2025 Mets Winter Meetings Mega-Preview

The 2025 edition of the Winter Meetings is just about here. On Monday, the four-day gathering will begin and should hopefully serve as a spark to Major League Baseball’s offseason. Two notable events that will be held during the meetings is the MLB Draft Lottery and the Rule 5 Draft. The meetings, and those events, will all be held in Orlando, Florida from Dec. 7-10.

As for the New York Mets and president of baseball operations David Stearns, New York has already made a few different moves. The most notable signing came just this past week when the team agreed to a deal with relief pitcher Devin Williams. But, by far the biggest move the Mets have made thus far was trading career-Met Brandon Nimmo to Texas in exchange for second baseman Marcus Semien.

Other than that, New York has made a number of ancillary moves. The Mets signed the following players to minor league contracts: 3B Jose Rojas, SS Jackson Cluff, LHP Jodarlin Perez, RHP Nick Burdi, RHP Robert Stock, CF Jose Ramos and LHP Anderson Severino.

They also added RHP Joey Gerber from the Tampa Bay Rays in a cash trade and claimed CF Ji Hwan Bae (Baltimore) and RHP Cooper Criswell (Red Sox) off waivers. On the flip side of that, LHP Danny Young, RHP Max Kranick and LHP José Castillo all made the decision to elect free agency.

The Mets also designated injured RHP Frankie Montas for assignment and subsequently released him after his extremely disappointing first year of a two-year, $34 million deal. The Mets were also returned back LHP Nate Lavender from the Tampa Bay Rays after he was outrighted following a selection in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft. New York also ensured it does not lose CF Nick Morabito in the 2025 edition of the Rule 5 Draft, and moved him to the 40-man roster prior to the deadline.

The Mets have an extremely busy offseason ahead of them. They have two premier free agents currently on the market in 1B Pete Alonso and RHP Edwin Díaz. They will also have to — which they already started doing with the Williams deal — rebuild a bullpen that is seeing Ryne Stanek, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto, in addition to Díaz, all hit the open market. Not to mention, they have to reshape a starting rotation that emerged as the main reason for the team’s downslide at the end of the 2025 season.

Payroll Forecast And Potential Spending Consequences

An important aspect to any offseason is how much you have to spend. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Mets have a projected competitive balance tax (CBT) 40-man roster payroll of $279.3 million. This figure currently ranks third in all of baseball. For comparison’s sake, at this time last year, the Mets were at $198.3 million, the ninth-highest mark in the league. Currently, the highest 40-man CBT payroll is owned by the Dodgers at $325.1 million. Meanwhile, the Yankees sit in second at $283.6 million.

So, what are the penalties the Mets may face if they continue to spend? Where may they project to be by the beginning of the season?

Specifically, if the Mets were to pierce the threshold ($244 million is the first threshold) once again, it would be their fifth straight year doing so, subjecting themselves to pay 50% tax on all overages. Further, as the Mets spend more and more and distance themselves from that $244 million baseline additional surcharges will be applied. You can find that breakdown below:

• $244 million to $284 million: 12% surcharge
• $284 million to $304 million: 45% surcharge (would be the fifth straight year)
• Over $304 million: 60% surcharge

Note, clubs that are $40 million or more above the threshold shall have their highest selection in the next MLB Draft moved back 10 places unless the pick falls in the top six. In that case, the team will have its second-highest selection moved back 10 places instead.

With the Mets currently sitting at $279.9, they have already broken into the first surcharge threshold. They are only about $5 million from the second surcharge and roughly $25 million from the last one. All signs put for the Mets to once again pierce that last threshold. For context, the Mets ended last season at $338.2 million which was the second-highest in the league. This figure was comfortably clear of the highest level of surcharge. An area they will likely close in on again this year.

You can read a more in-depth explanation on the potential penalties here.

