The Notes: Diving into the Mets and Braves Offseasons

Since the last time we looked into the Mets offseason, a lot has changed! They let key players walk, signed new ones, and made multiple big trades to address drastic needs. There is a lot to dive into.

On the Braves’ side, I should apologize for not talking about all of these moves earlier, given when they were made.

While this is the Phillies blog on SB Nation, it is still important to cover what the other serious teams in the division are doing for 2026. Notice the word serious and why there doesn’t need to be much on the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins.

The new look Mets

To even process just how much the Mets roster has changed from 2025 to 2026, the only proper way is to lay out who came in and who is gone.

In: Freddy Peralta, Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, Luis Robert Jr., Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Luis Garcia, and Tobias Myers

Out: Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Luisangel Acuña, Starling Marte, Cedric Mullins, Edwin Diaz, Griffin Canning, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto, and Frankie Montas

That is a lot of turnover for a team that expects to compete next season. They will have a new starting first baseman, third baseman, second baseman, center fielder, left fielder, new starter, and new high-leverage relievers. The Mets are also taking the right path because the previous core didn’t win enough and never fully came together outside of 2024.

The big question with all of this turnover is what the final product will look like. Did they improve their 2025 roster? It looks like they have.

The infield’s biggest upgrade might be with their corner infielders. Pete Alonso put together his best season at the plate since 2022 but they gave Mark Vientos 463 plate appearances last year as a mediocre hitter and a horrible defensive third baseman.

Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco are not flawless players but it looks like a better combination on both sides of the diamond compared to what they had even if its mostly because Mark Vientos isn’t very good.

Luis Robert Jr. is both overrated and underrated as a player. Depending on who you ask, he’s either one of the worst everyday players in the sport or someone who can still be a superstar in the right environment. The Mets probably just need him to be a slightly luckier version of 2025, where he underperformed his xwOBA by 32 points.

If he hits closer to those projected numbers, his defense would give the Mets one of the better everyday center fielders in the sport. With prospect Carson Benge in left and Robert in center, there is way more support to deal with Juan Soto’s right-field issues than there was in the past.

The starting rotation was a disaster last season but now it looks deep with the addition of Freddy Peralta. He and Nolan McLean should give them one of the better one-two punches in the sport next season with competitive pitchers behind them. David Peterson and Clay Holmes were solid mid-rotation options last year that were asked to carry the staff. Now they’re just asked to be mid-rotation options like they were paid to be.

What’s behind will be a question but the answers might not be disasters. Sean Manaea wasn’t good last season with a 5.64 ERA but should be bound for more luck. He struck out 28.5% of hitters he faced last season while only walking 4.6%. His FIP and xERA hovered around 4 so that, along with a more durable season is the leading candidate to be their number five starter right now. They also feature prospects like Jonah Tong, Jack Wenninger, and Will Watson in the high minors so their depth should be in a much better place than last season.

The big concern with the Mets right now should be their bullpen. After Williams and Weaver, the unit gets thin fast. AJ Minter is coming off an injury-plagued 2025 season but is effective when healthy. Brooks Raley is still very deceptive but is going to be 38 years old next season and the middle of their bullpen could use some upgrading over Austin Warren and Luis Garcia.

However, if that’s the biggest complaint at the end of your off-season, there is a good reason for it.

Some of their starters might factor into relief roles next season too. Tobias Myers is probably the best candidate for that type of transition with his four-seam and splitter combination. Jonah Tong needs to develop a more consistent third pitch to be a starter in the Majors and they should be doing whatever it takes to make him a starter but his fastball-changeup combination looks extremely enticing for a late-season bullpen run if they need it. Maybe he’s the next Roki Sasaski in October of 2026.

They lost a lot of talent but gained a lot of talent, and their owner should stay off Twitter when the team is targeting a big free agent but they do look better than last season.

Straight to the point Atlanta Braves

The Braves said they needed a shortstop, a high-leverage reliever, an outfielder, and some help on the bench. They’ve done just that, regardless of the value.

They added Robert Suarez to the bullpen on a three year deal, signed Ha-Seong Kim to play shortstop (who is now hurt), added Mike Yastrzemski to the outfield, and made small moves for Mauricio Dubón and Jorge Mateo.

Did the Braves make themselves better for 2026? Probably but it’s not the best process.

Suarez was given a three-year deal as a four-seam fastball-driven reliever that’s 34 years old. He dropped half a mile per hour last year and doesn’t have the best mix for adjusting as he ages. Suarez’s best secondary offering is his changeup that already saw a big decrease in it’s whiff-rate last season and allowed a .483 slug. This just doesn’t seem like the best profile to bet on with a three-year deal.

Yastrzemski is 35 years old and declined defensively each of the last two seasons. He did make real changes to his approach, decreasing his whiff rate by 7.1% and his strikeout rate by nearly 7% but it’s still a tough bet to make with an aging player that’s not an outlier athlete.

There were 17 hitters with at least 150 plate appearances at 35 years old or older last season; only seven of them had a wRC+ of at least 100.

That’s before mentioning that he signed a two-year deal so his Braves tenure will be taking him through his age 36 season. Only 3 of 10 hitters at 36 or older in at least 150 plate appearances had at least a wRC+ above 100.

Both of these deals feel like a year too long and that might not seem like a massive deal but you have to make certain promises with deals beyond one season. Suarez is getting at least two seasons in their bullpen, no matter if he’s good or bad. Yastrzemski is getting this season and probably a bit of next season, too, as the Phillies did with Didi Gregorius a few years ago when he signed a two-year deal. This is a promise that has nothing to do with player performance.

With Kim being hurt for multiple months and the red flags on these deals, it might not be the kind of off-season that Atlanta was hoping for.

The Notes: Diving into the Mets and Braves Offseasons

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