After one of the most disappointing finishes to a season in Major League Baseball history, the New York Mets should be very active in free agency and possibly the trade market this offseason.

The Mets saw their league-best 45-24 record at the time crumble in a few short months. The offense was stagnant behind stars Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor and the pitching staff that was leading the majors in ERA got battered with injuries.

Even when the pitching staff regained some health, like starter Kodai Senga who had an ERA in the 1.00s before getting hurt, the staff wasn’t the same.

The team brought up its three top pitching prospects to try and save the season. Young potential ace Nolan McLean was phenomenal, but Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat had their struggles.

New York will likely be searching for an ace starting pitcher to anchor the rotation and if they don’t re-sign Alonso, they will have to fill the large hole at first base.

ESPN’s Jorge Castillo expects the Mets to be more active in the offseason and may throw their name in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes via trade.

“The consensus seems to be that the Mets will be more active after their disappointing season. The Mets need a front-line starting pitcher,” Castillo wrote Wednesday. “Skubal rumors erupted as soon as the Tigers were eliminated from the postseason, but acquiring the Cy Young Award winner will require president of baseball operations David Stearns to venture beyond his comfort zone. Then there's the case of first baseman Pete Alonso, a free agent for the second straight offseason. Alonso wants a lucrative long-term deal coming off a rebound campaign. The Mets probably aren't going to give him one, which would leave first base to fill.”

Skubal will be difficult to acquire because he’s the reigning American League Cy Young winner and bidding for another Cy Young award and it will cost an arm and a leg to pry him away from the Detroit Tigers.

There are other options on the impending free agent market, like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Michael King, Shota Imanaga, etc.

In the case that Alonso joins a different team, the team will likely go after former New York Yankee Cody Bellinger, who can play both first base and the outfield.

If Alonso re-signs, I still expect the Mets to throw an offer Bellinger’s way just to strengthen the outfield and the lineup.