Current Roster Outlook

The Mets have some work to do this offseason if they wish to return to the playoffs. As alluded to above, they need to reshape both their starting rotation and bullpen. In addition, they have to address a huge question mark in the middle of the lineup that exists in the form of current free agent Pete Alonso.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the Mets’ current depth chart entering Winter Meetings.

Starting Rotation

1. Nolan McLean
2. David Peterson
3. Clay Holmes
4. Sean Manaea
5. Kodai Senga

There is no question about it. The reason the Mets missed the playoffs in 2025 was due to their starting pitching. Even when the staff was performing well in the beginning of the season, the unit was not providing any length, taxing the bullpen. Once those performances regressed, the starting rotation struggled on almost a nightly basis.

There are a lot of question marks as it relates to the Mets’ current projected staff. Peterson, Manaea and Senga all struggled greatly down the stretch/throughout the season in 2025. However, on the flip side of that, each have put together terrific stretches of play throughout their respective careers. McLean and Holmes seem like safer bets, but the first is still entering the season as a rookie and the latter made the transition to full-time starter just last season.

Other potential rotation options include RHP Jonah Tong, RHP Brandon Sproat and RHP Christian Scott. Scott is coming off Tommy John surgery in 2024 but both Tong and Sproat debuted and flashed in 2025.

The Bullpen

• Devin Williams, RHP
• Brooks Raley, LHP
• A.J. Minter, LHP
• Huascar Brazobán, RHP
• Cooper Criswell, RHP
• Dylan Ross, RHP
• Austin Warren, RHP
• Justin Hagenman, RHP

Projecting a bullpen is always a tough task. As it stands, there appears to be only three “locks” for the bullpen Opening Day. This are newest Met Devin Williams as well as left-handed relief pitchers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter (pending full recovery from his season-ending surgery in 2025).

Other relief pitchers currently on the 40-man roster are RHP Cooper Criswell, RHP Huascar Brazobán, RHP Alex Carrillo, RHP Joey Gerber, RHP Justin Hagenman, LHP Richard Lovelady, RHP Jonathan Pintaro, RHP Dylan Ross, LHP Brandon Waddell and RHP Austin Warren.

Elsewhere, the Mets also have the likes of RHP Nick Burdi, LHP Joe Jacques and LHP Anderson Severino that will likely be non-roster invitees to training camp.

Position Players

Here is how the Mets’ position player depth chart currently looks:

• C: Francisco Alvarez, Luis Torrens
• 1B:
• 2B: Marcus Semien, Jeff McNeil, Luisangel Acuña
• 3B: Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio
• SS: Francisco Lindor
• LF:
• CF: Tyrone Taylor, Ji Hwan Bae
• RF: Juan Soto
• DH: Jared Young

The Mets also have several other minor league prospect options in Carson Benge, Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford and Nick Morabito that may make their debut sometime in 2026.

The Needs And Potential Fixes

The quick exercise above identifies several needs the Mets will need to address in the offseason. The bullpen needs a complete rebuild, the lineup has some major question marks and the rotation features a lot of the same that faltered last season. David Stearns and staff clearly have their work cut out for them in free agency and/or on the trade market.

Starting Rotation

It is pretty safe to expect McLean, Manaea, Holmes and Peterson to be four of the five or six rotation pieces to enter the season. Despite the struggles in 2025, both Manaea and Peterson have long track records of decent success. Meanwhile, McLean and Holmes were the team’s two best pitchers last season.

Senga is a huge question mark and it has been reported several times that his name is being discussed in trade talks. His 6.56 second half ERA puts the Mets in a precarious position. They’d be banking on him rediscovering his 2023 form.

With that being said, a top-of-the-market starter is a must for the Mets and it appears that they are exactly after that. A recent report tied the Mets top free agent starters in Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suarez and Michael King. Adding one of those four would complement the Mets’ current rotation nicely.

New York can also turn to a trade market. A report tied the Mets to Twins starter Joe Ryan. However, it was then confirmed Minnesota is not looking to move him, along with its other stars. Other starting pitchers that are reportedly potential trade options are Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, Edward Cabrera, Pablo Lopez, MacKenzie Gore and Kris Bubic, among others.

