The New York Mets were at a crossroads in the 2025 offseason. A team that shelled out a ton for Juan Soto but that fell short of the playoffs now faced spending more to retain superstar closer Edwin Diaz, slugger and homegrown favorite Pete Alonso and to shore up a rotation that needed help.
We’re now a few days into the 2025 Winter Meetings, and the Mets saw Diaz walk to the rich-getting-richer Los Angeles Dodgers. Alonso, on Wednesday, inked a massive five-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles. And GM David Stearns dealt another homegrown player in Brandon Nimmo earlier this offseason for the aging Marcus Semien.
So… what’s the plan here?
There are two sides of my Mets fan brain here. The rational side understands that maybe the Mets are being cautious with their long-term spends, that maybe Devin Williams can replace some of what Diaz did, that the 31-year-old Alonso may not produce five years’ worth of awesome numbers, that Semien’s glove and leadership is more valuable than Nimmo’s stats.
And then there’s the other side. I watched Alonso go from farm system slugger to the Mets’ all-time home hitter. I saw Nimmo hustle on every walk and bring that smile with him to every moment, including when the Mets clinched a spot in the 2024 NLCS and he cried while grinning. I saw Diaz win the much-questioned Jarred Kelenic trade and electrify Citi Field with every horn-filled entrance.
What I’m hoping for is for Plan B to work. There are a lot of good things on paper with the Mets — Soto and Francisco Lindor make up a terrific core, there are some young starting pitchers who could be stars and there’s a bunch of other prospects who could step in soon enough or be part of a deal to bring in, say, an ace like Tarik Skubal.
But it feels chaotic, with that #LOLMETS stuff swirling that fans can never shake. There are reports that Diaz wasn’t pleased about not getting a heads up about the Mets signing Williams. And if the Mets didn’t want to give Alonso five years and he ends up raking for Baltimore, that decision will look foolish.
Like I said, let’s see how this all unfolds. We are talking about a team that didn’t win a title last year, that’s clearly looking to shake things up.
But hopefully it’s the rational decisions and not the emotional ones that win games in 2026.
