Mets Given Fifth-Best Chance To End Long Title Drought In 2027

Here's a question that is somewhat of a dichotomy: What type of club continues to get more exclusive or select, but is one that you most definitely don't want to belong to?

If you answered the list of MLB teams that have not won a World Series championship since the league expanded to 30 teams in 1998, give yourself a pat on the back.

That club recently lost a member when the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2026 World Series, giving them their first championship.

It also made them the fourth first-time World Series champion in the last 10 years (2017 Houston Astros, 2019 Washington Nationals and 2023 Texas Rangers) and left the Rays as one of four remaining franchises that have never won a World Series, joined by the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies.

But what of the teams that have previously won a title, but none since at least 1998? That club consists of nine teams, including the New York Mets.

Believe it or not, it has now been 40 years since the magical 1986 season when the Mets went 108-54 and defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games in one of the most memorable World Series ever, for any number of reasons.

They've been back to the big show twice since then, falling 4-1 to the New York Yankees in a 2000 Subway Series whose most memorable image was Yankees' pitcher Roger Clemens throwing/not throwing a broken bat at Mets' catcher Mike Piazza, and the 90-72 "little engine that could" squad of 2015 that was beaten in five games by the Kansas City Royals.

To be fair, entering 2026, the Mets had made the playoffs in two of the previous three seasons and even advanced as far as the NL Championship Series in 2024 before losing in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Heck, they were even a pretty popular favorite to make the playoffs in 2026, but they were doomed by a 40-57 pre-All-Star Break record.

But how close, really, are the Mets to adding another title to the ones they earned in 1986 and 1969?

Will Leitch of MLB.com, who published a report addressing that question on Oct. 31, gives them the fifth-best chance to end that four-decade drought in 2027.

"All right, so, obviously, it didn’t go that well in 2026. But the good news is that most of the damage was contained to 2026: The free agents that were signed (and performed poorly) are mostly gone," he wrote. "The Mets had a winning record in the second half of the year and, as always, are very motivated. You could do a lot worse with a sleeper pick for 2027."

Indeed, New York was 34-31 from July 16-Sept. 27, the same mark as NL East foe Philadelphia Phillies and just four games behind the division-winning Atlanta Braves.

It also looks like some long-term pieces were put in place with rightfielder Carson Benge a finalist for NL Rookie of the Year, among various other accolades he earned this season, and rookie pitcher Nolan McLean winning a Rawlings Gold Glove award and being named to MLB's All-Rookie second team. Third baseman Bo Bichette, one of those 2026 free agents, also had a better second half of the season and has said he will exercise his option to return to the team in 2027.

Andy Green has also been named the manager after replacing Carlos Mendoza on an interim basis in June. In 81 games, he led the Mets to a 40-41 record before signing on for the full-time gig.

Throw in the fact that owner Steve Cohen and GM David Stearns will likely be active in free agency again - with better results than what 2026's free-agent class delivered totally necessary - and it's not too difficult to see how the Mets could find themselves in the playoff hunt in 2027. And from there, who knows?