For Mets, general managers' meetings begin a pivotal offseason
Mets president of baseball pperations David Stearns speaks to the media before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Aug. 26. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Starting Monday, baseball’s top executives, including Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, will descend on the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas for the 2025-26 general managers’ meetings — the unofficial start of the offseason.
While the December winter meetings are made for wheeling and dealing, the GM meetings are meant to lay the groundwork for the months ahead and to raise issues pertaining to the game as a whole.
It’ll be a pivotal time for the Mets, who are looking to bounce back from one of the worst collapses in franchise history — one that showcased plenty of flaws in need of fixing. Here are some priorities that no doubt will be discussed as Stearns & Co. attempt to right a $340 million ship that couldn’t even sail into the playoffs:
Run prevention
It was Stearns’ favorite phrase in his season-ending postmortem, and for good reason. The Mets, while undoubtedly stocked with talented players, were felled mostly by poor pitching and poor defense.
Going into the offseason, the rotation remained very much in flux. Nolan McLean was a boon for them down the stretch, but the rookie can’t carry the staff on his own.
The Mets have a number of question marks, including what to make of Kodai Senga. The one-time ace said he would have to start at “step one” after a midseason hamstring injury compromised his mechanics and punched him a ticket to Triple-A Syracuse.
While Stearns has been reluctant to sign a true front-line starter, last year’s lessons weigh heavy. This will be a good time to explore whether it’s time to change course and wade in on free agents such as Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Shane Bieber.
Then there’s the topic of the bullpen — somewhere Stearns typically has excelled, though not this past season. The unit was victimized by heavy workload, inconsistency and injury. With Edwin Diaz opting out, the relief corps looks very porous right now and in need of healthy arms.
On the defensive side of things, they’ll look for ways to shore up their infield, which often was weak at the corners, and find a suitable solution in centerfield — a bigger priority than it would seem, given that Brandon Nimmo is a subpar defender and Juan Soto is a poor one.
Keep the core?
Do the Mets need to blow up their core to get better? It’s something Stearns will need to consider, and not just when deciding whether to re-sign Pete Alonso. There are plenty of teams who could use a super-utility player who gets on base such as Jeff McNeil, and though Nimmo’s contract is far harder to move, it would be possible if the Mets were willing to eat some of the cash. Soto and Francisco Lindor aren’t going anywhere, but the absolutes probably stop there.
Diaz & Alonso
There’s no doubt that they're highly valuable players, but highly valuable players get highly paid, and they are the top free agents at their positions. Next week should be a good time to test the waters, both to get a better sense of what it will take to bring them back and, in Alonso’s case, if the Mets want to move on.
If they do intend to move on from Alonso, that raises another question: How to address first base? Do they go for an internal option in Mark Vientos and McNeil, and hope prospect Ryan Clifford pans out? Do they opt for a lower-tier free agent with a shorter contract? And, if so, do they shift their priorities from first base and aim big with someone such as third baseman Alex Bregman?
As for Diaz, the Mets don’t really have any good internal options, so it’s likely more about exactly how much they’re willing to pay.
What about the farm?
The Mets’ farm system went from one of the worst in baseball to one of the best by the end of the year, and a lot of that had to do with Stearns’ reluctance to part with top-tier prospects in the name of rentals. While the vision continues to be one of internal sustainability via that same farm system, last season shows that sacrifices sometimes need to be made. There are going to be plenty of names getting thrown around, and Stearns has to decide who’s untouchable and who’s not. Thanks to the holes in the Mets’ roster, that second list might have to expand this offseason.
The looming lockout
The GM meetings don’t just set the groundwork for roster construction, they’re also about addressing the state of the game, and nothing weighs heavier on baseball than the specter of a 2027 lockout.
Many people in and around the sport fear a work stoppage is inevitable, and the issues propelling a potential lockout are thorny enough that the entire season could be in jeopardy.
The biggest issue (as it almost always is) is money — namely a salary cap. The owners are for it, the players association is not (to say the least), and there isn’t much wiggle room there. The MLBPA has been open to the idea of a salary floor, but the owners believe a cap must come with it — the argument being that teams such as the big-spending Dodgers are skewing competitive balance. The players association, meanwhile, argues that a cap just means less revenue for players and more money in the owners’ pockets.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