There are luckily several options for the Mets to attack their rotation. Fortunately, it appears only one external addition is needed to improve the unit as they do have several younger players ready to take the next step in the next year or so. These being Scott, Tong, Sproat and Jack Wenninger, to name a few.

Bullpen

Usually your bullpen includes about seven to eight different arms. As mentioned above, only three of those spots appeared to be locked down by players on the roster. The Mets then have a plethora of other potential options, but the bullpen should be the area New York makes the most external additions.

As it relates to left-handed pitching, a healthy Minter and Raley gives New York one of the better duos of southpaws in the league. Then, they brought in right-handed pitcher Devin Williams as Edwin Díaz insurance or as a terrific setup man to Díaz if he were to return.

In addition to the three locks, it is likely at least two or three of the other spots will be seized by internal options, such as Criswell, Ross, Brazobán, etc. That leaves New York needing to make at least two more adds of bullpen arms with legit MLB success.

Of course, one of those adds could be the return of Díaz. There appears to be interest there by both parties but all reports cite a disagreement in term being the holdup. Outside Díaz, the only other top-end bullpen arm on the market that has closing experience is Robert Suarez. The Mets were reportedly tied to Suarez — however, this was before the Williams signing.

As for the rest of the right-handed relief market, there are a plethora of solid middle-to-high leverage options available. Shawn Armstrong, Tyler Rogers, Brad Keller, Luke Weaver, Pete Fairbanks, Tyler Kinley, Seranthony Dominguez and Jacob Webb, among others, would all be extremely solid additions to a Mets bullpen that could certainly use another established major league right-handed relief pitcher or two.

As for the left-handed side of things, the Mets are pretty well set there with the two aforementioned options. They also have other lefties such as Richard Lovelady, Nate Lavender, and Brandon Waddell as internal options, though none of them have extended success at the major-league level. If the Mets wanted to add another established left-handed pitcher, any of the following would help immensely: Caleb Thielbar, Kolby Allard and Drew Pomeranz, among others.

Building a bullpen is always a tricky endeavor. However, the more established major leaguers you have, the higher chance you build that said bullpen more successfully. The Mets do not currently have enough established bullpen arms on their roster and must make a point of adding at least two or three of them this offseason.

Position Players

Like last year, the offseason, as it relates to the Mets’ position player group, revolves around what happens with Pete Alonso. Currently, without Alonso, the Mets are missing punch in their lineup outside Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor. Not to mention, they lost outfielder Brandon Nimmo via trade and replaced him with a terrific glove, but a bat at second base that has been subpar the last two seasons in Marcus Semien (.699 OPS in 2024, .669 OPS in 2025). The Mets have some work to do with their lineup.

New York currently has a glaring hole at first base. If Alonso were not to return, would Mark Vientos and his questionable defense serve this role every day? Other potential free agent options at first base include Cody Bellinger, Munetaka Murakami, Willson Contreras, and Ryan O’Hearn, among others. The rumor mill has been relatively quiet thus far as it relates to Alonso and potential replacements. The Mets have been linked to Bellinger, but it would likely make more sense for him to play left field for the Mets than first base.

If New York were to move on from Alonso, and Vientos is not the vision for the everyday first base role, a platoon that improves Alonso’s league-worst defense at first base (negative-nine defensive runs saved, negative-nine outs above average, negative-eight fielding run value) may be an option. For example, a righty/lefty platoon that could bring potential value is Ryan O’Hearn with Ty France. O’Hearn has been terrific offensively while France won a Gold Glove last year.

Fortunately, for the Mets, the rest of their infield is set in the form of Semien at second, Francisco Lindor at shortstop and Brett Baty at third base. To go along with them they have a plethora of depth at those positions as well with Jeff McNeil, Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio, among others.

