Happy New Year: On to 2025
2024 was a great year for New York Mets — 2025 could be even better.
Happy New Year.
You’ve heard of the dog days of summer — well, we’ve entered the dog days of the offseason. A new year is just a page turn to yet another chapter in this proverbial book of life. The Mets certainly did themselves a favor — not only did they change the perception of them being the lesser team in their own city — they altered the reality of their future with the swipe of a pen.
Juan Soto’s record-breaking 15Y/$765M contract fulfilled the plan many thought owner Steve Cohen and President of Baseball Operations David Stearns had unwritten for a while — acquire Juan Soto; and turn Queens box-office. From a simple signature, the Mets won’t ever be looked at the same.
You do still have to win, though.
It’s been a strange past few weeks.
It’s been weeks — months for some — of growing anticipation for the same player.
The same player whom the Mets ended up getting.
A new year is the perfect time to reflect on the one prior.
A hard-fought and improbable NLCS run is nothing to scoff at. An 89-73 record while going 65-40 since June 1st showed the most reliance many have ever seen from a Mets team before. Throughout MLB history only three teams (2011 Rays, 1995 Reds, 1974 Pirates) since 1869 had started their seasons 0-5 that went on to make the playoffs.
You can now add the 2024 New York Mets — all without them adding Juan Soto.
While Juan Soto may not be Ted Williams — he’s as close as you’re going to get. The leadership, depth, and youth now present in the Mets lineup with Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo, and Francisco Alvarez is a legitimate core to build around — allowing Juan Soto to settle in seamlessly.
At his introductory press conference, Soto said:
“At the end, we looked at everything, we looked at the chances and looked at what everybody wants to do for the next 15 years and I think we have the best chance to do it over here.”
If Juan Soto being a New York Met still hasn’t sunk in — it probably won’t until Opening Day, in front a sold out crowd at Citi Field. The second Juan Soto runs out to right field against the Blue Jays a couple minutes after 3:10 PM on Friday, April 4th — that’s when the journey just begins.
There’s no downplaying the heights to which the Mets can now reach. A career .421 on-base percentage does not grow on trees, especially fresh off their 26th birthday.
So far in Soto’s seven-year career, he has 769 walks in 936 games. The Mets’ franchise record in walks is held by David Wright with 762 — in almost twice the amount of games (1,585) played.
When it comes to franchise records — Juan Soto may shatter them all.
It’s not often you stumble across a superstar; and the Mets were able to quickly flip perceptions of them needing their own. All the credit in the world goes to Steve Cohen — who did not get outbid for Juan Soto — even with the Yankees and Blue Jays going up to $760 million. Teams were in the dark about what others were offering, which made it all the more impressive on Steve Cohen’s behalf.
To the Yankees’ credit — their pivots to Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, and Paul Goldschmidt after losing out on Juan Soto have been fairly impressive — they’re the team to beat in the American League.
At the end of the day — only time will tell if it ends up equating.
To keep the sports references in season — the Mets made the NLCS in a year when many promised that they’d punt. The goal will always be to compete from year-to-year, citing sustainability for success; but I’m not so sure even the Mets expected the expectations that were upon themselves in the end.
“From 0-5 to OMG! What a ride! The Mets are going to the postseason in 2024!” -Gary Cohen
2024 taught the Mets and their fans to be hopeful about the future. Hopeful after falling two games short of a World Series in an NLCS that felt like an uphill climb from the first pitch — the Mets made sure to end their season at home on a high note.
Even if the Mets missed out on Juan Soto, unfairly or not, they still would’ve had expectations to make the playoffs based on their prior year.
Some other news and notes:
Brandon Nimmo Bounce-Back
By many metrics, it was Brandon Nimmo’s worst season of his career. A .224/.327/.399 slash line with 23 home runs. The lowest on-base percentage (.327) and second-worst batting average (.224) and slugging percentage(s) (.339) that Nimmo has ever had prior.
It does go deeper than the baseline stats — Nimmo posted just a 107 OPS+ last year, only 7% above league average. For reference, since 2017, Nimmo’s OPS+ has dropped below 128 in only three years.
