The 2024 New York Mets were a whirlwind, an exhausting, exhilarating thrill ride of improbability. They were a ragtag group of well-paid misfits, with the magic of an anthropomorphic purple blob and a Latin pop earworm. The Mets rode the good vibes all the way to the NLCS. An MVP runner-up campaign from shortstop Francisco Lindor helped too.
Here are the five main questions that will shape what’s sure to be a fascinating and active winter in Queens.
1. How high will the payroll go?
Mets owner Steve Cohen is, according to Forbes, the 39th richest person in America. Since buying the Mets in 2020 for $2.4 billion, Cohen has infused a fortune into his new toy. Once a circus of frugality, the Mets organization has refurbished its reputation and is now firmly considered as one of the financial behemoths of the sport.
Last offseason, the club’s first under new president of baseball operations David Stearns, the Mets focused on depth by signing a bevy of players to one-year deals. Those shrewd acquisitions helped propel the 2024 OMG Mets into the annals of New York sports history and set the Mets back on a winning path. But with so many key contributors reaching free agency, the Mets could look drastically different next season.
2. Will they sign Soto?
We know Juan Soto is going to command a contract for at least $550 million dollars, a figure that Cohen and Co. can certainly afford. Anything the Yankees offer, Cohen could theoretically reach into his endless hedge fund riches and outbid his crosstown rivals. Soto’s agent Scott Boras will be counting on this exact dynamic to drive up the price.
And so, the Mets’ run at Soto will come down to three dynamics:
– Did Soto’s one year in the Bronx do enough to convince him to take less money (though still a lot of money) to be a Yankee?
– How high are the Yankees willing to go?
– Can the Mets convince Soto that Queens is the better fit for him?
3. Is the Pete Alonso era over?
Nobody has ripped more homers at Citi Field than Alonso, who delivered an underwhelming season in his final year under contract. Still, the jolly basher still clubbed 34 long balls in 2024, while finishing the year with a batting line 23% above league average. It’s also important to consider what he means to the franchise; Alonso started 86% of games at first base for the team since his debut in 2019 and is currently just 32 home runs behind the all-time Mets record of 252 held by Darryl Strawberry.
4. How do they refill the rotation?
The rotation was essential to New York’s surprise season, but three-fifths of that group — Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and José Quintana — are on the open market this winter. That leaves behind Japanese fork-baller Kodai Senga, who was injured for almost all of 2024, and left-hander David Peterson. Those two, if healthy, have starting spots locked down. Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn could be in the mix, but both are best deployed as depth options. That means the Mets need to add at least two starters, but probably three.
5. What other arms do they add?
In the team’s four NLCS losses, the Mets surrendered nine, eight, 10 and 10 runs to the eventual World Series champions. The bullpen, in particular, was stretched thin all October long. Skipper Carlos Mendoza leaned heavily on the two or three arms he trusted — Edwin Díaz, Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett — because he didn’t have much else. That wasn’t an issue in shorter series during the wild-card round and the NLDS, but in a seven-game set against the Dodgers, the Mets got exposed.