5 questions facing the Mets heading into the offseason

The Mets answered one of their biggest questions in the final week of the regular season, removing the interim tag from manager Andy Green in hopes he’ll be able to shepherd this young group away from the wreckage of the 2026 campaign.

That, though, was just the beginning.

This offseason will be a period of reckoning for president of baseball operations David Stearns, the architect of a Mets team that finished in last place for the first time since 2003. Now, he’ll have to navigate a looming lockout, an irate fanbase, and an unclear path forward.

Here are five questions facing the Mets heading into the offseason.

1. Where does Bo go?

Bo Bichette has a pretty big decision to make, and it’s one that will inform how the Mets build out their position player grouping. After a slow start and plenty of growing pains, Bichette began to look more comfortable in his new home in the latter half of the season. His bat picked up and his shift to third base was a successful experiment. But now he has to decide if this is where he wants to spend the next two years.

It’s not easy to say no to $42 million – which is what the Mets will pay him next year if he chooses not to exercise his player option. But Bichette also received a hefty signing bonus and will be awarded $5 million if he takes the option. He won’t be getting peanuts if he signs elsewhere, either. The free agent class is so weak that exercising the option immediately makes him one of the jewels of this offseason.

2. Will Stearns really learn from his mistakes?

Based on his comments Monday, he intends to at least try. He added to his front office to bring in the extra “voices” owner Steve Cohen determined they needed. He said he learned how difficult it is for some players to acclimate to New York. He acknowledged introducing too much change and failing in his risk assessment. All in all, it seems like he’s more cognizant of the psychological components of this game, and that he can’t operate here like he did in Milwaukee.

3. What of the starting pitching?

The Mets’ trio of rookies was impressive, and there’s every reason to believe Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton can be the future of this rotation. But you can’t bank on best-case scenarios, and the Mets have learned that if you think you have enough pitching depth, you need to still add more. They’ll have to assess what they have with their other pitchers: Can Jonah Tong prove himself early in the season? Can Sean Manaea bounce back and sustain the velocity he needs to succeed? Is Kodai Senga’s future in the bullpen?

Stearns said he plans to add to their pitching depth. The question is whether that means the Mets intend to take a big swing at Tarik Skubal – the grand prize of this year’s free agent class. They could choose to reunite with Clay Holmes. He won’t be nearly as cheap as he was the first time around, but he has a proven track record in New York. So does Michael King, if he chooses to opt out.

Stearns, though, needs to take a long look at the Freddy Peralta situation and hopefully glean what made Peralta struggle so much in New York and flourish under the guidance of the Rays coaching staff. He can’t afford a repeat of something like that.

4. Who’s on first?

Jared Young did an admirable job filling in after Jorge Polanco went down with injury and Mark Vientos continued to underproduce, but the Mets absolutely need more production from that position. Stearns said that they’ll look to address first using both external and internal options, mentioning Young, who should make a full recovery from the concussion he sustained earlier this month, and Brett Baty, who seems to always heat up in the final month of the season.

You’re going to want to get a little more pop from first, especially considering who the Mets let walk out the door. The problem is that underwhelming free agent class. Could the Mets seriously pursue heavy-hitting Japanese third baseman Teruaki Sato and (once again) try to convert a player to first? Ty France and Alec Bohm are also available, but there are questions as to whether France can build on his career-best offensive year. Bohm, meanwhile, is coming off of one of his worst statistical seasons.

5. What do they do with the Not So Baby Mets?

Stearns said he was confident that A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge are the real deal, though they’re certain to hit bumps along the way. The bigger question is the group of not-so-young players that came before them. Francisco Alvarez regressed behind the plate. The organization appeared to lose faith in Vientos. Even Baty, who hit .333 in the last month, is under scrutiny.

“The truth is, we don’t know” if Baty’s propensity for late-season production is an accurate representation of his abilities, Stearns said. “Any player, until you see it for an extended period, [it's] very difficult for me to sit here right now and have complete certainty on that.”

At the very least, Alvarez and Baty seem likely to stick around, with Stearns saying he saw improvement in Alvarez down the stretch. It’s less clear what they’ll do with Vientos or even Ronny Mauricio, who appears to be a man without a role.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.