Everything You NEED to Know About the Mets Offseason | Key Dates, Non-Tenders, Rule 5 Draft and More

Everything You NEED to Know About the Mets Offseason | Key Dates, Non-Tenders, Rule 5 Draft and More

The MLB off season has officially begun. On today’s show, we’ll talk about key dates to know, roster decisions the Mets have to make, non-tender candidates, rule five draft eligible players, and much more. You are Locked on Mets, your daily New York Mets podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Hello to all you amazing Mets fans. You’re watching Locked On Mets, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. I’m your host, Ryan Ficklestein. I’ve been covering the New York Mets on this show since the 2019 season. This is the number one daily podcast on the New York Mets. Want to find any my written work, you can do so over at just baseball.com, where I work as the editor and chief. Today’s episode’s brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Now, we have a ton to discuss on today’s show. In the first segment, I’m going to run through some key dates of the offseason to know. Then, we’re going to start to go into the Mets roster a little bit. We’ll talk about those non-tender candidates, the rule five draft eligible prospects. In the second segment, we’ll close out the show looking at the entire league and trying to determine which players will receive qualifying offers and how that might impact their free agency and if the Mets will pursue those players. Let’s start off though with what we are in right now. There is a fiveday period, you can almost call it a moratorum where this is a time where team options, player options, all that is decided, mutual options. So, this is where Frankie Molentos has to decide if he’s going to pick up a $17 million option to rehab from Tommy John Surgery, which will probably be the easiest decision of his life. Obviously, he is opting in. This is also a window where teams can negotiate with their own free agents before anybody else can sign those players. So, there is not a single team right now that can sign Pete Alonzo, Edwin Diaz other than the New York Mets. Same thing goes with Ryan Helley or Cedric Mullins or any of their other free agents. But the other big decision has to be made over this next fiveday window is which players will receive a qualifying offer. So to go through the specific decisions the Mets are going to make over this first five-day window which will end on November 6th, which is Thursday at 5:00 pm. When you’re talking about contract options, the two big ones obviously are the opt outs for Edwin Diaz and Penalonzo. Both of them will opt out. I already mentioned Frankie Monas. He will opt into a $17 million play option. AJ Mter is expected to opt into his $11 million play option as well. He’s coming off lat surgery. Probably not going to do better than that on the open market. I don’t think he’s going to get another one plus one deal if he hit the market. And if he did, it would be of much lesser value than that 11 million. So, he should be back with the New York Mets. The club options are, I think, almost no-brainers. The one that’s definitely a no-brainer is Brooksley. $4.75 million. He was outstanding in the second half. He’s going to have that option picked up. Drew Smith is a more interesting one. It’s really just going to be a matter of how his rehab from Tommy John’s surgery went. If the Mets believe in him, they pick it up. It’s a $2 million club option. If not, well, they helped them. They they did a good thing for a guy that had been in the organization for a long time and he becomes a free agent. So, that one I think is a lot more up in the air. The price tag though, assuming that the TJ rehab went well, I think they probably pick it up, but we will not know for sure until this fiveday window ends or if a decision is made prior to that. Now, qualifying offer, only one guy’s going to get it for the Mets. That’s Edwin Diaz. He never did get tendered a qualifying offer back in 2022 because he signed in this 5-day window. And there’s every chance that I Diaz and the Mets could come to terms on a new deal in the five-day window. Again, he’s pretty much the only free agent that I can even remember from any team that has come to terms in recent memories with their team in that fiveday window. So, I would not be surprised if that happened again. But if the Mets are not as eager to bring him back on whatever his agent is looking for right now and they want him to test this market, maybe he does hit free agency with a qualifying offer attached. In which case, if the Mets don’t sign him, they would recoup draft capital if he signs another team. Now, the Mets other free agents, you have all the guys they picked up at the deadline, Ryan Hley, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Sodto, Cedric Mullins, they were all rentals, so they’re all going to hit the market. I think Tyler Rogers is the one the Mets would probably want to pursue the most, but you never know. Maybe they would bring back Gregory Soda if Ryan Helley isn’t completely scarred. He still has good stuff. I don’t know, though. The way things went for Helen Mullins feels