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.
David Stearns understands his ultimate goal of bringing a World Series crown back to the Mets comes with difficult decisions.
On Sunday night, the Mets sent a jolt through their fan base when they agreed to trade Brandon Nimmo, the longest-tenured member of the team, to the Rangers in exchange for three-time All-Star Marcus Semien.
The deal, which the Mets president of baseball operations said began to gain steam at the general manager’s meetings in Las Vegas last week, is the first in a potential series of changes that could give the club a vastly different look heading into the 2026 season.
“This was not easy,” Stearns said in a video conference on Monday afternoon. “Everyone here thinks very highly of Brandon, but in order to create the type of sustainable, championship-caliber play that we want to have here, at times, these types of decisions are necessary.”
In Stearns’ vision, the trade of a core piece in Nimmo is a recognition of last season’s shortfall. He said “running back the same exact group wasn’t the right thing to do” after the team fell woefully shot of expectations and missed the playoffs in 2025.
The front office’s belief is that Semien, who won his second Gold Glove last season and a World Series crown with the Rangers in 2023, will bring elite defense to the right side of the infield, a “winning drive” and right-handed bat to balance out the lineup.
Despite securing a pair of Silver Slugger Awards in his career, Semien took a step back offensively in 2025, posting a .669 OPS including 15 home runs, 62 RBI and 61 runs in 127 games.
“I think it’s notable that this is a player that contributes to winning baseball in a variety of different ways and the bat may not actually lead the way at this point in his career,” Stearns said. “We think there’s likely some bounce back in his offensive profile and offensive game, but what we’re counting on at the top of his skillset is the contributions he can make for us defensively, how he can perform on the bases, and we think those are going to help us win games.”
How will the Mets fill the outfield void?
Stearns said that dealing a player of Nimmo’s high esteem was a challenging one, given the respect he had earned in the clubhouse and throughout the organization after spending each of his 14 seasons of his career with the franchise.
With Nimmo, who waived his full no-trade clause, no longer in the equation, the Mets have a big gap in left field and a smaller one in center field where Tyrone Taylor remains after re-signing on a $3.8 million contract.
“We think this opens up possibilities and flexibility for us going forward, both from a near-term perspective and also allowing space for a number of very young outfielders who are coming, who are talented and will deserve spots at the major league level and to play at the major league level,” Stearns said. “This transaction provides room for that to happen as we move forward.”
The Mets believe that the 22-year-old Carson Benge, the club’s 2024 first-round pick and No. 21 prospect in MLB, can be a contributor at the major league level in 2026. Benge tore up Double A, where he posted a .978 OPS with eight home runs, 23 RBI and 28 runs before seeing mixed results during a short stint in Triple A.
Jeff McNeil, who is entering the final season of his four-year, $50 million deal, remains an option given his versatility, particularly with Semien taking his second-base spot. Jett Williams, a 22-year-old utility player who was drafted out of high school as a shortstop, has spent some time in the outfield during his development years.
Stearns added that a “realistic” offseason approach could be bringing back Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso and adding a top-flight outfielder but that the team’s payroll is “not unending.”
“I would expect us to continue to be active in a variety of spaces to bring players in here, and I think we’ll have a better feel for what all of that looks like as we get much farther into the winter and ultimately into the spring,” Stearns said.
How does Marcus Semien’s addition affect the Mets’ young core?
While the departure of Nimmo might open the window of opportunity for some of the Mets’ prospects, it appears to be sealing off some other chances in the infield where Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio had been pushing for more playing time.
But Stearns believe that the versatility of those players bodes well for them moving forward into next season.
“Whether that’s Acuña or Jett Williams or Ronny Mauricio, we have a high degree of confidence that all of these guys can play multiple positions and can play them at a high level,” Stearns said. “We don’t look at the Semien acquisition as necessarily blocking anyone from continuing their progression.”
Stearns added that the team may ask McNeil to play some first base “depending on how the offseason pans out.”
With Semien joining the fold, the Mets front office sees similar high character as Nimmo that can contribute to a winning clubhouse.
“As we really began to dig in on who this person was, talked to his former teammates, former coaches, people who have been around him, this is someone who takes his craft incredibly seriously, someone who does everything he can on a regular basis to get a lineup to perform at a high level,” Stearns said. “(He) practices hard and holds those expectations of his teammates, as well. I think that’s going to fit in very well for our group.”