Reese Kaplan -- There's a Lot of Roster Action Outside of Citifield

According to the calendar it is now January 9th and the Mets are going into the 2026 season with one starting quality outfielder, no experienced first baseman, one missing relief pitcher with experience and the same starting rotation more-or-less that was responsible for the decimation of the 2025 season which resulted in no October baseball for the Mets except on television.

While many of us have been openly questioning the accountability of David Stearns while other teams seem willing to make transactional changes via trades and free agency, the defenders will quickly point out that there is a month until Spring Training begins and changes will be made. 

Day by day it appears more and more that the roster reinforcements will have to come via trade rather than via the dwindling list of available free agents.  Yes, there are some nice players still unsigned that include the much ballyhooed lucky quintet on offense of Cody Bellinger, Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez and Kyle Tucker.  Already signed are Munetaka Murakami, Josh Naylor, Kazuma Okamoto and Ryan O’Hearn, Sung Mun Song and many, many others.

On the starting rotation side the best of the remaining guys on the auction block include Ranger Suarez and Framber Valdez.  Gone from the bidding include Dylan Cease, Tatsuya Imai and Michael King.  Yes, there are others still out there but to use a good shopping analogy, picture waiting until Wednesday night to begin your Thanksgiving shopping only to discover less desirable ingredients, dented cans and some of the better options gone completely.  

Guys who are left include, for example, 43 year old Justin Verlander will go into the Hall of Fame when he retires but he hasn’t made 30 starts in a season since 2019.  It’s now 2026.

On the bullpen side give kudos to the acquisition of former Brewers closer Devin Williams, a guy Stearns knows quite well.  His contract became doubly desirable when Edwin Diaz was seen leaving on a jet plane for Los Angeles.  

Other relievers who were available and connected include include Shawn Armstrong, Pete Fairbanks, Hunter Harvey, Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Kenley Jansen, Brad Keller, Andrew Kittredge, Phil Maton, Drew Pomeranz, Matt Strahm, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto, Robert Suarez and Kirby Yates.  Yeah, the return of Dickie Lovelady is right on par with these moves, right?

Then there are the trades that have been made.  Yes, David Stearns has made a couple of them.  He landed Marcus Semien at age 35 and a low level minor leaguer for Jeff McNeil.  Other teams have picked up most recently Edgar Cabrera, Willson Contreras, Adolis Garcia, Sonny Grey, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Taylor Ward,  Yes, those early (and questionable) Stearns actions are certainly not the best of the bunch.

Going back to the Thanksgiving dinner analogy, it will take some deep level creativity to form a presentable and impressive spread when there are no more stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies and a myriad of other expected quality offerings.  Here’s hoping the only turkeys missing are the kind you pop into the oven, not the one hired to reinforce the team.