Baseball wonks are high on the Mets heading into 2026.
The Mets finished 2025 with a losing record (38-55, 60% losses), the result of a prolonged slump that cost them a playoff berth on the final day of the season. The end was in stark contrast to the beginning. From Opening Day through June 13, New York boasted the best record in baseball at 45-24 (65% wins).
So, what’s next? Mets fans were frustrated to see Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz depart as free agents, and Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil be traded. But they are now optimistic, knowing that their team can be good this season.
Misplaced loyalty? Not in this case. Make it an outcome of strategic moves. David Stearns should be commended for fielding a good team through moves. Examples include acquiring Opening Day starters Freddy Peralta, Luis Robert Jr., and Marcus Semien, and signing free agents Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco.
If all goes right, the Mets should battle it out with the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East. Even in the worst-case situation, the Mets should be in the playoffs as a wild-card team.
Look, there’s no doubt Pete Alonso’s numbers are going to be hard for the Mets to replace. But they should still be a good-hitting team with the addition of Robert, Polanco, Bichette, and Semien. Those quality hitters excel at situational hitting — an area where the Mets struggled badly down the stretch. They’re going to grind out every at-bat, show a real feel for getting on base, and mix line drives with their power.
Stearns clearly wanted to build a more balanced lineup that doesn’t live and die by the long ball. This itself should make the Mets better.
David Stearns, photo courtesy of NY Post
The Mets’ president of baseball operations contemplated overhauling the roster as soon as he was hired. The opportunity came after the team imploded down the stretch, posting an 11-17 record in August and a 10-15 mark in September—and he seized it. He wasn’t kidding about not running it back.
Getting a frontline starter was an objective for the Mets, and Stearns achieved that by acquiring Peralta. As great as Nolan McLean is, it’s not fair for him to be the ace at this point in what should be a promising career. He still has ways to go to get there, such as pitching a full season.
Expecting Kodai Senga to be that guy is too much to ask, because he can’t be relied on to stay healthy. He performed so badly after he came back from the injured list that he was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse in September.
If nothing else, this roster construction makes the Mets interesting, especially to see how the new guys respond to a new environment and the changing clubhouse dynamic.
I’m not sure if there would be a reason to be excited about the Amazins this season, even if Alonso and Diaz were back. Stearns knew he had to do something, which was what he was hired to do in the first place.
Now, it has to all work out or else the Joe Benignos of the world will start calling out Stearns. As satisfied as Mets fans are with the baseball genius, they can turn on him fast when a slump arises or if the team disappoints again this season.
Jorge Polanco in New York (photo courtesy MLB.com)
Stearns makes no apologies for doing it his way. Whether a Mets fan likes him or not, he should be commended for sticking to his convictions in how a roster should be built to win ballgames by winning with cost-effective players. He has been around the game enough to know what to do now.
The Amazins should be a good team based on this roster’s composition. The new guys, such as Polanco and Semien, know how to win based on their track record. They have young guys who can provide a spark, such as McLean, Carson Benge, Jonah Tong, and others from the farm system this year. In baseball, there’s always someone who you don’t expect to have a good year.
This isn’t the most anticipated season in club history, but it may be the most interesting one, with the potential to be great, and that should give every Mets fan cause for optimism.
