The Mets enter the Winter Meetings already having added a significant free agent in Devin Williams, and pulled off a swap of two veteran players when they received Marcus Semien from the Rangers in exchange for Brandon Nimmo. With a roster still very much in flux, there is plenty more to do, and the Winter Meetings, historically, are a great place to conduct such business.
Will Pete Alonso and/or Edwin Díaz return?
While these are not decisions that necessarily need to be made in Orlando, representatives from both players will certainly be present and it seems likely that by the end of the Meetings, there will be a better sense for all parties how likely either reunion looks. With Díaz, the Mets have fortified their position by adding Williams, who could easily be their closer, and so the urgency to overpay, either in years or dollars, for Díaz is gone. With Alonso, it is a little less cut and dry, but with Jeff Passan expecting Kyle Schwarber, another Mets target and one of the other power-hitting free agents on the market, to sign by the end of the meetings, the market for Alonso should be more clear come Thursday.
Starting pitching roulette?
With yesterday’s rumors about the Twins liking Jonah Tong and being open to trading Joe Ryan, look for the Mets to not just talk with the Twins about a swap, but looking at all of the available starters and seeing who fits. The Mets have almost completely rebuilt their far system in the past three seasons and now have a plethora of players that either are blocked for a significant amount of time, don’t quite fit the Mets’ current roster needs, or simply would be better used to acquire talent.
Add to that the speculation that Kodai Senga could potentially be on the block, the intrigue of Tatsuya Imai, and the general uncertainty surrounding the Mets’ starting rotation, this looks like the area that the Mets could be most active in, or at least the area in which they could make the most significant changes.
Who’s playing the outfield?
With Juan Soto manning right field for the foreseeable future and Nimmo now playing in Texas, two-thirds of the Mets’ outfield picture is unclear. Will Jeff McNeil, he of recent thoracic outlet surgery, have the arm strength needed for left field? Have the Luisangel Acuña in center field discussions dwindled with his offensive performance? Is Carson Benge ready for the big leagues? Will a new hitting coach get more out of Tyrone Taylor?
Those are just some of the questions that the Mets will need to answer before Opening Day. With Kyle Tucker on the market, the Mets have a chance to sign an impact outfield bat and eliminate some of these questions. Again, the Mets have a stocked farm system that may be able to bring them back an outfielder from a team like the Padres or Twins who are in periods of flux. Aside from the rotation, this is the most intriguing area for the Mets next week.
Stock up on the bullpen arms
While the glut of bullpen additions typically happen between New Year’s Day and the start of Spring Training, with every agent and every team in one complex for three and a half days, it wouldn’t be shocking if the Mets added another bullpen arm or two before the Meetings are over. With A.J. Minter returning from injury, Brooks Raley’s option picked up, and the Williams signing, with or without Díaz, the back end of the Mets’ bullpen looks fairly strong. But with injuries to 2025 contributors like Reed Garrett, Max Kranick, and Danny Young, the Mets still have some work to do in the relief corps. We’re big Huascar Brázoban fans in these parts, but they still need a few more arms.
The Mets have not been very active in the Rule 5 draft in recent years, but especially when rebuilding a bullpen, there is always some value to be found there. While David Stearns rarely seems to do things just to do them, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Stearns take a flyer on a fringe player.
