Coming off their epic 2025 regular-season collapse, is it time for David Stearns to get more aggressive in free agency and trades?
What is the next move you would make from here to turn the Mets’ winter around?
How good is Baltimore’s lineup with Pete Alonso at the center of it?
Jorge Castillo: Not too concerned just yet. There’s a lot of winter left, and the Mets are going to make moves. They have the money and the prospects to add elite talent. It’s clear that Stearns believes the Mets’ core wasn’t good enough after such a disappointing season. Losing Díaz and Alonso — on top of trading Brandon Nimmo — is certainly tough to swallow for Mets fans because those three players were so beloved. The Mets aren’t going to stand pat.
Bradford Doolittle: The Diaz departure concerns me more than the Alonso exit simply because it’s more difficult to secure a difference-making reliever than a run-producing first baseman, and the contract Diaz signed should have been easy for New York to match or beat. When you are an elite revenue team and you don’t retain stars you want to retain, there’s a snag in the hose somewhere along the line.
I don’t think David Stearns wants to trade for two stars by clearing out the strength of the org (upper-minors prospect depth) to get some players with a few years left that are cost controlled. It’s starting to smell like one- and two-year free agent deals might be how they plug these holes, and that might or might not work, but we can be sure Mets fans will hate this winter if that’s the outcome.
Now they have to replace some of what Alonso brought to the table. They could do that in myriad ways, pivoting to Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker or even Cody Bellinger. Stealing Bellinger away from the Yankees one year after doing the same with Juan Soto could be a good plan for first base. Either way, they can replace the two All-Stars with two (or more) newcomers with similar talents. Williams is a decent start.
Castillo: Yes. Steve Cohen has the money to bully other teams, and Stearns has built a strong farm system that could be used for substantial trades. That should give the Mets the leeway to be more aggressive because they have the resources to overcome mistakes. Signing Juan Soto to that record-setting deal last winter was an example of the Mets’ spending power. Maybe we’ll see another example this winter — whether it’s spending in free agency or in the trade market.
Doolittle: You don’t want to panic. The Mets do have young talent that deserves some runway, and you don’t want to block too many opportunities. But losing Alonso means there is a need for certainty in the middle-of-the-order/run production department. So an aggressive push for Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger would be well timed.
Olney: Given the lack of depth in the free agent class, it’s hard to imagine him relying on only that route to improve the team. If he signs Cody Bellinger, that doesn’t fix his problems; if he trades for Mackenzie Gore, he’ll need more. He’ll have to get aggressive on both fronts and make uncomfortable deals — like signing Ranger Suarez, who seems like a great fit for the New York market given his experience in Philadelphia.
Olney: I think he needs to load up and make a deal for Tarik Skubal. The Mets are better suited than any other team to get this done, because they have an abundance of resources in prospects. Tell the Tigers: We won’t discuss Nolan McLean, but everyone else is up for discussion in some package. Trade for Skubal, sign Suarez, and all of a sudden the run prevention plan will look very different.
Doolittle: Better. But let’s not get carried away. A middling-OBP/ high-slugging first baseman is an upgrade for sure given how little production the Orioles got from the position last season. But a player like that has the most utility in a lineup with a strong overall on-base profile. The Orioles have some work to do in that regard. Get the team OBP projection into the top 10 and then the Orioles will be getting somewhere.
McDaniel: I think the Dodgers still have the best lineup in the sport, but the Orioles are now second best in my book. They also have some upward mobility with rookies Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo in the lineup and Ryan Mountcastle and Tyler O’Neill in platoon roles, giving them both a high floor and a chance to get to a higher ceiling if everything click for the young hitters.
Rogers: It’s among the best in baseball, but that assumes bounce-back seasons for several players including Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman. A full year of Samuel Basallo combined with Alonso and peak versions of Henderson/Rutschman sounds very dangerous. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Orioles could be both star-laden and deep, but they need some rebound years to make it happen.
Buster Olney: Not yet, because these seem to be part of a larger series of decisions. It has been clear for two years that the Stearns-led Mets have been reluctant to give Alonso big dollars, and now he’s gone. They signed Devin Williams as a hedge against the possibility that Edwin Diaz could walk away — in fact, Williams told reporters that the only role discussed with the Mets was that of closer — and now Diaz is out the door. But whatever happens next, Stearns has to be right. In fact, of all people in baseball — player or executive — there’s more pressure on Stearns than anyone. That’s because he made the choice to move on from three fan favorites in Brandon Nimmo, Diaz and Alonso, and whatever happens the rest of the winter will be on Stearns.
McDaniel: Yes. The Mets have two really notable things they can flex with: tons of money and a strong group of young players in the big leagues and upper minors. When you have (understandably) impatient fans and a 2025 collapse to consider, you must win in 2026. Responding by taking half-measures, keeping all the young players and trying not to block them, then also not being aggressive in nine-figure free agency, is operating like the Brewers. You don’t have to do that, and you shouldn’t be doing that with the Mets’ resources.
Castillo: Two moves come to mind: Signing Bellinger and acquiring an elite starting pitcher. Bellinger’s defensive versatility — he can play all three outfield spots and first base — is perfect for the Mets considering they traded their left fielder, watched their first baseman leave in free agency, could use an upgrade in center, and have a right fielder who was well below average defensively last season. Adding a front-line starter — whether in free agency or via the trade market — has been a pressing need all along.
McDaniel: I think Bregman is the best bet among the nine-figure hitters, but the Mets’ infield is pretty full right now while the outfield is begging for impact beyond Juan Soto. You can package together a few of the higher-end prospects in the system and trade for Jarren Duran or bite the bullet and pay Bellinger as a free agent, but I think the next move needs to be in the outfield. Duran, 29, comes with three years of control, so I think Stearns would greatly prefer that option if he can agree to a reasonable prospect haul with Boston.
Castillo: You could easily argue it’s the best lineup in the American League. Gunnar Henderson and Alonso alone give the Orioles one of the top one-two punches in baseball. But they’re deep, too, with a mix of young and veteran talent with Taylor Ward, Jordan Westburg, Adley Rutschman, Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Samuel Basallo, Ryan Mountcastle and Tyler O’Neill on the roster. And that doesn’t include Coby Mayo, Heston Kjerstad and Enrique Bradfield Jr. — highly regarded young position players who the Orioles could move to address the starting rotation.
Olney: On a macro level, this signing seems weird. The Orioles tanked four seasons and picked so many position players at the top of the draft, and now, when they finally make a big expenditure at a time when their organizational pitching is thin, they spend $155 million on a first baseman/DH? Weird. But Baltimore will be entertaining with this lineup, assuming that its young players bounce back from rough 2025 seasons. If this group hits, it should be a fun lineup to watch. At some point, however, the Orioles do need to figure out how to develop pitching, which must be the lifeblood of a small spender in the AL East.
While Mets fans wrap their heads around knowing their roster will look very different going into the 2026 season, we asked our MLB experts to sort out how concerned the Mets should be, what moves New York can make to rebound from its offseason rough stretch and just how stacked the addition of Alonso makes his new team’s lineup.
Jeff Passan raves about Orioles’ lineup after addition of Pete Alonso (2:08)Jeff Passan talks about the importance of Pete Alonso joining the Orioles and how his departure impacts the Mets. (2:08)