This time of year, David Stearns and his front office team are typically planning for the postseason while starting tentative offseason plans. It’s supposed to be an exciting time of year, and since Stearns has been back in New York running his childhood team, the Mets have been in the mix for a playoff spot.
That was the case until this season, at least. Sure, there are things to look forward to this month, like a Rookie of the Year race involving Carson Benge and Nolan McLean, but with the Mets having been out of the playoff picture for months and a lockout looming, things feel a bit anticlimactic this month.
“This isn’t the position you want to be in,” Stearns said Friday at Citi Field. “This is a lot more fun when you’re competing for a playoff spot. But we’re not playing for a playoff spot, so we turn our attention to offseason planning in its entirety.”
The Mets’ president of baseball operations declined to get into what he has identified for next season. There will be time for that after the season ends and the club does a full post-mortem with players and coaches. Plus, the pieces are largely in place for next season already. Only one player on the roster will be a free agent after the season, reliever veteran Chris Devenski, who is willing to re-sign with the Mets on a minor league contract as a depth option next season.
Bo Bichette could depart if he exercises his option to become a free agent again. Stearns has not discussed Bichette’s future with him yet, and Bichette has made reference to his three-year commitment to the Mets. There are also decisions regarding arbitration cases, most notably for Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.
Starting pitching should be the priority.
It would be foolish not to acquire another starter. The only one added to the group this season was Freddy Peralta, whose short tenure with the Mets was disappointing. Peralta, along with David Peterson and Clay Holmes, have all been traded. The Mets can build the rotation around their three young arms in McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton, but they can’t bank on any of their Triple-A talent. Jonah Tong was too inconsistent, and so were other prospects at lower levels.
“If we look at the first half of the season, and we look at the back half of our rotation and the performances we were getting out of the back half of our rotation, it wasn’t good enough,” Stearns said. “We had too many games where we weren’t giving ourselves a consistent shot early in games. I think that stabilized nicely, and we’re getting much, much more consistent starts and much more consistent starting pitching out of the entirety of our rotation. But I think early in our season, that is an area where we didn’t get right.”
There are reasons for optimism given the success of the team’s young core, and how well the Mets have played since the trade deadline. They’ve beaten good teams and put up good fights when the odds were stacked against them, playing more like the team they expected to be in the first half of the season.
“To some extent, it’s good to see that we are competing against really good teams, some of the best teams in the league. That’s also where we should be. That’s what we expect of ourselves.”
Rookie relievers like left-handers Nate Lavender and Jefry Yan have shown plenty to build on, while right-handers Austin Warren and Daniel Duarte have shown they can get big-league hitters out with consistent playing time.
Kodai Senga remains the wild card as the team’s default “closer” right now, with Devin Williams on the injured list. The right-hander has made it known he wants to start, but also understands he didn’t perform at a high enough level to keep his spot in the rotation this season. His role next season is “still to be determined,” but the Mets are happy with what he’s done in a leverage relief role.
“It’s fun to see,” Stearns said. “He’d prefer to start, but his investment in that role and the way he embraced that role, I think it’s a great example for his teammates, for the organization as a whole. And he’s done a great job.”
Jared Young has been surprisingly good this season now that he’s had an extended opportunity in the major leagues, and he could supplant Jorge Polanco at first base. Stearns lauded Polanco’s work ethic, but Polanco was limited to 37 games this season because of various injuries and played only two at first base, and his health remains uncertain.
A new manager will be the most crucial addition for 2027. The Mets have not shut the door on a general manager either, with current interim manager Andy Green being talked about for that spot.
What the Mets need the most is stability. Go figure, the upcoming offseason is set to be one of the most unstable and turbulent in recent history. But then again, it’s the Mets, so nothing comes easy.