2025 MLB Season Recap: New York Mets

The Pitching

The Good

The Mets won the sweepstakes of last winter by adding Juan Soto in free agency. While Soto has his flaws, the 27-year-old is one of baseball’s most dominant hitters for a reason. And not only did he fit in extremely well just south of the Whitestone Bridge but also made the Mets’ lineup better as a whole.

But focusing on Soto for a second, the now-five-time NL Silver Slugger winner had a fantastic year despite some early-season lulls. Soto reached career-highs in home runs (43) and stolen bases (38), the latter of which was easily his best as a Major Leaguer. A hat-tip to former Mets first base coach Antoan Richardson has to be given.

Soto, though, is far more impactful than just what he brings to the table. His ability to work counts makes for an obvious bonus: aside from getting on base, he made the Mets harder to pitch around. It’s no wonder Pete Alonso belted 38 home runs in his return to Queens. Brandon Nimmo, meanwhile, hit 25 home runs and drove in a career-high 92 runs.

The Mets had problems producing runs aside from those three and Francisco Lindor, who also posted a 30-30 campaign for the Mets (and I’ll get to that in a minute). Nonetheless, the Mets wouldn’t have been able to win 83 games without those four.

Another plus from 2025 was the emergence of Brett Baty. Baty, a former first-rounder, has dealt with his fair share of injury woes and funks since he made his MLB debut in 2022. But in 2025, Baty had a career year. The 25-year-old belted a career-best 18 home runs and proved to be valuable defensively.

Moving to the pitching staff, the best story of 2025 might have been Nolan McLean. McLean, a former two-way player in the Minors who transitioned to pitching full-time, was promoted in August to help a wounded pitching staff. The right-hander made an immediate impact, as McLean struck out 57 over 48 innings.

McLean was prone to falling behind in counts at times. That, though, was a small blemish on what was a great first run for McLean, who will still be a rookie in 2026.

Edwin Diaz won his second NL Reliever of the Year Award in four seasons in 2025 after he struck out 98 over 66 innings. And David Peterson, Kodai Senga, and Griffin Canning were all very good in the first half.

Unfortunately for the Mets, things became derailed in the second half.

The Bad

It was an interesting second half for the Mets. New York (NL) finished tied for fourth in runs scored (340) after the All-Star break and had a positive run differential in that span. However, the Mets finished in the bottom-third in team ERA (4.74), went 21-32 over the final two months, and went from first in the NL East to out of the playoffs from August 1 onward.

A good place to start would be the bullpen.

Over the last two months of 2025, the Mets had three relievers in the bottom 30 of the league (min. 10 GP) in wOBA: Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek, and Ryan Helsley.

Stanek walked 14 over 18.1 IP and gave up four home runs, resulting in an 8.35 ERA. Garrett scuffled in August before going down to a season-ending elbow injury. And Helsley, a former NL Reliever of the Year, acquired to be the #2 bullpen arm behind Diaz, dealt with tipping troubles, and a lot of home runs and walks.

It didn’t help that the Mets had difficulties getting length from their starting pitchers. The Mets tried to get creative at times. Clay Holmes, in his first year as a full-time starting pitcher in years, and Sean Manaea were often used to piggyback off one another.

Both had their problems. Manaea, who missed most of the first half, gave up a lot of home runs. Holmes, a heavy ground-ball pitcher, struggled to get through innings in part due to defensive woes from his team. But, also the high BB/9 (3.6) rate.

Walks, in general, were a problem for the Mets. Every single one of the Mets’ five primary starters had BB/9 rates north of 3.0.

On top of that, Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning, and Frankie Montas were among the pitchers who suffered season-ending injuries.

The 46 total players who threw on the mound for the Mets were a telling sign: it was hard to get consistent help and get through games.

Injuries were not just limited to the pitching staff. Jesse Winker played only 26 games this season. Francisco Alvarez, had several IL stints this season. Jeff McNeil was also playing through a shoulder injury.

While players like Brett Baty and, late in the year, Tyrone Taylor, were able to help fill in gaps, a down season from Mark Vientos (97 OPS+) didn’t help. Cedric Mullins, another one of the Mets’ mid-season additions, slashed .182/.284/.281 in 42 games and fell out of favor by the end of the year.

Early Projected Lineup for 2026

• C: Francisco Alvarez
• 1B: Mark Vientos
• 2B: Jeff McNeil
• 3B: Brett Baty
• SS: Francisco Lindor
• OF: Brandon Nimmo (LF), Tyrone Taylor (CF), Juan Soto (RF)
• DH: Ronny Mauricio
• SP: Kodai Senga, Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Christian Scott
• RP: Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley, Alex Carrillo, Joey Gerber, Dylan Ross, Richard Lovelady, Brandon Waddell

Without Pete Alonso, the Mets should either A) attempt to sign a replacement bat if an agreement with the veteran first baseman is not reached, or B) consider working with an internal replacement.

Additionally, the Mets may be inclined to look internally to fill out their outfield depth chart. Former first-round pick Carson Benge had a very good 2025, as he pushed his way to Triple-A.

However, bullpen help should also be a focal point. The Mets saw Edwin Diaz, Ryan Helsley, Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers, and Ryne Stanek all head to free agency. Several of those pitchers weren’t likely to come back, even if things went well in the last third of the season. But with no Dedniel Nunez or Reed Garrett next season, that troupe of relief pitchers looks thin.

And if Edwin Diaz doesn’t re-sign, the Mets would lose one of the best stoppers in all of baseball.