Timing really is everything, isn't it? There's no better example than the New York Mets, who have now officially been eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season after losing to the Marlins yesterday for the second time in three days.
It was just last year that the Mets made it into the playoffs by winning the first game of a double-header in Atlanta in epic comeback fashion, continuing a turnaround that began in early June when they were 11 games under .500 and ended with them taking the eventual World Series champion Dodgers to six games in the NLCS.
Last season was as close to a mirror image to this season as possible. Last year, the Mets started slow and then got hotter and hotter as the summer went on. The vibes were immaculate, with such euphorically goofy moments as Jose Iglesias' postgame concert and the heretofore unknown magical powers of Grimace that took hold when the rotund purple mascot threw out the first pitch in mid-June, catalyzing a seven-game winning streak. Again and again, the Mets came back to win in thrilling fashion when it mattered most.
This year, the Mets started hot, even holding the best record in baseball up until June 12 at 21 games over .500. Eerily enough, that's the one-year anniversary of Grimace's first pitch, proving that apparently, his sorcery has a one-year expiration date. From there, the vibes were somewhere between "dumpster fire" and "prison sentence" as Mets fans watched a slow and steady collapse with prescient pessimism. Last year's comebacks were a distant memory, as the team lost every game it trailed in the 9th inning.
Missing out on the playoffs this year isn't the headline. After all, this was deemed a "transition year," even with the signing of Juan Soto. The Phillies and Braves were both projected in spring training to finish higher in the NL East. It's the way it went down that makes this hurt so much, because the Mets looked like World Series contenders for over two months, until they very much did not. Hot starts create expectations, and when they're not met, apologies like this become necessary:
Mets fans everywhere. I owe you an apology . You did your part by showing up and supporting the team. We didn’t do our part. We will do a post-mortem and figure out the obvious and less obvious reasons why the team didn’t perform up to your and my expectations
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) September 29, 2025
We are all feeling…
President of baseball operations David Stearns is bearing the brunt of the blame for this ignominious moment in Mets history. Stearns has done some great things since joining the organization, such as signing Soto and building the farm system into arguably the best in baseball in short order. These are things that will pay off, but in the short term, he made some mistakes that simply can't happen again. Here are three that he can fix this offseason.
The rotation can't be made completely out of bargain deals
Stearns has a well-earned reputation for being able to sniff out bargains in the pitching market. He did it when he ran the Brewers, and in his first year with the Mets, he continued that tradition by getting a career-best season out of free agent Sean Manaea. Luis Severino seemed like damaged goods when the Mets signed him, but the former Yankee got his career back on track by being an undeniable positive in the rotation.
Last season's playoff run doesn't happen without those guys, and Stearns tried to replicate it this year by again going bargain hunting. He let Severino walk when the A's overpaid for him, but he brought back Manaea for a big raise, a move that looks like a huge bust in hindsight as the lefty pitched to over a 7.00 ERA in the final two months of the year after an injury-plagued spring.
Here's the 2025 Mets Opening Day rotation: Clay Holmes, Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning, David Peterson and Kodai Senga. Manaea was hurt in the spring, as was free agent signee Frankie Montas.
Of those seven names, the only one capable of pitching well by the end of the season was Holmes, the converted former Yankees closer who led all Mets starters in wins and ERA. Peterson completely lost his mojo after an All-Star first half, while Senga was so bad that he ended the season by getting rocked in the minors.
Canning, Megill and Montas had their seasons cut short due to injury long ago, but Mets fans still remember what a disaster it was every time Montas took the mound. Megill and Canning were OK, with ERAs just below 4, but in no way outstanding.
The Mets could have made a play for Garrett Crochet, who is almost surely going to finish second in the American League Cy Young voting with the Red Sox. They could have challenged the Yankees for Max Fried. In fairness, they could also have gone after Corbin Burnes, who needed Tommy John surgery in June. This is very much an inexact science.
The sticker shock on Soto's contract probably precluded the Mets from taking a huge swing at a starter, but this offseason needs to be different. Whether through free agency or a trade, the Mets can't trot the same tired rotation out, and they can't try to turn other teams' trash into their treasure.
Luckily, the young trio of Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat are here to help. Each of those three took some lumps after being called up late in the year, but each obviously has the stuff to be a difference-maker in the majors. Better yet, they hardly make any money at all yet. Stearns has no excuse not to spend for some veteran help to stabilize the rotation.
It's time to finally address center field
Let me just say that I love Tyrone Taylor, but if he's the Opening Day center fielder in 2026, then Stearns has really dropped the ball. Taylor has a great glove, which is something this team needs, but a quick look at the competition shows that you need your center fielder to produce at the plate.
Even though he faded late in the year, former Mets prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong still put up a 30-30 season for the Cubs. The Dodgers' Andy Pages led all center fielders in average and slugged 27 homers. Jackson Chourio is just scratching the tip of his potential for the Brewers. The same is true for Jackson Merrill of the Padres.
Stearns tried to address cener field by adding Cedric Mullins at the deadline, but the former Oriole did next to nothing once he got to Flushing, to the point that Taylor was still the most trusted guy by the end of the year.
With Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto in the corner outfield spots, the Mets aren't exactly a Gold Glove outfield. It's a tall order to find an offensive dynamo who also excels in the field, but the bar is extremely low right now. Will Carson Benge or Jett Williams, the top two prospects in the organization according to MLB.com, be ready by Opening Day, or do the Mets need a stopgap that can still produce? One way or another, the Mets can't count on Taylor to be the everyday guy.
Quit messing around and lock Pete Alonso up long term
Let's get my bias out of the way immediately so it doesn't come back to get me later. Pete Alonso is my favorite baseball player of all time. There's nobody I've enjoyed following more as a Mets fan. He's rewriting the Mets record books, he produced the most clutch hit in Mets history, and to top it all off, there's nobody who has embodied what it means to be a Met more than the Polar Bear.
The fact that the Mets let Alonso dangle through most of the winter instead of locking up the greatest power hitter in franchise history immediately is a damning indictment of the way that Stearns conducts business. Any team could have swooped in and signed Alonso for the right price, and though Stearns seemed to be proven right in the end since Alonso did indeed return, the one-year deal with a player option for a second guaranteed that we'd be right back in the same situation this offseason.
Alonso has already said that he will be opting out of that second year, which will put him right back on the free agent market again. Stearns cannot make the same mistake this time around. Not only are there no better options out there (the theory was that Stearns was waiting for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to hit free agency, but the Blue Jays have since wisely locked him up long term), but Alonso is still performing at an elite level. He clubbed another 38 home runs this season while also driving in the second-most runs in Met history with 126. The only one to drive in more? Also Alonso, when he put up 131 RBIs in 2022.
Despite being jerked around by the only franchise he's ever played for, Alonso was a consummate pro, and he still showed his love for the organization every chance he could. Imagine where this team would have been without his bat in the lineup.
Stearns has been reticent to commit to Alonso because many power hitters see a decline in production around this age. It's not here yet. Alonso is 30, not 35, and he has a ton of great baseball left in him. The Mets ignored chemistry this offseason when they let Jose Iglesias and Harrison Bader go, and it cost them big-time in their second-half fall from grace. Losing Alonso would do terrible things to the already-fragile psyche of this fanbase. Do not let that happen, and though it shouldn't need to be said, do not let Edwin Diaz walk either if and when he opts out.