Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesJorge CastilloSep 16, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsThe New York Mets have 11 games remaining in another disappointing season that began with World Series aspirations and ended with them playing the role of pesky spoiler against several postseason contenders down the stretch.And that is the duality of the Mets’ season: a colossal letdown from a roster with the second-highest payroll in the majors, but enough silver lining for optimists to generate excitement for 2027. The Mets are 21-16 since trading eight big leaguers in the weeks leading into the Aug. 3 deadline. They’ve played 13 teams during that stretch, eight of them currently sitting in a playoff spot and two others just four games under .500 combined.
They’ve been a good baseball team for six weeks.”It just shows what guys can do collectively together when they’re on the field, when they’re healthy,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said. “It gives us a glimpse of what we’re capable of, living up to that throughout the course of the season. It doesn’t put us starting the season next year 5-0 or anything like that. It does no good in that regard.
But it does breed confidence and breathe life into a group that believes in themselves.”That belief extends to a front office led by president of baseball operations David Stearns and into owner Steve Cohen’s suite. The Mets expect to contend in 2027. The pressure is on from a frustrated fanbase that expressed its feelings loud and clear Monday and Tuesday with chants calling for Stearns’ firing while celebrating Pete Alonso’s return to Queens with the Baltimore Orioles.The awkwardness of this week’s events aside — fans at Citi Field openly rooted for Alonso, giving him a curtain call after he clubbed his 300th career home run against their team, which bothered Mets players — it’s been a positive stretch for New York. On top of ending the season on a high note, here are some lessons they learned from an unsatisfying 2026.Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto can coexistThe future of the Mets begins with their franchise pillars.
The organization reshaped its core last winter by not re-signing Alonso and trading Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, opting to build the roster around Soto and Lindor, the team’s highest-paid players.That choice was made despite the stars’ palpable tension throughout their first season together in 2025. The relationship remained icy until thawing this summer with help from starter Freddy Peralta, who initiated a meeting between the two players in June.Since then, according to sources, the relationship between the two All-Stars has greatly improved. Peralta’s performance on the mound was a huge disappointment before he was sent to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline, but his leadership could have a significant impact on the franchise’s future.Injuries to both players factored into the Mets’ disappointing 2026 campaign. Lindor and Soto have played in just 44 games together this season.
The Mets are 21-23 with both of them in the lineup, 48-59 without both in there.The Mets’ success in 2027 starts with them.The outfield is set ‘for many years’The Mets might have stumbled into their most encouraging development of the 2026 season.If the offseason went as the Mets had hoped, they would have signed Kyle Tucker. If they had added Tucker and gone on to acquire Luis Robert Jr. as they did, Carson Benge would not have made the Opening Day roster. But Tucker chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers — and has been underwhelming, to say the least — and the Mets pivoted to signing Bo Bichette. That left a corner outfield spot open for Benge on Opening Day.Six weeks later, with Robert on the injured list, A.J.
Ewing was called up. After beginning the season in Double-A, Ewing impressed right off the bat and became a big-league regular.The two rookies and Soto — with Nick Morabito, another rookie, spelling Soto in left field — should give the Mets a formidable outfield for years to come.After struggling to handle velocity over the first month, the 23-year-old Benge adjusted and gleaming results followed. Benge slashed .136/.219/.197 with one home run in his first 21 games. Since then, he’s slashing .291/.352/.445 with 17 home runs in 124 games as he’s settled into his role as the everyday right fielder.
Defensively, the former college pitcher boasts one of the best outfield arms in the majors and is tied for third in MLB with 10 outfield assists.Ewing has been an elite center fielder — his 10 defensive runs saved in just 109 games ranks 11th among all outfielders. He’s been streakier at the plate than Benge, batting .274 with a .771 OPS in his first 63 games and .178 with a .474 OPS in his next 35 contests. He’s now batting .400 with a 1.132 OPS over his past 11 games.”I am encouraged by what we’ve seen,” Stearns said. “We’ve seen continued progression from a lot of players who are going to be here next year and for many years beyond.
And that is very encouraging for me.”‘You can never have too much starting pitching’Nolan McLean will likely finish in the top three in NL Rookie of the Year voting, while Christian Scott and Zac Thornton have made strong cases for inclusion in next year’s rotation. Veteran lefty Sean Manaea, who will be in the final year of his deal, and right-hander Jonah Tong, who had his best start as a big leaguer Monday against the Orioles, are also in the mix. But the Mets will need to address the rotation again this offseason and there’s one obvious target.Tarik Skubal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, could sign for more than $400 million this offseason. Only a few teams can swim in those deep waters.
The Mets are one of them. Stearns, however, has a history of not pursuing elite free agent starters in their early 30s and Skubal turns 30 in November. Yes, Stearns went hard after Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but he was 25 when he came over from Japan. Skubal is five years older.The Mets’ formula produced an unexpected trip to the NLCS in 2024, but starting pitching has been a problem over the past two disappointing seasons.”I think there are a number of lessons there,” Stearns said.
“You can never have too much starting pitching. You have to provide yourself avenues on your roster to give other players a chance when you’re not getting the performance expected. And I think in both of those areas, through the first couple of months, we came up short.”Last winter, Stearns opted to trade two top prospects for Peralta, who was coming off a career All-Star season. Notably, he was due to make just $8 million in 2026.
That move backfired. Maybe this is the offseason and Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, is the pitcher who bucks the trend.Kodai Senga’s bullpen tryout was a successThe bullpen was another one of the few strengths this season. The Mets ranked ninth in the majors in bullpen ERA entering Tuesday. That’s despite trading four relievers at the deadline and closer Devin Williams landing on the injured list less than a week later.Since the deadline, the Mets rank 15th in bullpen ERA, with Senga taking over the closer role.
Senga surrendered the home run to Alonso to blow his first save Tuesday, but he has shined in the ninth inning otherwise, with seven saves behind a fastball that touches 100 mph and his trademark forkball. Whether Senga is in the bullpen in 2027 is unclear. As we mentioned, the Mets could use more starting pitching depth.But Senga, who will make $15 million in the final guaranteed year of his contract, has not been reliable as a starter since the middle of last season.”It’s fun to see,” Green said. “I think his investment in that role, even though he views himself as a starter, I think he prefers to start, but h
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