Grading the New York Mets Offseason: Did They Improve Enough?

The New York Mets had an eventful offseason, to say the least. They lost their franchise leader in home runs, Pete Alonso; their longest-tenured player, Brandon Nimmo; arguably the best closer in baseball, Edwin Diaz; and Jeff McNeil. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Mets as they picked up Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver in free agency, while adding Luis Robert Jr, Freddy Peralta, and Marcus Semien through the trade market. After an underwhelming 2025 season with a record of 83-79, a shake-up may have been exactly what New York needed. 

Did New York Improve Enough?

There’s no question that the Mets made a plethora of moves this offseason, but was it enough to bring them back to the playoffs and World Series contention? 

Starting pitching was a big concern for the Mets last season, as their starters failed to get out of the sixth inning far too often. Adding Freddy Peralta, who finished 2025 with a 17-6 record, 2.70 ERA, and a 1.075 WHIP, and a full season of Nolan McLean should turn this Mets rotation from one of the worst into one of the best in 2026. But the Mets didn’t stop there when it came to pitching, adding to their bullpen as well, after losing the always reliable Edwin Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

New York added two crosstown rivals in Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, hoping to harness the strong play they showed at times with the Yankees. Despite struggling down the stretch and in the playoffs, Weaver had a 3.62 ERA and a 1.021 WHIP in 64 games last season. His kryptonite is the long ball, allowing 10 home runs. Williams had the exact opposite season to Weaver, as he became a trusted arm for Aaron Boone late in the season and in the playoffs. The two-time Reliever of the Year, in his last 19 games of the regular season, posted a 2.50 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. A rough start to the season made Williams’ numbers look worse, but if he can carry his strong finish to the year into 2026, the Mets will not skip a beat in the closer role. Another key factor for this Mets bullpen is the return of AJ Minter, who pitched only 11 innings last season to the tune of a 1.64 ERA. With all these additions, the Mets are primed to have a very capable bullpen in 2026. 

Here’s where things get very interesting for the New York Mets, as they significantly overhauled their offense from last season. As mentioned earlier in this article, the Mets parted ways with Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil this offseason after failing to make the playoffs just one year after their trip to the NLCS. It seems like New York is more focused on adding contact and defense to its team, as evidenced by how it approached this offseason. 

Bo Bichette was the big-name contact bat the Mets were looking for in free agency with his career .294 batting average. The son of MLB great Dante Bichette led the league in hits in 2021 and 2022, finishing top-12 in MVP voting both seasons. Bichette was injured for the latter part of last season, missing most of the Toronto Blue Jays' run to the World Series, but was still able to slash .311/.357/.483 with 44 doubles and 94 runs batted in. Losing Pete Alonso was a tough pill to swallow, but the addition of an elite contact hitter, like Bichette, should ease the worry of most Mets fans. 

Jorge Polanco was another one of the many free agent signings the Mets made this offseason, as the switch-hitting middle infielder will most likely replace Pete Alonso at first base. Polanco was a key part of the Mariners' 90-win team last season, slashing .265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs and 78 runs batted in. While he wouldn’t be considered a contact bat, Polanco is a very capable hitter who will easily replace Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo’s production last year. 

The acquisitions of Luis Robert Jr. and Marcus Semien were clearly a pivot towards defense. Trading for Robert was one of my favorite moves the Mets made this offseason, as he was one of the league’s best players just three seasons ago. Since finishing 12th in MVP voting, Robert has seen a steep decline in production, slashing .223/.288/.372 the past two seasons. This decline in offensive ability has not affected his elite center-field defense, nor has it affected his speed, with 56 stolen bases combined over the past two years. Maybe a change of scenery is all Robert needs to get back to his 38 home run season in 2023. Marcus Semien is another player who has seen a decrease in his bat since finishing third in MVP voting three times since the 2019 season. While Robert’s decline could be from being on a bad team, Semien’s is almost certainly due to his age, as the middle infielder is turning 36 this September. Even though he has only slashed .234/.307/.379 over the past two years, his elite defense at second base has not budged. 

Now, to answer the question of whether or not the Mets improved depends on what matters most to you when it comes to winning. If it’s pitching, then the Mets have improved greatly from last season, bringing in an ace for the pitching staff and adding to a bullpen that ran out of gas towards the end of the season. If it’s offense, you could argue that the Mets' lineup has gotten marginally weaker than last year, but a lineup consisting of Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette is bound to produce when it matters most. In my opinion, the Mets have improved significantly from last season and will compete with the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East title. 

Grading the Offseason

This is probably the toughest part of this article. Did the Mets improve? Yes. Did they lose their franchise leader in home runs and arguably the best closer in baseball? Also yes. Even after losing those two key players, I think the Mets had a strong offseason, improving in their areas of need. With all these factors in mind, I would give the Mets' offseason a B+. 

Projected Starting Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor, SS

2. Juan Soto, RF

3. Bo Bichette, 3B

4. Jorge Polanco, 1B

5. Mark Vientos, DH

6. Luis Robert, CF

7. Brett Baty, LF

8. Marcus Semien, 2B

9. Francisco Alvarez, C

Projected Starting Rotation

1. Freddy Peralta, RHP

2. Nolan McLean, RHP

3. David Peterson, LHP

4. Clay Holmes, RHP

5. Kodai Senga, RHP

6. Sean Manaea, LHP

Projected Win-Loss Record

We identified OPS, PA (plate appearances), ERA, WHIP, and WAR as the five most important stats for a winning team. After projecting how the team would perform in these five areas, we used a regression model to predict that the Mets will finish with an 89-73 record this season.