Plantar fasciitis in Nimmo’s foot plagued parts of last year and clearly affected his postseason play. Over the past three seasons, Nimmo has played in 151, 152, and 151 games, respectfully.
I’d expect him to make the same number of starts in 2025.
On the flip side, certain aspects to Nimmo’s game in 2024 have changed — a perfect 15-15 in stolen bases is a career-high for someone who was once the certified Mets leadoff hitter.
Before this year, Brandon Nimmo never even had a season of double-digit steals. Having Juan Soto in the same lineup will only create more opportunities for Nimmo to flourish — with the potential for a 20-20 season.
Even by Nimmo’s definition of a down year — still having a 1.028 OPS with runners in scoring position is a positive step towards a bounce-back 2025 campaign.
Bench Bats: Jesse Winker
A 44-game slash line of .243/.318/.365 normally wouldn’t scream an instant reunion. The Mets have shown interest in bringing Jesse Winker back next season. This shouldn’t be a surprise — Winker’s presence alone can win you a ball game. A two-year, $20 million deal for Winker could be something to think about.
With the Dodgers signing Teoscar Hernández earlier this week to a 3Y/$66M deal, the Mets reportedly offered a two-year deal to Hernández, as well. This raises the question if the Mets are in on other bats in the DH/OF market.
Not to say it’s needed — unless traded — Starling Marte has one more year on his four-year contract worth $20,750,000. Think about free agent’s in Jurickson Profar and Anthony Santander as switch-hitting options to fill the Mets’ DH role completely.
Santander, 30, is the better option off a 44 home run season with 1B experience.
Profar, 31, is a Scott Boras client — and the way cheaper option.
Bench Bats: Jose Iglesias
Jose Iglesias, like Jesse Winker, would be a great bench bat — that are both fairly cheap. Aside from his non-ignorable .337 average, he was a major reason for the Mets’ success last season, which nobody can ignore. It will be very interesting to see what the Mets end up doing with Iglesias, 34, who is now represented by Scott Boras.
The magic did dry up for Jose Iglesias in the postseason — which could end up going against him in the end. I hope that the Mets don’t overlook the real impact he could still make, teaching up-and-coming middle infielders in the Mets system. It goes deeper than the diamond where that’s the obvious; but how to bounce back from slumps, or how to handle not making an Opening Day roster.
Jose Iglesias feels invaluable. Like many, their market is still yet to develop.
Ronny Mauricio Update
Ronny Mauricio has been the apple of many Mets fans eyes since he was called up briefly in September of 2023 — only to be sidelined for 2024 with a torn ACL. A switch-hitting 2B/3B, he saw time in left field and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets try and get some occasional outfield reps in the big leagues.
The concern with Mauricio is his belated start to resuming baseball activities; but he’s currently progressing well and should be ready for Spring Training. Mauricio shouldn’t be considered to break camp; but you could see him this season as early as he’s ready — preferably by the All Star Break.
Depending how the Mets ultimately look, plans for prospects can be altered until 2026 — especially in the case of Ronny Mauricio.
There are six Mets prospects you can look to make an impact in 2025. When I say impact — get a call up and produce in some way. Names to watch are RHP’s Brandon Sproat/Blade Tidwell, INF/OF’s Luisangel Acuña/Jett Williams, and OF Drew Gilbert.
Of any prospect the will Mets keep for certain, Brandon Sproat should be first in line.
This is all pending that the Mets don’t deal any in a trade this offseason, with names like Mariners’ Luis Castillo being floated. If the Mets were to trade for a top-end arm, they would’ve traded for Garrett Crochet — who ended up going to the Red Sox for catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth, and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez.
For the Mets, that would’ve likely been a package consisting of Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, and Luisangel Acuña — just for the White Sox to pick up the phone. The Mets showed their feelings about retaining top-end pitching prospects for the future, it showed how strongly they felt about Brandon Sproat.
When it comes to position players, Luisangel Acuña is the one to watch.
