Mets have question marks at several key positions

The New York Mets were able to get off to a good start this offseason when Bo Bichette exercised his $42 million option to stay with the club for the 2027 season. 

After a slow start, Bichette proved to be a valuable commodity, going 39-for-133 (.293) with runners in scoring position and holding his own at third base. 

New York, however, needs more than Bichette’s presence to improve from 2026, a season in which they won 73 games and failed to reach the postseason for the second consecutive year. As they head into the GM meetings next week, here are the positions the Mets need to fix before Opening Day gets under way against the Marlins. 

Decide on who is the starting catcher: It’s hard to believe the Mets are going into next season believing Francisco Alvarez is No. 1 behind the plate because Luis Torrens had a great season with the glove and showed improvement in the batter’s box. Torrens led the club in defensive runs saved (12) and had a slash line of .277/.351/ .523 with runners in scoring position. Thus far, Alvarez has been injury prone and recorded -5 defensive runs saved during his career.

First Base: For starters, the Mets made a mistake letting Pete Alonso walk and take his power production to the Orioles. With Alonso sent packing, the Mets used eight first basemen with Jared Young getting most of the playing time in '26. Young played well under manager Andy Green, but is Young an everyday player? Against left-handed pitching Young had a .228 batting average -- granted in limited at-bats. Defensively, Young was more than adequate, recording a 2 in defensive runs saved. Keep in mind that Jake Bauers is a free agent after helping the Brewers win a World Series title, but is he worth getting a big contract after having one good season? Based on what he did in ‘26, Bauers had a high-on base percentage.          

Second Base: Marcus Semien is 36 years old and it will be interesting to see how much he has left in the tank. Semien provided almost nothing on offense and defense this past season. In fact, Semien hasn’t had a productive season since 2023 when he helped the Rangers win the World Series title. He may need to compete for a starting job this coming spring. Maybe a platoon between Semien and Brett Baty may help the club. Baty, who played 184 innings at the position, was slashing .250/.318/.406 with 11 homers against right-handed pitching in '27.   

Closer: The Mets saw Devin Williams and Kodai Senga close games, but neither was consistent during the ninth inning. While Senga loved being the ninth inning guy towards the end of the season, he would like to return to rotation. One has to ask, Can Williams handle playing in New York? In his two years in the Big Apple (one year each with the Yankees and Mets), Williams has been a bust and has two years left on his contract.

Designated hitter: On paper, Jorge Polanco is the everyday DH. Really? Year 1 of that two-year, $40 million contract for Polanco didn’t go well. On April 18, Polanco went on the 10-day Injured List because of a right wrist contusion and left Achilles bursitis. While the wrist problems went away, the Achilles problems didn’t. By late August, Polanco had season-ending surgery on the Achilles. If Polanco is not ready for next season, Mark Vientos could be the guy. The Mets are still looking for him to work his magic at the plate like he did in 2024, when he hit a career-high 27 homers.

Veteran starter: They started the season with the hope that Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes would lead the rotation, but they were both dealt to the Rays and Cubs, respectively, before the MLB Trade Deadline. The Mets are still looking for the 2024 version of Sean Manaea to show up. It was another year of inconsistency on the mound for him. New York currently has a young rotation led by Nolan McLean. Because of the Mets' reputation of spending money, there are going to be reports about them being involved in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes. Other than Skubal and maybe Holmes, the free agents class in the starting pitching category is below average. The Mets more than likely will have to make a trade to acquire that arm.