like they will be on different teams. Now you also have Jesse Winker, Ryan Stannic, and Griffin Canning. For Winker, I don’t even know if his back is good enough to play again. I mean, we never even heard what was going on there, but it seemed like that back issue was very serious. And who knows if it was, and I hate to say career-threatening, but I mean, we really don’t have much information. Ryan Stannic, I don’t think he’s sort of like getting a qualifying offer. Not sure he’s going to if he’s going to come back. Griffin Canning, obviously no Qo. Is there a chance the Mets reunite with him and he’s allowed to rehab with the team? Potentially, but we’ll talk about the 40man roster a little bit in the next segment and maybe there’s just not enough room for them to take on another player that’s recovering from injury. Let’s get back to the key dates of the offseason. So, that’s the five-day window. That is the first date to know. November 6th, the deadline for options, QOS’s, exclusive negotiating rights for free agency. Then freely opens for everybody. The GM meetings take place in Vegas this year starting on November 10th through the 13th. This is usually just a feeling out period for executives. So there’s groundwork done behind the scenes that we don’t really hear about, but sometimes things could happen, a trade could happen as a result of conversations had the GM meetings. The Gold Glove winners were just announced. Luis Terren and David Peterson were finalists. Neither one. Patrick Bailey and Logan Webb both won those awards for the Giants. So that’s your catcher and pitcher NL winners for the Gold Gloves. The Silver Sluggers will be announced on November 6 for the National League. The Mets have Lindor, Alonzo, and Zodto all up for silver sluggers. You then have the rookie of the year, the Sai Young, uh, excuse me, the rookie of the year, the manager of the year, the Sai Young, and the MVP that are announced on consecutive days starting on November 10th through the 13th. November 18th is the date that players have to accept their qualifying offer. It’s at I think 22 and change this year. 22.025 million. I can’t tell you the exact uh price tag, but that is it’s just over $22 million. And free agents will then have a couple of weeks to test their market and decide if they want to accept the QO or officially decline it. That is also the same day that teams have to protect players or the rule five draft, November 18th. Again, we’re going to talk about that more in the next segment. November 18th to the 20th is the owner meetings. Uh the non-tender deadline is November 21st. Again, we’re going to get into that more in the next segment. Uh you have the winner meetings will begin on December 7th through the 10th in Orlando. Part of the winter meetings is there’s going to be the draft lottery where the Mets theoretically could fly into one of those first couple of picks if they get very lucky lucky with those lottery balls. otherwise their draft pick is going to drop 10 slots wherever they end up because of being a repeat offender of the luxury tax. Then you have the rule five draft that will also take place during the winter meetings and that’s obviously when a lot of signings happen, trades happen. That is the pinnacle of the MLB offseason. If not for those, you know, three days that the winter meetings are really going on, things happen right after it, too. you really get that window from know the beginning of the winter meetings maybe just before it you start to see some some traction and then you have from the winter meetings until we get towards the holidays where more stuff can happen and then you have the free agents that hang on the market well past that December 15th is the closing of the signing period for 2025 international amateurs then it’s going to open up again on January 15th for the next year’s class so Ellen Pñena is the Mets headliner for this previous class. And there going to be a bunch of signs that’ll be announced once you get into the middle of January. January 8th before that is actually the unofficial deadline for arbitration eligible players to come to terms with their teams. And I say unofficial deadline because a lot of teams now operate under file and trial, which is this is the date where teams and players file their numbers. For those of you who aren’t aware how arbitration works, the player and his agent comes up with a salary number and so and then the team comes up with their number and the two sides try to meet in the middle and find a ideal contract uh for that player. If the two sides are too far apart, there is that file and trial method that most teams go with where they will file their numbers and then they’ll just go to the arbitration hearing. There’s not a lot of negotiating that takes place after January 8th before those hearings in the beginning of February. Although technically you can negotiate with those players all the way up until the trial. And then we get to the most fun date which is February 11th. It’s the voluntary report date for pitchers and catchers to go to spring training. So while it feels like an eternity until we’ll get Mets baseball again, actually only a couple months