The New York Mets will be shaking up their starting rotation going into 2025. President of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters Wednesday that the Mets will be adding multiple starters during the offseason.
The Mets surprisingly made it to the National League Championship Series after dispatching the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series. Despite putting up a fight, the Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, four games to two.
The Mets were without All-Star pitcher Kodai Senga for the regular season, outside of one game, due to injury. He was able to return for the playoffs, appearing in three games — starting two — and allowed seven earned runs in five innings.
Senga, along with Tylor Megill and David Peterson, are expected to fill three rotation spots next year, as of now. Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are free agents, and Sean Manaea is expected to decline his $13.5 million player option.
The Mets will be looking to fill two holes, or maybe more, depending if Megill or Peterson end up in the bullpen.
“We faced a similar task last offseason. We’re going to have to replace innings,” Stearns said, via MLB Trade Rumors. “Certainly, part of that could potentially be from some of those guys returning or we may look elsewhere. But we’re going to have to add starting pitching. We’re going to have to add multiple starters. We understand that. We went into last offseason with the same need and I think we’ll be able to do it.”
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With owner Steve Cohen’s deep pockets, the Mets will look to add top-tier starters in the offseason, including former Cy Young Award winners in Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell, as he’s expected to opt out of his contract with the San Francisco Giants.
Related: MLB source reveals where New York Yankees’ stiffest Juan Soto contract competition could come from
New York Mets have payroll flexibility going into 2025
The Mets’ payroll currently stands at $161 million for 2025, and could be lower once players opt out of deals or are non-tendered.
With nearly $200 million coming off the books from 2024, the Mets will have much more flexibility to add to their roster.
“We’ve got financial flexibility,” Stearns noted. “It means that pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us. That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces.”
One big question Stearns is facing is if the Mets will bring back homegrown All-Star Pete Alonso. The first baseman is a free agent for the first time and is expected to receive multi-year deals on the market. Stearns said he would like Alonso to return.
“All of that is important,” Stearns said about Alonso’s impact on the franchise. “Who Pete is as a person is important. What he means to this franchise is important. Who he is as a player is also important and what he contributes on the field. There’s no magic formula to this. There’s no equation that spits out what all of that is for us. And so, there’s judgment involved. There’s evaluating the market involved. And we’ll see how this process goes throughout the offseason.”
The Mets are also expected to be players in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, who could see a contract between $500-$600 million.
