The New York Mets have been one of MLB’s more active teams to begin the offseason. The organization swapped outfielder Brandon Nimmo for former Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, and later signed former New York Yankees closer Devin Williams to a three-year, $51 million contract.
Despite these early transactions, fans and pundits largely expect the Mets to find a solid starting pitcher or two this offseason. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, New York could patch their rotation, but may not be willing to chase a top-flight free agent due to their philosophy on giving pitchers long-term deals.
“The consensus top remaining free-agent starters are Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai and Ranger Suarez. It is believed that shorter-term arrangements with these players would hold some appeal to the Mets, who can be opportunistic. But The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected each pitcher to land deals between six and eight years. And already this offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease to a contract worth $210 million over seven years. So by not going long, the Mets may miss out,” Sammon wrote.
“The Mets’ preference for shorter deals isn’t a blanket policy. Two years ago, the Mets aggressively pursued Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who at that time was 25 years old and signed a 12-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But under president of baseball operations David Stearns, New York generally has targeted short-term deals with starters.”
The Mets’ starting rotation was not efficient in 2025. Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, and others struggled throughout the campaign. As a result, New York had to call up rookies like Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat.
It remains to be seen how Stearns and the Mets’ front office will handle this aspect of their offseason, but it might be surprising to see them ink a top starter to a long-term deal.
