As the New York Mets are preparing in spring training for the 2026 season, there is no doubt high expectations for the team after a disappointing 2025, where the ball club missed the playoffs. While the Mets went through a roster overhaul, losing players like Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, this MLB insider has a prediction that might make fans angry.
Baseball insider Steve Phillips would appear on the MLB Network and give his thoughts on how a recent article had many executives listing New York as one of the most improved teams. Phillips would go into why not only he thinks the team is one of the most “least improved,” but he predicts them to be third in the NL East and missing the playoffs, citing the loss of stars and being uncertain of other additions.
“I think they lost a lot in Pete Alonso,” Phillips said. “Brandon Nimmo was a better offensive player than is Marcus Semien, and Semien is better defensively, but I think they've gone backwards offensively. They're backwards at the closer's role where Diaz leaves, and Devin Williams comes in. I love Freddy Peralta, and [Nolan] McLean, I believe in him too, but the rest of the rotation, I don't know.”
.@StevePhillipsGM thinks the Mets are one of the “least improved teams” from the offseason and predicts them to finish 3rd in the NL East 😳#MLBNHotStove reacts to the Mets taking a cautious approach with a handful of their players early in Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/zZWcidHFoV
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 18, 2026
The Mets are “confusing,” per Steve Phillips
With the Mets adding Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta, and others to the team, it hasn't convinced Phillips that the team is making the playoffs and asserting itself in the NL East. He would question the “slow-playing” of players like Luis Robert Jr., Francisco Alvarez, and Jorge Polanco, and even claim how New York is “one of the most confusing teams.”
“They're slow-playing spring training for Luis Robert and Francisco Alvarez, and then Jorge Polanco, and trying to make sure they get themselves in the best shape possible. That should have been an off-season project,” Phillips continued. “The Mets are one of the most confusing teams for me.”
At any rate, the Mets look to prove Phillips wrong as they look to improve after finishing with an 83-79 record last season, which put them second in the division.