The outfield is where it gets a bit more complex. Soto will be a fixture for years to come in fight field and Tyrone Taylor is a strong platoon fit in center field due to his elite defense. However, left field seemingly has no answer as of now.

If Opening Day was tomorrow, McNeil would probably be the answer in left. However, he was a negative defender in the outfield (negative-five defensive runs saved, negative-two outs above average, negative-two field run value) for the first time since 2019. It has also been reported than McNeil is very likely to be traded. With all that being said, it appears likely whoever is the Mets Opening Day left fielder may come from outside the organization.

Bellinger, who was mentioned above, has been tied to the Mets all offseason and would likely play left field if brought to Flushing. Kyle Tucker, who is the top free agent left on the market, can also play left, but may not fit the Mets’ desire to improve their outfield defense.

Outside of those two bigger options, the free agent market is pretty barren. Other lesser names on the market consist of Harrison Bader, Rob Refsnyder,  Mike Yastrzemski and Adolis García, among others. As you can see, not a very robust free agent market.

Some potential trade options are Jarren Duran, Brendan Donovan, Wilyer Abreu and Luis Robert Jr., among others. The Mets also have Carson Benge as a legit option for left field and someone who Stearns mentioned as a legit possibility to make the team.

Center field is an interesting position for the Mets this offseason. The Mets agreed on a deal with Tyrone Taylor, who was arbitration eligible. They also have other internal options in prospects Jett Williams and the aforementioned Benge.

If they choose to go externally to fill the center field spot, some of the trade candidates mentioned for left field, including Duran and Robert Jr., are options in center as well. Specifically, the Mets were tied to Robert Jr. already this offseason and were prior to the 2025 trade deadline. As far as free agents go, the previously mentioned Bellinger and Bader would be fits. But outside that, the center field market, like the left field one, is not very robust at all.

The last offensive position the Mets will need to address is the designated hitter (DH) spot. New York has some flexibility here, as if Alonso returns, it seems as if he would be an option to DH more. Additionally, given Soto’s woes in the outfield, him filling the DH role some wouldn’t hurt either. The Mets then have a plethora of other designated hitter options in Vientos, Mauricio and McNeil, among others.

If they did want to go externally to fill the role, Kyle Schwarber, who the Mets have been linked to at least once, and Marcell Ozuna, are the best pure DH options on the open market.

Final Thoughts

The Mets have some work to do this offseason. As the above shows, the team would be wise to add the following:

• Top-end starting pitcher
• Two to three relief pitchers
• First baseman
• Platoon center fielder
• Left fielder

As is the case every offseason, the Mets have the capabilities to add all of the above thanks to the richest owner in baseball. Additionally, they are still nearly $60 million from where they saw their payroll end last season. It is also helpful they are looked upon as having an above-average farm system which should help make any trades.

Winter Meetings should hopefully be the springboard the offseason needs. With the Mets likely being one of the more active teams once again, expect a busy next couple months.

As a bonus, and in an attempt to predict the Mets’ Opening Day roster, see below:

Starting Pitchers:

1. Freddy Peralta, RHP
2. Nolan McLean, RHP
3. David Peterson, LHP
4. Sean Manaea, LHP
5. Clay Holmes, RHP
6. Brandon Sproat, RHP

Bullpen:

• Edwin Díaz, RHP
• Devin Williams, RHP
• Brooks Raley, LHP
• A.J. Minter, LHP
• Jacob Webb, RHP
• Dylan Ross, RHP
• Huascar Brazobán, RHP

Lineup:

1. Francisco Lindor, SS
2. Cody Bellinger, CF
3. Mark Vientos, DH
4. Juan Soto, RF
5. Willson Contreras, 1B
6. Marcus Semien, 2B
7. Brett Baty, 3B
8. Francisco Alvarez, C
9. Carson Benge, LF

Bench:

• Luis Torrens, C
• Ronny Mauricio, INF/DH
• Luisangel Acuña, INF
• Tyrone Taylor, CF

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