All-Star team for the first time last season, and he would clearly take on a key role for the pitching-hungry Twins.
The Twins could also be interested in Kodai Senga, who came through with a 7-6 season last year while starting 22 games and pitching 113.1 innings. He had a 3.02 ERA and he was close to the form he had in 2023 when he earned All-Star status and was second in Rookie of the Year voting.
Senga was 12-7 that season with 202 strikeouts in 166.1 innings, and he is clearly more of a strikeout pitcher than Peterson.