Sean Manaea Returns to Queens
Sean Manaea signed back with the Mets on a 3Y/$75M deal this past week. Manaea, 32, had a 12-6 record with a 3.47 ERA in 2024. Manaea had a career-high in innings pitched (181.2) and his second-best season strikeout (184) wise. Manaea took less money and years to stay with the Mets after receiving a $67M offer from the A’s to return to the team where he spent his first six (2016-2021) seasons.
Sean Manaea’s return to the Mets is a big testament to the credit of Jeremy Hefner and the Mets’ pitching staff — at the expense of some pretty high praise — which could be another reason to watch out for international free agent Roki Sasaki, who makes a decision any time after the international signing period begins January 15th.
Again, the Mets could trade for a big-time starter — but do they need to?
Current Starting Rotation
Kodai Senga
Sean Manaea
David Peterson
Frankie Montas
Clay Holmes
TBD
A work in progress to say the least. A six-man rotation presents options like Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, José Butto, and Paul Blackburn as current options — all likely until Brandon Sproat is ready. Clay Holmes will start the year in the rotation; but can be a great fall back option as Edwin Díaz’s setup man if Holmes’ starts go south.
The bullpen will be a Mets focus this offseason, independent of whether or not they end up adding another top-line starter via trade or free agency. The most coveted reliever on the market is LHP Tanner Scott who is seeking a 4Y/$80M deal.
The Mets of all teams can certainly pay that — and need a LHP — but will they?
The bullpen market be interesting to watch develop over the next few weeks.
David Wright Number Retirement
The Mets did (W)right by David and officially announced his number retirement, scheduled for July 19, 2024 at 4:10 PM against the Cincinnati Reds.
Wright becomes the eighth player in Mets history to have their number retired, joining Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, Jerry Koosman, Keith Hernandez, Willie Mays, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
If injuries never crept into Wright’s career, Cooperstown would be calling his name — at least more than they already are. It’s currently Wright’s second year on the Hall of Fame ballot after garnering 6.2% of the necessary 5% threshold to stay on.
Over Wright’s 14 seasons with the Mets, he held a career slash line of .296/.376/.491 (133 OPS+) with 1,777 hits — 242 for home runs, 390 for doubles with 196 stolen bases.
Pete Alonso
It’s been a cold winter — which makes the polar bear question the toughest to answer.
On one hand — or paw — Pete Alonso is the home grown Met who’s 26 home runs away from being the franchise leader. He’s itching to return and has been a prolific power hitter his whole career, with his home run totals (226) being:
2019: 53
2020: 16
2021: 37
2022: 40
2023: 46
2024: 34
But the negotiating table is for what you will do — not what you have done.
There’s a sizable gap between the Mets and Pete Alonso. Gut tells you the dollars and years will work themselves out to bring Alonso back to Queens. Until a clear market emerges, the Mets shouldn’t bid against themselves. This negotiation can drag out as long as Scott Boras wants it to — which has gone late into the offseason before — ask Jordan Montgomery.
Think about deferred and signing bonus money; or options, to add flexibility. If a mystery team offers five years — a four-year, $120 million contract with first and third year options could be a middle ground option.
The San Francisco Giants have Pete Alonso on their radar, so unless they offer Alonso his likely asking price of $200 million — I don’t see a sizable market building beyond that. With any of these markets, you can never be so sure. If the Mets decide to pivot from Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be a target option — either now in a trade, or next year in free agency. You can get both and have Alonso DH next season; but that feels more like a pipe dream. Ryan Clifford, the Mets No. 4 prospect, is a left-handed OF/1B option to think about seriously, as well.
Make no mistake about it — Pete Alonso wants to be a New York Met.
If you bring back Pete Alonso, Jesse Winker, and Jose Iglesias, the 2025 Mets lineup starts to look something like:
Francisco Lindor (SS)
Juan Soto (RF)
Mark Vientos (3B)
Pete Alonso (1B)
Brandon Nimmo (LF)
Francisco Alvarez (C)
Jesse Winker/Starling Marte (DH)
Jose Siri (CF)
Jeff McNeil/Luisangel Acuña (2B)