away from pitchers and catchers being back. And then by the time you get to February 20th, spring training games start again. So going to be a lot of fun the next couple months to see how the Mets will remake their roster. And what we’re going to talk about in the next segment is some roster decisions that have to be made. Which players are non-tender candidates? Which players might have to be added to the 40man roster because they’re real five draft eligible. We’re going to go through a list of names here in just a minute. Today’s episode’s brought to you by FanDuel, the NBA season here in FanDuel is an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers, get back just $5 and if you win, you’re going to get $300 in bonus bets. That’s right. You pick a bet, you put down five bucks. If it hits, you’re going to unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love using Fail because it fits however you like to bet. Whether it’s player props, building a same game parlay, or even if you want to jump in live as the action unfolds, it makes watching football and basketball even more exciting, we got a little something riding on the action. Whether you’re a casual fan or you love diving into the stats, FanDuel is going to make the game day experience so much better. So, if you’re ready to play, download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fuel.com to place your first $5 bet. If you’re watching on YouTube, do me a favor and hit that subscribe button. Help us get closer to our next goal of 15,000 subscribers. We’re within 200, getting closer and closer. I’d love to get there by the end of the year. Really do appreciate all of you who continue to subscribe. All right, so let’s talk about where the Mets roster stands right now. If you take all the free agents and you remove them, their roster right now sits at 39. Now, you might say, “Wait a minute, isn’t it a 40man roster? How do you remove all the free agents and you get to 39? Well, that’s because you have all the players that were on the 60-day IIL that are now right back into that 40man roster. You can’t go above that in the off season. There is no IIL. Even though you have pitchers who are out with Tommy John surgery, they still count as a player on the roster until you get to setting your rosters in spring training. So, as we go through the non-tender candidates, you have to keep that in mind. So you have pitchers like Frankie Montas and Tyler McIll. Decisions have to be made on those guys. The Mets could non tender either of them. For McIll, they’re going to save money if they non-tender him. For Montas, it would just be clearer spot. Now, they could do that. Zo 17 million. He is unlikely to pitch this next upcoming season. It could be an easy way to just clear a spot. A lot of times teams sort of do right by the player and let them rehab with them. I don’t know if that’s the case here with Monas. To me, I’d probably just take the roster spot and just cut ties with him. But we’ll see what the Mets choose to do there. With McGill, it’s interesting because you only have one more year of team control after he rehabs in 2026. But you do have Tyor McIll potentially able to impact your roster in 2027. a guy that’s homegrown. I think they let him stay with the team, especially because it’s only, you know, a projected salary of $2 million. Since he’s not pitching, it’s not going to see a big bump when he goes into his final year of arbitration. So, I expect McIll will likely remain with the Mets. Tyrone Taylor, you could call him a non-tender candidate because he’s projected to make somewhere between three and four million. Maybe you think that you’re better served going a different route in center field. I think they’re going to keep him though. So I I sort of doubt that they would non- tender him. When it comes to pitchers that are hurt, you got Reed Garrett, Max Kranic, and Danny Young, all of which got Tommy John surgery at different points of the season this past year. For Danny Young, he got it the earliest if memory serves. Then it was Cranic. Garrett was super late in the season. I think they probably keep all of them. For Kranic, you only have two more years after this season, but you still have two more years. So, I think they probably keep him. Debatable, though. I I I don’t I’m not I could go either way. Reed Garrett’s the one that’s no doubt they’re going to keep him. He’s super two eligible, which means you’re still going to have three more years of arbitration after this season. So, that one to me is a slam dunk. Kanic, I would say I’m probably 8020 thinking that he’s going to stay. Danny Young, the Mets have a ton of control. He’s still prearb and he’s a super two super two candidate. Super two just means there’s a certain uh uh you know grouping of players who based on service time you get an additional year of arbitration. And so Danny Young falls under that mix. So the Mets have five years of team control and that’s including the upcoming season. So even if he doesn’t pitch in 2026, four more years of team control. I think they might keep all those guys but we’ll see. Up in the air Justin Hagiman pitch well has two options. I think they probably