My proposed 2025 Mets roster

The Mets won 89 games and advanced to the NLCS in 2024 and because of that, expectations will be high in 2025. But there’s the possibility they overachieved last year, even if their Pythagorean Record was only one win worse than their actual one. Even if that’s not the case, the Mets have a bunch of free agents and openings at the corner infield, at least one outfield spot and multiple vacancies in both the rotation and the pen. It’s going to be a wild offseason.

Here’s one way it could work out, as this will be an exercise to conduct the Mets’ entire offseason in one swoop. With the exception of one name, don’t get hung up on which players appear here. This is more about ideas, rather than specific individuals.

The big elephant in constructing a roster in 2026 is the Juan Soto decision. He’s young and incredibly talented and any team in the league would be lucky to sign him. But he’s also going to require a massive contract. Steve Cohen can afford that contract. So, for the Mets, the question becomes – should they?

My initial reaction was that it wasn’t going to be worth it in the long run to sign Soto. Yet the issue is that it’s such an underwhelming collection of hitters available in free agency that if you don’t sign Soto – how do you make it work otherwise? Especially if you believe that Pete Alonso won’t be worth what he’s asking. So, the rest of this article works under the assumption that the Mets go all-in and take Soto away from the Yankees. That will be fun.

FanGraphs’ Ben Clemens had Soto at 12/$576. The years seem right but the dollar figure – amazingly – seems too low. Let’s make it 12/$600 instead. You can hear the Wilpons choking over that type of expenditure. But it feels like the right play for the Mets at this time, given what happened in 2024.

With the biggest offensive question addressed, let’s turn to the pitching.

The Mets have their hands tied right now, not knowing if Luis Severino will accept the Qualifying Offer. The fact that he didn’t immediately accept indicates that he and his agent are at least asking around, checking to see if there’s a multi-year deal out there to their liking. My hope is that there is and Severino is elsewhere next year.

There are some attractive pitching options available in free agency. But since the team signed Soto in this exercise, they’re already losing their top draft pick. So, the idea is to pass on the pitchers who come with the QO attached and turn to the trade market and Garrett Crochet.

It’s not going to be cheap to get Crochet and the White Sox have already announced that they’re looking for hitters. The best hitting prospect the Mets have is Jett Williams, who has the advantage of being an up-the-middle prospect. Along with Williams, my package has Luisangel Acuna, Brett Baty and Jonah Tong. Most people reading this will feel like that’s too much to give up. Maybe it is. But that’s the type of deal it would take to get a cost-controlled pitcher with top-of-the-rotation stuff.

Sean Manaea was great last year and my hope is to re-sign him. Clemens has him at 3/$57 but that seems too low to me. For this piece, let’s bring back Manaea at 3/$69.

Part of the challenge in constructing a pitching staff for the Mets is planning for Kodai Senga needing extra rest, whether that’s part of the time or all of the time. My idea is to have two starters who could pitch out of the bullpen if need be while also taking starts. Jose Butto will fill one of those roles while the other will be filled with a free agent. Sorry, Tylor Megill, you’re in Syracuse in this simulation.

If Paul Blackburn didn’t have an injury issue over his head, he’d be a good option here. Instead, let’s look for a free agent on a one-year deal in the $8-10 million range. Since this is his ballpark, let’s bring back Jose Quintana.

And now for the pen.

By going with six starters, we’ll only need seven relievers. Which is good because there’s a lot of vacancies here to fill. It would be nice to bring in someone capable of closing games. Clemens has Aroldis Chapman on a 1/$10 deal, which seems perfect. Chapman also gives the team a lefty reliever. Since they performed reasonably well, let’s bring back Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek to fill the pen, hoping that Reed Garrett, Dedniel Nunez and Sean Reid-Foley can come back and duplicate the results they had in 2024 when healthy. Regardless of who the club signs to fill out the Opening Day roster, they’ll need to have multiple depth options signed for Syracuse. But that’s beyond the scope of this piece.

With the pitching set, let’s circle back to the offense. Alonso is too rich for my blood, so the idea is to get a 1B to hold the fort for 2025. Clemens has Paul Goldschmidt on a 1/$13 deal, which works out pretty well, allowing the Mets to keep Vientos at third base. Goldschmidt is no longer a feared slugger. But after getting off to a terrible start, his production in the second half of the year was a good match for what the Mets got all year from Alonso. Goldschmidt had a .799 OPS after the break last year, while Alonso had a .788 OPS in 2024.

Since the MLB club has Brandon Nimmo and Soto locked up long term, the Mets should move top prospect Ryan Clifford to first base, where he probably fits best, anyway.

The starters on the infield are set but we need to address the backups. Jose Iglesias would be nice if he would be content with a reserve role. But my guess is that he’ll want more playing time than that. So, we turn to Whit Merrifield, instead. Merrifield went from starter to reserve last year, as he split time with the Phillies and Braves, amassing 335 PA. He can play 2B and 3B and has experience at 1B and all three OF positions, too. Ideally, the backup would have some SS experience but Francisco Lindor plays all of the time, negating much of the need there.

Now with the catching and infield set, let’s turn to the outfield. My opinion is that Tyrone Taylor is more than ready to be the club’s starting center fielder. Still, it would be nice to have someone better than Merrifield to play CF. So, let’s sign Michael A. Taylor. Or Kevin Pillar if he changes his mind about retiring.

That leaves the question of what to do with Starling Marte. It would be great if we could pay someone to take him off our hands. But for now, he’ll grab some DH at-bats with an occasional OF start. Speaking of DH, let’s reunite with Jesse Winker, who seemed to fit in well and should be a low-cost option for the spot. Maybe in 2026 the team can have a full-time DH.

Here’s our roster:

Cot’s estimates the Pre-Arb salaries at $10.2 million, which would make this team’s payroll – not counting any money sent to other teams – at $280.3 million.