Reese Kaplan -- Lots of Roster Holes to Fill in 2026

Right now it’s still a guessing game as to whether or not the Mets make the postseason and if so how far they will go.  The roster pretty much is what it is save for some starting pitcher changes possible as well as the late return of Jose Siri which is doubly important with Tyrone Taylor on the IL and Cedric Mullins hitting under .230 without any run production.  Throw in a return of Francisco Alvarez and what you have is pretty much what it’s going to be.  Instead, let’s start to take a look at the 2026 roster which will get some pretty extensive changes as free agency hits for several players who may or may not get extension offers.

Offensive Free Agents 

Pete Alonso is 99.9% certain to want to opt out of his big pay cut to $24 million after producing his best offensive season.  The Mets either need to work out a very high average annual value deal for say 3-4 years or watch him sell his services elsewhere.  His age 31 through whatever seasons are not typically thought of as the best of a power hitter’s career, but coming off a much stronger 2025 than he did in 2024 he’s likely to have a long list of bidders. 

Starling Marte is an enigmatic player who produced in 2022 how they expected him to do, but 2023 and 2024 were injury plagued.  This year he’s been mostly healthy but his defensive skills have diminished considerably.  A speedy contact hitter is not typically how most clubs use a DH, but going into his age 37 season it’s likely the only role he could handle on a full time basis.

Jesse Winker was a less than stellar DH candidate when he was returned for 2025, but after just 70 ABs he’s been out of commission due to health.  Word filtered out he’s been shut down now and his season is over.  He’s not expensive at $7.5 million but after a wasted season he’s not going to be on the top of many GMs’ lists. 

Cedric Mullins will become a free agent.  Don’t let the door hit you on the way out the locker room door.

Borderline Veteran Players as Trade Bait

Jeff McNeil has never approached his NL Batting Leader numbers again and the Mets are on the hook for one more full season in 2026 at $15.75 million while holding a team option at the same rate for 2027 or a $2 million buyout.  He might be a pay down candidate to trade to another team for a short term commitment. 

Tyrone Taylor began his big league career late.  He’s shown great defense, good base running speed and occasional power.  He is arbitration eligible in 2026 and can become a free agent in 2027.  He could be a helpful bench piece but gets exposed when he plays regularly.

Pretty much forgotten infielder Nick Madrigal missed all of 2025 with a shoulder fracture during Spring Training.  The Mets hold an option to bring him back in 2026.  Who knows if they will.

The Still Unproven Young Veterans

Luisangel Acuna definitely has shown stolen base ability and decent defense but he’s very streaky and hasn’t put together any consistency. 

Brett Baty is having for him his finest season hitting around .250 with modest power and run production.  His defense is better than average but no one is sure if this improved year is part of his journey as a ballplayer or if it is a plateau.

Ronny Mauricio missed all of 2024 due to injury and was a rather late starter to 2025.  Thus far he's shown rust but every now and then you see some flashes that captivated many as he climbed through the minors.  For this year's major league metrics it's pretty ugly -- hitting just .231 but his 6 HRs and 4 SBs would translated to 24 and 16 if he played a full season.  Those numbers are well behind what he did pre-injury, so he's kind of hard to predict.

Mark Vientos took a very long time to get it in gear but he finished August hitting .278 with 8 HRs and 22 RBIs.  The team would sign up for that kind of production any day but folks still wonder if 2024 was more of an outlier than a preview of solid level player.

Rookies Looking to Move on Up

Carson Benge is a 22 year old outfielder who has sailed through the minor leagues from college up through his new tenure at Syracuse.  For his cumulative career he’s hitting .295 with 15 HRs, 72 RBIs and 24 SBs in less than a single season’s worth of ABs.  The team could look to have him start in CF or park him for more seasoning in AAA where he’s stalled between adjustment and injury.

Ryan Clifford is a year younger than Benge with more home run power and significantly more minor league experience.  However, his 26 HR and 85 RBI season in 2025 split between Binghamton and Syracuse is accompanied by a mediocre .243 batting average. 

Jett Williams is one of the most interesting Mets prospects as he is in a way the new Jeff McNeil.  He can play all over the field while providing a solid on base percentage and terrific stolen base numbers accompanied by about 14 HR power.  Like the other rookies he’s had a limited time in AAA and may not be deemed ready to break camp next season at age 22.

Other Hitters Likely Returning

• Juan Soto
• Francisco Lindor
• Francisco Alvarez
• Brandon Nimmo 

Departing or Injured Pitchers

Griffin Canning was a nice story when he pitched way over his head for the Mets earlier this season on a one-year deal but his future with the Mets is very much up in the air.

Frankie Montas has had surgery for his UCL problem and will likely miss all of 2026 after which he is no longer a Mets player.

Ryan Helsley will be selling himself to the highest bidder based upon his career in St. Louis.  How his agent characterizes the batting practice pitcher he’s been in New York is anyone’s guess.

Tyler Rogers was more a bad surprise than Helsley who was being asked to adjust to a setup role where he had been a closer in the past.  Rogers always was a setup guy but he did not deliver at the same quality once coming to New York.  He’s a free agent.

Gregory Soto was the first of the trio of bad July bullpen acquisitions.  For awhile he was surprisingly capable but then the poorer version showed up and he’s not been much help lately.  His free agency will not be nearly as profitable as he had once hoped.

Ryne Stanek and his 5.17 ERA are available to free agent bidders during the upcoming off season.  Let's just hope one of them is not David Stearns. 

A.J. Minter is still recovering from an early season injury but is on track to play in Spring Training in 2026.  How well he will pitch and how quickly he will have completely healed is a great unknown 

Danny Young is out for most of the 2025 season and could miss 2026 as well. 

Dedniel Nunez has undergone the second Tommy John Surgery of his career and is off the table for 2026.

Drew Smith likely is recovered and ready to pitch in 2026 but no one knows how well he’ll do and if the Mets want to retain him.

Christian Scott is on track to be ready for Spring Training but after missing all of this year and part of last year he’s not exactly a lock for anything.

Reed Garrett is currently on the IL, too.

Other Pitchers Possibly Returning

• Kodai Senga
• Sean Manaea
• David Peterson
• Nolan McLean
• Jonah Tong
• Brandon Sproat
• Tylor Megill
• Brooks Raley
• Edwin Diaz
• Max Kranick