keep them. Jared Young, remember the, you know, the hitter, left-handed bat who came up a couple times this past season. He still has an option left. So, there is a world the Mets keep him. I think they probably non tender him, but we’ll see. Jonathan Pentaro and Alice Carillo both got added to the roster this year. Did not pitch much and did not pitch well in the minors after coming up to the show. So, we’ll see if the Mets decide to trim some fat on their 40man roster by cutting those guys. You also have Austin Warren and Brandon Wedell who are both out of options as is Nick Madrickal who we never saw. He got hurt in spring training or just before spring training and we never got a real look at him. Madrical I think is a cut. Wedell I think you might hang on to him but is he guaranteed to stay on the roster all season? That’s the one thing um that I think makes it a little more up in the air. Same thing with Austin Warren. I think he probably is a cut. I will do a full show as we get closer to the non-tender deadline giving you my official predictions, but I just wanted to lay out all the different names to keep in mind of if they keep all of the injured guys and they cut Hagenman, Jared Young, Jonathan Pentaro, Alice Carillo, Austin Warren, Brandon Wedell, and Nick Magrical, those seven cuts would take you down to 32 uh players on your 40man roster. So, you’d have plenty of room to make offseason additions. But also for a lot of these guys that I just mentioned, those seven guys, they’re all pre-ARB. I believe maybe Austin Warren might be AR one, but they’re all very lowcost players. So, you can always make those cuts as you make additions even if it goes past the November 21st deadline. It’s just once you get past that deadline, you are guaranteeing a player a salary. So, for these guys who are pre-ARB, uh I think it’s, you know, whatever the minimum is. I believe you’d have to pay them that. Uh you definitely have to pay the arbitration guys if you cut them after that deadline. So, we’ll see what the Mets choose to do with all of those roster decisions. And again, I will give you a full show breaking those things down once we get closer to that deadline. We will also do a full show on who will the Mets protect from the rule five draft, but I wanted to give you a list of names for the show today just to give you a primer for this off seasonason. So, you have Nick Morabido. He is the most likely to be added. He’s having a good uh season right now in the Arizona Fall League. Had a good year in double A. He could be selected by any team and parked on a roster as a fourth outfielder very easily. So, I think Nick Morabido is the most likely to be added. You also have DeAndre Smith who was also in the Arizona Fall League, not having quite as much success, but still he’s out there. Utility man, had a good season, could play some second base, play in the outfield. We’ll see about him. I think he’s unlikely to get added to the roster and probably unlikely to get picked up. And then you have Kevin Prada. Got to was pretty bad 16 games there, but had a decent season in double A. Tough decision on Prada, but I wouldn’t add him to the 40. Anyone who who has listened to this show for a long time knows I have not been a fan of Kevin Prada as a prospect, but we will see if the Mets decide to protect him from the rule five draft. One other position player who’s rule five draft eligible. Oh, there’s there’s more. I mean, there’s Matt Ruddic and Luke Ritter, Wyatt Young, guys that have been with the team for a very long time, organ, you know, guys that maybe you just let be minor league free agents anyway, but not really notable players to discuss here. Ron Hernandez is an interesting one because he is a very good defensive catcher, but he’s in high A, so I think unlikely that he would get picked up. Now, you have a ton of arms who are rule five draft eligible. Filipe de la Cruz, Joander Suarez, Jordan Geber, uh Joel Diaz, Matt Allen, rule five draft eligible but hurt again this year so I doubt he would get selected. Douglas Orlena, uh Joshua Cornelia, Luis Moreno, TJ Shook, Brian Meteor, Trey Mclalen, and Sal Garcia. So, a lot of names there that we’ll be discussing on the full show. I don’t know if any would necessarily get selected the same way Mike Vassel was a real candidate to get selected this past year just because he was a trip AAA starting pitcher had a lot of innings under his belt get selected I think it was by the Rays and then eventually handed up on the White Socks and had that great season where he pitched to a like a 25 RA and got over 100 innings pitch out of the bullpen a lot of low and leverage innings in that role that he was in but that’s how you keep a guy through the rule five draft uh So, we’ll see if any of those arms, you know, really merit being protected. Uh, the few that stand out to me right now is Saul Garcia because he had a very good season. 