The Mets kicked off the winter meetings by signing superstar outfielder Juan Soto to the single largest contract in North American sporting history. The Mets found another face of their franchise, who will spend the next decade with Francisco Lindor. The two combined to have contracts worth roughly $1.1 billion, and the Mets are clearly baseball’s cash king.
Despite handing Soto the largest deal in history, the Mets still have considerable work to do this winter. The team has made a flurry of minor league signings and brought in two new starting pitchers, Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes. Beyond these two moves, the Mets had remained relatively quiet until signing Soto.
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From here, president of baseball operations Davis Stearns is tasked with rounding out his rotation, building the final half of his bullpen, and finding multiple infielders to replace what he been produced from the likes of Pete Alonso and Jose Iglesias, who remain on the open market. The Mets, by rough estimate, have roughly half a donzen or so moves left to make to round out their major league roster. With over $800 million in total contracts already handed out by the Mets this winter, it is fair to question how the Mets can afford to make meaningful moves the rest of the winter.
According to FanGraphs, the Mets ended 2024 with a payroll of roughly $336 million, tops in baseball. Following the departure of players such as Alonso, and the contracts of former Mets Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and James McCann coming to a close, the Mets saw over $100 million come off the books in early November. Including the signing of Soto, Steve Cohen’s on-field payroll currently sits at $251 million, still $85 million below their final 2024 mark.
Needless to say, the Mets have some wiggle room this winter. The team will likely need to make a few splash moves this winter, which could include a reunion with starter Sean Manaea, of whom Andy Martino said there is “increasing optimism” of a return with the Mets. The starting pitching market does seem to be expensive so far, highlighted by Blake Snell‘s five-year, $182 million dollar deal in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, which might have contributed to the Mets’ plans to stretch Clay Holmes into a starter at the cost of less than $13 million a year. The Mets have also recently been linked to former Dodger standout Walker Buehler, once again according to Martino.
The Mets will need also to find a corner infielder, with David Stearns alluding to it possibly being a first baseman as he asserted that Mark Vientos is still the Mets’ starting third baseman. Most obviously, a reunion with Alonso makes the most sense. Alonso is chasing the record books in Queens, specifically the Mets’ all-time home run record. He sits just 26 homers behind Mike Piazza‘s 252 mark for the franchise record, meaning that any contract that sees Alonso return in 2025 likely sees him become the Mets’ all-time home run leader.
Beyond Alonso, potential first base options could include former Diamondback Christian Walker, Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz, former MVP Paul Goldschmidt, and veteran Carlos Santana.
The bullpen figures to be fairly inexpensive for the Mets for a number of reasons, if none other than Stearns made his money last year with the development of arms such as Dedniel Núñez, Danny Young, and Reed Garrett into legitimate contributors. However, if the right opportunity presents itself, the Mets’ executive has the backings of Steve Cohen’s wallet to make a move that might present itself.
The Mets, despite their massive contracts already handed out and several moves left to make, figure to remain as one of the more aggressive teams in baseball. As the team becomes a more attractive landing spot thanks to the signing of Juan Soto, Steve Cohen still has several millions of dollars to move, and David Stearns has effectively the entire open market at his disposal to get done what he sees fit. Times have changed for the Mets and their fans. Gone are the days of league minimum relievers on the final stops of their careers, and journeyman starters making another stop along the road. The Mets figure to make a few more splashes before the team makes its way to beautiful Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Steve Cohen’s financial commitment to the Mets might allow a few more stars to head down with them.
