Juan Soto discusses Mets’ failure despite lofty expectations for 2025
After the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention on the season’s final day, Juan Soto discussed what went wrong on Sept. 28, 2025, in Miami.
The Mets have finally reached the offseason after a torturous monthlong wait following their playoff absence, and there are needs up and down the roster.
The challenge for president of baseball operations David Stearns and the club’s front office is upgrading the unit while keeping potential opportunities open down the line for a talented minor league system.
The expectation one of the richest franchises in baseball is to win now but to also create sustained success.
Despite reaching the National League Championship Series in 2024, the Mets fell woefully short of their expectations last season despite bringing in Juan Soto on a record deal, re-signing Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea and adding Clay Holmes, among other moves.
Ahead of next season, the Mets have roughly $113 million coming off the books to try and fill their needs, namely the starting rotation, bullpen and center field.
As they look to address those needs, we rank 10 potential free agents they should target, including some of their own, this offseason:
10. Robert Suarez
One of the biggest needs for the Mets heading into the offseason is retooling their bullpen, with all three of their trade deadline acquisitions becoming free agents and the hazy future of Edwin Diaz, who can opt out of the final two years of his five-year contract.
If Diaz does opt out, the best relief pitcher on the market could be the Padres’ Robert Suarez, who led the National League with 40 saves last season while notching his second straight All-Star selection. Suarez also has a player option before 2026.
He struck out 75 batters in 69⅔ innings with a 2.97 ERA last season. The 34-year-old has one of the most vicious fastballs in baseball.
9. Dylan Cease
Questions are swirling within the Mets’ rotation entering 2026, with Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga struggling following injuries and David Peterson scuffling down the stretch in 2025. Nolan McLean was a revelation and Brandon Sproat provided promise, but how much can a World Series contender depend on second-year pitchers to lead the staff?
The Mets will need reinforcements and Cease, the 29-year-old right-hander, provides one of the more explosive starting options on the market. The seven-year veteran has struck out 214 batters or more in each of his last five seasons with the White Sox and Padres. He has not made fewer than 32 starts in any of those seasons.
Cease had an up-and-down 2025 with the Padres, going 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with 215 strikeouts, but his upside cannot be denied.
8. Zac Gallen
The New Jersey native is one of the more elite pitchers in baseball at the top of his game, finishing in the top five in NL Cy Young voting in 2022 and 2023 as a member of the Diamondbacks, helping lead them to the World Series in the latter season.
A rocky first half of 2025 led Gallen to post a 13-15 record with a 4.83 ERA and 1.26 WHIP, but over the final two months of the season, the 30-year-old right-hander was 6-3 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.08 WHIP.
Gallen won’t draw top dollar, which could be an enticing value for Stearns.
7. Munetaka Murakami
The top prize of the international free agents will be 25-year-old Murakami, who has spent the last eight seasons with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
The left-handed hitting infielder has the potential to fill two needs for the Mets, with the majority of his time spent at third base and some first base mixed in as well.
In 55 games last season, Murakami slashed .273/.379/.663 with 22 home runs, 47 RBI and 40 runs. He won the Japanese Triple Crown at 22 years old in 2022, ripping 56 home runs, driving in 134 runs and batting .318.
Stearns visited Japan in the middle of last season to scout Murakami, showing there might be a degree of interest for the Mets.
6. Harrison Bader
The Mets are going to need a center fielder to play a leading role in front of Tyrone Taylor one way or another, and a Bader reunion makes sense. The 31-year-old Bronxville, N.Y., native still plays elite defense and flashed his true potential with his bat with the Twins and Phillies last season.
Between his two stops, which included a trade deadline trip to Philadelphia, Bader slashed .277/.347/.449 with 17 home runs, 54 RBI, 61 runs. He raised his OPS 139 points from when he was with the Mets in 2024.
With Bader, the Mets might be able to bide some time for the development of prospects at the position, whether that’s Carson Benge, Jett Williams or someone else.
5. Michael King
Could another reliever-turned-starter help bolster the Mets’ rotation? How about one that pitched in the same Yankees bullpen as Clay Holmes?
When Stearns made a move to bring on Holmes before the 2025 season, King was in San Diego proving that the transition could work. Now, he’s one of the more enticing pitchers on the open market this season.
A nerve injury in his right shoulder last season might give pause, but it might also lower his price slightly.
In 2025, King finished with a 5-3 record, 3.44 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 73⅓ innings. He made 30 starts in 2024, posting a sub-3.00 ERA with 201 strikeouts.
4. Cody Bellinger
The Mets might make a play to pry one of the Yankees’ valuable assets away to Flushing for a second straight season.
The former MVP and two-time All-Star could provide exceptional value for the Mets with his versatility and ability to play center field, first base or either corner outfield spot. Plus, he would offer another left-handed weapon at the plate.
After signing a three-year deal with two player options, Bellinger bolstered his value substantially in his lone season in the Bronx, slashing .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs, 98 RBI, 89 runs and 90 strikeouts in 152 games.
3. Ranger Suarez
The Phillies’ 30-year-old right-hander is one of the top arms on the market heading into 2026. He is coming off his second straight 12-win season while registering a 3.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 151 strikeouts in 157⅓ innings.
The left-hander will be a coveted long-term piece to a rotation because he does not rely on velocity.
Suarez leans on a nasty sinker that averages 29.1 inches of vertical drop, a vicious changeup and four other pitches. By throwing the kitchen sink at hitters, Suarez’s 31.1 percent hard-hit rate was in the top 2 percent in MLB. With strong command of his arsenal, he issued 2.2 walks per nine innings.
2. Edwin Diaz
It can be argued that Diaz has been the best closer in baseball in two of his last four seasons with the Mets. And that dominance would be tough to replace.
Diaz was the one steady presence inside the Mets’ bullpen last season, striking out 98 batters in 66⅓ innings while notching 28 saves with a 1.63 ERA and 0.87 WHIP.
It seems difficult to imagine a scenario where the Mets’ ninth inning rolls around without Diaz’s trumpets, but this could be the 31-year-old’s last chance to cash in on a long-term deal. One way or another, the Mets need to strengthen their late-inning performance and keeping Diaz remains their best option.
1. Pete Alonso
Last offseason, the Mets’ fanbase made their feelings known about their affinity for Alonso. The homegrown first baseman’s future hung in the balance until the 11th hour when he re-signed with the Mets.
Those raw emotions from the fans came even after one of the worst offensive seasons of Alonso’s career. After signing a two-year contract, Alonso proved how valuable of a piece he is, supplying 38 home runs, 126 RBI and 87 runs while batting .271 and playing all 162 games for the second straight season.
Without Alonso in the heart of the Mets’ lineup, there is a massive void, and the replacement options, whether internal or in free agency, don’t supply near the same punch. That’s why Alonso remains one of the most important free agents for the Mets this offseason.