170 RA and high A and DA. Funny enough, Brian Meteor also had a 1.7 O RA in high A and double A. For Garcia, a ton of strikeouts, 76ks, and 47 and two third innings pitched. So maybe, but still being in double A, that’s a big jump for a team to select him. You never know. They love the arm though. could. And then Tre Mlen was, you know, their closer in doublea. Had 18 saves, 4.09 RA. Had a much better season in 2024 when he pitched to a 2.34 RA. Really good stuff though. Uh really good splitter. So, another guy that’s an option. But again, we will have a full show coming up in a couple of weeks here. Once we creep closer and closer to that deadline, uh the November 18th deadline for rule five draft players to be uh protected. I will make my official prediction on which players should be protected and which players should not be protected. So, something to look forward to in the coming weeks. Final segment today, we’re going to talk about the qualifying offer. As I mentioned, there’s only one player in the Mets who could get it, and that is Edwin Diaz, but there are plenty of candidates around the league. Who is going to get the qualifying offer? Who is not? And how will that impact whether the Mets are going to chase those free agents? We’ll talk about it all. Close out the show here in just a minute. Today’s episode’s brought to you by Game Time. We got the NFL and the NBA season back right now. And honestly, there’s nothing better than being in a stadium or an arena surrounded by fans cheering on your team. Let’s be honest, getting tickets that can be a hassle. Between cues, login screens, and prices jumping up at checkout, it’s frustrating. And that’s why I use Game Time, the app that gives the advantage back to fans. Game time is fast, it’s easy, it’s backed by the Game Time guarantee, so you’re always going to get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus, all fees are included. So, the price you see is the price you pay. The app just made it super simple. I can view the seat before I buy, so exactly what to expect when I arrive. I’m a Miami Heat fan, so I was actually looking at tickets for this upcoming weekend. saw a pretty good deal. I’m gonna sit on it though because the closer you get to game time, the closer you or the better deals you typically get through the app. And honestly, it’s just the fastest, cheapest, and least stressful way I’ve had to buy tickets in the past. So, if you want to get tickets to a game coming up, download the Game Time app, create an account, use a code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that’s promo code locked on MLB. L O C K E D O N M LB for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download Game Time today. If you’re an everydayer that always tunes into the show, make sure you become a Locked on Mets insider. This is our texting service where updates from me anytime news breaks on the match. You can ask me questions anytime, take part in our Locked on Mets signed photo giveaways, and during the season, we get a line graphic sent to your phone each day so you know who’s in the starting lineup without ever having to go on social media. If you want to be locked on Mets insider, find the link in the episode description or go to subtext.com/lockedonmmets. Now, we had a very good article go up on justbaseball.com. My managing editor, Leo Morgan Stern, put out a really good piece which is titled which for agents will and won’t receive a qualifying offer. So, let’s go through the list. The locks to receive a qualifying offer. You got Kyle Tucker, Bo Bashette, Dylan CE, Fra Valdez, Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, and Edwin Diaz. Now, Kyle Tucker an unlikely candidate for the New York Mets to pursue Bobette. Theoretically, if you cleared your infield a little bit, you could plug him at second base or third base. I think it’s still unlikely, but worth noting. Dylan Cece the top free agent starting pitcher in my opinion based on the fact that he’s a couple years younger than Fran Valdez and he has better stuff than Framber Valdez. Also, I’m still wary about Valdez and just my concerns about whether he is a good clubhouse fit. Didn’t love that mixup he had with his catcher and the way he responded to it. Not a good look for him. We’ll see if it impacts his free agent Mark if he still has been as effective of a pitcher uh that we’ve had in baseball of a left-handed starting pitcher for the past however many years. You know, five, six seasons. He’s just been an innings eater. Very consistent, good in October. I wouldn’t completely rule it out, but he should get I think the most when it comes to AAV, so he should get the most per year. I think Dylan CE is going to get the longest contract. But having to stomach a Qo for either of those guys and giving up draft picks might not be as attractive as the guys who may not get a qualifying offer or to just go the trade route. Although then you’re giving up prospects right away instead of future prospects in terms of draft capital. So there is drawbacks and u positives to either route to address the rotation. Kyle Schwarber to me, why give up, which is kind of crazy. He never got a qualifying offer in the past, but why give up draft capital to Philly for Schwarber who’s older than Pete Alonzo instead of just signing Pete Alonzo? Kyle Schwarber is not going to play a better first base than Pete Alonzo. He doesn’t play at first base. He plays a bad corner outfield and he really