Mets shuffle roster with "lateral moves," failing to land impact players and earning a disappointing offseason ranking. Time is running out.
After a historically embarrassing collapse at the end of the 2025 campaign, the New York Mets had a lot of work to do entering this offseason. With the goal of 2026 being to return to the postseason after missing out last season, they haven’t done nearly enough yet. Spring training is just over a month away, and the Mets need to turn around their offseason narrative right now.
It’s been a fairly quiet and questionable past few months for New York, who haven’t landed any of the top-of-the-line names in free agency despite having the money to do so and playing in possibly the biggest market in baseball. For their lack of key additions, the Mets have earned a spot on Bleacher Report’s list of teams having the worst winters thus far.
The Mets are ranked as having the second-worst offseason by writer Zachary D. Rymer, only behind their cross-town rivals in the New York Yankees (a win is a win?). So far, the Mets have brought in relievers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver while also adding infielders Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco to the lineup.
It’s not that these players aren’t noteworthy by any means; in fact, they are some very solid additions for New York. The problem, however, is that they are not in a better position than they were at the end of 2025, which was one of the lowest moments for the club in recent memory.
Williams and Weaver don’t make up for New York losing closer Edwin Diaz in free agency. Polanco won’t distract Mets fans from the fact that he’s supposed to be replacing Pete Alonso at first base, who also walked this winter. Semien’s defense is a plus, but his bat won’t replace that of Brandon Nimmo, whom the Mets traded away.
They have made several moves to semi-replace their biggest names, but that won’t cut it for Mets fans. New York has one of the deepest farm systems in all of baseball while simultaneously having the luxury to spend hundreds of millions of dollars. Still, the Mets haven’t done much given their prime position.
There’s still been no move for outfielders Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, or for starting pitchers Freddy Peralta and Tarik Skubal. If the Mets don’t land at least one of the biggest names available this offseason, there’s little hope that they can come back in 2026 and be a better team than what fans saw last season. There’s still time and plenty of talent left to grab, but the Mets need to make their move now.