The Mets' full bullpen, Pete Alonso's free agency choices and the CF competition

Most fans have a hard time believing that the starting pitchers currently on the roster will make up the rotation for Opening Day. My guess is that they’re not going to be happy if the same thing can be said for the 2025 bullpen, too. This may not be as likely as with the rotation. But if the depth starters without options open the year in the pen, combined with wanting a lefty reliever in the mix, it could be the way it shakes out.

We know Edwin Díaz is going to be the closer. And based on their performances last year, the following three relievers will go north providing that they’re healthy. Reed Garrett (led all Mets RP with 57 IP), Dedniel Núñez (6.0 K/BB ratio) and Sean Reid-Foley (1.66 ERA) could form a nice set-up crew for Diaz.

The Mets won’t need a sixth starter at the start of the season. But three of the four pitchers in the mix for that spot are out of options. FanGraphs does not show an option available for the trio of Paul Blackburn, José Buttó and Griffin Canning. Finally, the Mets tendered a contract to Danny Young, who is also out of options and has the advantage of being a lefty.

Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect all of these guys to be healthy. Perhaps they bring in a lefty better than Young. There’s the possibility that some reliever they really like becomes available with a severe discount. But it’s also an outcome where the only relievers they add to the mix are pitchers with an NRI, guys who’ll be more likely to start the year in Syracuse, rather than Queens.

THE NEW CONFORTO, WITH A TWIST OF REED – Michael Conforto had a big year in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, thanks in large part to a .412 BABIP. The Mets offered him a long-term contract, in the neighborhood of $100-$120 million but Conforto turned it down. He also declined the club’s Qualifying Offer following the 2021 season. Conforto missed the entire year in 2022 with a shoulder injury and hasn’t come close to making the money he turned down.

The Mets offered Pete Alonso 7/$158 during the 2023 season but Alonso turned that down. He also declined the Qualifying Offer, which would have paid him $21.05 million. Now there are rumors he turned down a 3/$90 offer that would have included opt outs. With many clubs having already addressed their needs at first base, whether thru free agency or trades, the market is narrowing for Alonso. It’s difficult for me to imagine that he’s going to do better than that 3/$90 offer.

Following the 1993 season, Jody Reed turned down a 3/$7.8 million deal from the Dodgers and found no market for his services. He ended up signing an incentive-laden deal with the Brewers, one that netted him $750,000. Instead of getting nearly $8 million over the three years, Reed earned $2.2 million or about 28% of what he turned down. It’s widely considered one of the worst player decisions ever in the free agent market.

The Dodgers made that offer to Reed before he officially became a free agent. But once he filed for free agency, they rescinded the offer. And they ended up trading for Delino DeShields, instead. DeShields was one of the top young players around, one who was getting too expensive for the Expos. DeShields never matched his output with the Expos in his three seasons with the Dodgers. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they traded Pedro Martinez to get him. Ouch.

May it end up better for both Alonso and the Mets than it did for Reed and the Dodgers.

REUNITE THE 2021 A’S – Last year, the Mets signed Sean Manaea as a free agent and traded for Paul Blackburn. So far this year, they tendered Blackburn, re-signed Manaea and added Frankie Montas in free agency. All three of those pitchers were members of the 2021 As, a squad that won 86 games. Manaea and Montas combined for 64 starts and a 7.3 fWAR, numbers the 2025 Mets would be happy to get. Blackburn made nine forgettable starts that year. That squad also had Starling Marte, as well as future/now former Mets in Chris Bassitt, Mark Canha and Jake Diekman.

THE CENTER FIELD COMPETITION – The Mets traded for Jose Siri, a strong defensive outfielder with power. Two years ago, Siri popped 25 HR and had a .761 OPS. But his numbers fell off considerably last season, as he posted a .620 OPS, in no small part due to a career-worst 37.9 K%. Yet despite that awful campaign, most sites list Siri ahead of Tyrone Taylor on the Mets’ depth chart for center. My hope is that’s merely listing them in alphabetical order.

Siri is likely the better defensive player but Taylor is no slouch in that department. And Taylor is simply a much-better offensive player, as his OPS+ was 23 points higher a season ago, a substantial difference. And Taylor suffered a miserable May which brought his numbers down. From June 1 to the end of the year, Taylor posted a .763 OPS, which was 62-points higher than his overall mark in the category.

METS PLAY KEY ROLE IN MY SURPRISINGLY GOOD 2024 SPORTS YEAR – As today is the last day of 2024, it’s natural to reflect back on the year that was. My year in sports began with the Knicks going 12-2 in January after the OG Anunoby trade. Unfortunately, injuries kept that team from reaching its full potential. Still, Jalen Brunson developed into an MVP candidate, a tremendous development. In the offseason, the Knicks made two massive trades, adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. After a rough start to the season, the Knicks sit at 23-10, a 57-win pace.

After being a mediocre team in an underwhelming ACC, N.C. State caught fire, winning five straight games in the tournament to capture the ACC Championship, the school’s first since 1987 when I was a student there. Then they went on to make the Final Four, the first time they did that since winning it all back in 1983. And the women’s basketball team made it to the Final Four, too. It was just a great finish to the college basketball season.

And of course, the Mets advanced to the NLCS, in a year that they were hoping to compete for a playoff spot. Much like Taylor, they shook off a terrible month of May to go on a tear, winning 65 of their final 105 games to earn a Wild Card berth. And then they defeated the Brewers in the Wild Card round, before dispatching the Phillies in the NLDS. While they fell short of the World Series, they gave a better performance against the Dodgers than the Yankees did in the series. Oh, and the Mets went 4-0 versus the Yankees during the regular season. And if all that wasn’t enough, the Mets took Juan Soto away from the Bronx Bombers in the offseason.

Last, but certainly not least, are the Minnesota Vikings. Las Vegas put the over/under at 6.5 wins for the Vikings this season and they’ve already more than doubled that total, with a game to play. Minnesota is 14-2 and next week it plays Detroit for the NFC North title, as well as home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye. The Vikings’ two losses this year came in games where Blake Cashman was out injured. He’s back now and the team is relatively healthy. Meanwhile, the Lions have been decimated by injuries, especially to their defense. To their credit, they continue to rack up wins, as their offense just outscores the other team. They won last night, 40-34. The Vikings have the offense to stay with the Lions. And hopefully they’ll make a few stops defensively and come out on top.

It's been such a great sports year that I started three new blogs to write about those other teams. If you’re a fan of any of them – or me! – you can check out knicks360.substack.com or vikings360.substack.com or ncsu360.substack.com for updates. My hope is that your sports year was good, too. And if you’re a fan of the Giants or Jets, well, you have my condolences.