doesn’t. So, you have less positional flexibility. Schwarber. I think it just makes more sense to sign Pete Allonzo than giving him a contract and giving up draft capital. But I understand there’s some fans that would love Schwarber. And I’m not going to completely knock that. The guy has been averaging 46 home runs over the past four seasons with Philly. So he is probably a better home run hitter than Pete Alonso, funny enough, at this stage in their careers. I think you know when it comes to hitting for average though, Pete Alono hasn’t beat. Who’s the better run producer? Flip a coin. But Ranger Suarez, you know, he’s going to get the QO and to me that that makes it a non-starter um to give him a deal. But honestly, if you want to get a good pitcher in free agency, you’re gonna have to give up draft capital. You have Michael King and Zack Allen. Both of them also are near locks as Leo tabs them in the article to get a QO. They’re coming off for for King an injury plague season for Gallon a year where he underperformed. But I think both guys have enough upside where they’re going to get the QL because if either accepts it, $22 million for those free agents or 22 it is 22.025 million looking at the article here. Uh that’s that’s nothing for these guys on a one-year deal. So I think both them will get it. Now, the players that have been tapped as a close call by Leo, we got Brandon Woodruff, Trent Gisham, Devin Williams, Robert Suarez, Glamber Torres, Jack Flity, and Lucas Gilito. Now, Flareity and Gilito both have options that they could just pick up in their contracts. I don’t think either gets the Qo. I really don’t. Theoretically, I think Boston giving it to Golito more likely than Flareity getting it from the Tigers. Glabber Torres if he gets it non-starter for signing him. The Yankees didn’t give it to him. I don’t know if the Tigers are going to. Robert Suarez and Devin Williams. It’s interesting because both of those guys are, you know, set up to be paid pretty well as closers on this market. Devin Williams obviously had a down season, but the track record that he has and the fact that he’s a couple years younger than Suarez makes him, I think, still a very attractive free agent. If he has the qualifying offer attached, no chance. I just don’t know if the Yankees want to roll the dice on him accepting the QO and running it back at $22 million. Um, for Suarez, I think it’s interesting because the Padres’s could make the case that this is his last chance to hit the market and get a long-term deal, so he’ll decline it, but that could be debilitating to them if he picks it up. So, I do agree with this entire list really as far as guys that are close calls. Trent Gisham, I’d be pretty surprised if the Yankees extended it to him. He had a great season, but do you want to pay him 22 million? I don’t know. Uh Brennan Woodruff, I think, will get it actually because he’s got that same upside. He has a $20 million mutual option. And the way that that option works, the Brewers have a $10 million or he gets a $10 million buyout uh if the Brewers decline their end of it. So, the Brewers are going to pick up the mutual option because if they don’t, then he can hit the market and collect 10 million. They’re going to accept their end of it and then the decision falls on Woodruff. Do you want to take a $20 million essentially at that point player option? If you opt out, you get nothing. You just hit the market and then the Brewers can tag you with the QO. I think that the Brewers accept their end of the mutual option. He declines, becomes a free agent, and then I think the Brewers tag him with a qualifying offer. And for Woodriuff, he then might accept that qualifying offer because then he could hit the market after a healthy season in Milwaukee. At least that would be the hope in 2026 and get a contract the following year where it be a longer term deal where he not be encumbered by the QO. But it really could go a lot of different ways. Still a lot of money for the Brewers to have him, you know, get paid $22 million when he wasn’t healthy this past season. So, uh, interesting players there. And then we get to it’s possible according to Leo. Jorge Palano and Tyler Mali. I doubt it, but I guess that’s the point of the it’s possible. You never know. Jorge Palano was a bit of a postseason hero for the Mariners. So those overall numbers were not very good, but his regular season numbers were. So could theoretically and Tyler Mi pitched great, but was not healthy this past season. Uh not happening. Luis Arise, Emilio Pagan. Uh, Luis Herz is not going to make that much money in free agency. I’d be very curious what his deal is going to be, but I would not be interested in him. And then you get Ailio Pagan, who was a really good pitcher this past season uh for the Reds. Racked up a bunch of saves, 32 saves, 2.88 RA. Really good season. Don’t think he gets it. Now we get to players who can’t get the qualifying offer. Alex Bregman, Cody Bellinger, Pete Alonzo, JT Romuto, Chris Basset, Nick Martinez, Risel Elacius, Kenley Jansen, Justin Verlander, Marcela Zuna, and Max Scherzer. So, you go through that list. I honestly don’t even remember Chris Basset getting a queue up from the Mets, but obviously he did after that great 2022 season that he had. What’s interesting about those guys is this makes them all more attractive free agents for the Mets because you don’t have to give draft capital to get them. So getting Alex Bregman this year, no draft capital, makes him more attractive than he was last season. Cody Bellinger, same thing, more attractive this time around than he was when he was a free agent a couple years ago. And you go down the line, I think all of those guys are interesting. switch teams in season, which if you again switch teams in the middle of the season, you are not eligible for a QO. Shane Bieber, AO Suarez, Josh Naylor, Harrison Bader, Ryan O’Harn, Mel Kelly, Kyle Finnegan, and Ryan Hellley. When it comes to those names, Shane Bieber screams out to me. I love for the Mets to sign Shane Bieber and then trade for an ace. Shane Bieber could be an ace. He pitched well in the playoffs because he got traded mid-season. There’s no Qo attached to him. That’s the guy that I would love to get on a oneplus one deal and I would give it to him. So, a one-year deal with a player option for a second year. Now, you can get burned in those deals. Just ask Frankie Mentos, but I would be in on it. I would rather make that type of a commitment to Bieber than Michael King or Zack Gallon when you have to give up the draft pick compensation and you probably have to give him the pillow contract. So that’s why I think Bieber is more attractive than those other two. It’s just a matter of convincing him that you’re the best landing spot for him to I hate to say resurrect his career when he was still very important to the Blue Jays who nearly won the World Series. Uh but you know to get back to that ace status that he had in the past and get the long-term deal that I’m sure he eventually covets. Um when it comes to the other guys that were traded in season on the position player front, I mean good to know that you can get Josh Naylor or Ao Suarez without giving up the the draft capital and Harrison Bader can’t get the QO either. So, all those guys are interesting, but ultimately for the New York Mets here, I think you can go out go throughout this off season and avoid signing almost anybody who’s going to get the QO outside of Dylan Seats or Framber Valdez if you decide those are the guys that you want to headline your rotation. Um, and then you know, of course, maybe Michael King or or Zack Allen falls into that camp as well, but personally, like I mentioned, I’d be more in on the on a guy like Shane Bieber who does not have that draft pick capital attached. Anyway, that’s going to be all for today’s show. I hope this was a good primer, giving you everything you need to know about what’s in store for the Mets and just, you know, across the league in the coming weeks and months of the off season. Tomorrow’s show, I will be talking about Pete Alonzo and Edwin Diaz. We’re going to do contracts that they should accept before they hit the open market. So, I’ll I’ll put together an offer for each of these guys that I think is compelling enough for them to sign, but team friendly enough that the Mets should be willing to extend it before they actually test their market. and then we’ll kind of talk about uh if either will come to terms before this 5-day window that they can negotiate the m negotiate with the Mets ends. Also, we should be getting some coaching news soon. Seems like the Mets might have some candidates lined up for pitching coach and third base coach, but those hires have not made have not been made official yet. So, I will wait till they are before we do a show on it. As always, thank you all for tuning in. Make sure you follow, rate, and review wherever you get your podcast. If you’re watching on YouTube, hit that subscribe button. And if you want to be locked on Mets insider and be part of our text and service, go to the episode description or to subtext.com/locked on Mets.

The MLB offseason kicks into high gear as the New York Mets face critical roster decisions that will shape their 2025 campaign.

With Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz hitting free agency, the franchise must navigate qualifying offers, non-tender candidates, and Rule 5 draft protections while managing a crowded 40-man roster.

Host Ryan Finkelstein breaks down essential offseason dates, from the November 6th qualifying offer deadline to the December winter meetings in Orlando.

He analyzes which Mets players face non-tender decisions—including Tylor Megill, Tyrone Taylor, and several Tommy John surgery recoveries—and evaluates Rule 5 draft-eligible prospects like Nick Morabito and DeAndre Smith.

The episode explores how qualifying offers across baseball will impact the Mets’ pursuit of free agents like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, and Shane Bieber, who presents a unique opportunity without draft pick compensation attached.

Get the complete breakdown of the Mets’ offseason strategy and discover which moves could define their championship window—tune in now for expert analysis on every roster decision ahead.

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