In terms of the Mets, what Hall of Famers, past, present, and future, who already have Mets caps on their plaques or who might get one one day? Who, currently in the Hall of Fame, could’ve worn Mets hats? Players have input on what cap they choose to wear, but that is ultimately up to the Hall of Fame.

While the Mets have numbers retired at Citi Field, only two have Mets ballcaps in Cooperstown. Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges are also in the Hall of Fame, but they wear Brooklyn Dodgers (Hodges) and New York Yankees (Stengel) hats, respectively. 

Mets With Caps In The Hall

Tom Seaver

We start with The Franchise, the man who has a statue outside Citi Field’s main entrance. From 1967 to 1977, and again in 1983, Tom Seaver made seven All-Star teams with the Mets and helped the Mets win the 1969 World Series and the 1973 pennant. He won all three of his Cy Youngs as a Met in 1969, 1973, and 1975. Seaver is the Mets’ all-time leader in wins (198) and strikeouts (2,541). Seaver was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. 

Mike Piazza

The second Mets representative in Cooperstown and the greatest hitter in Mets history. Mike Piazza was traded to the Mets in 1998 and helped turn those teams into contenders, leading them to back-to-back NLCS appearances in 1999 and 2000, while winning the pennant in 2000. Piazza was a seven-time All-Star and a five-time Silver Slugger as a Met. Piazza hit 220 home runs, 655 RBIS, and a .296 average with the Mets. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.

Guys In the Hall Who Could’ve Had Mets Caps

Gary Carter

This is the most notable and the one many argue should’ve been in the Hall of Fame as a Met. Gary Carter was traded to the Mets in 1985 and was the last piece of the puzzle for the 1986 World Series championship team. Carter brought leadership to the team and, along with Keith Hernandez (we’ll get to him), was named a co-captain. Carter made the All-Star team four times and won a Silver Slugger during his five-year run in Queens. He’s, of course, most remembered for starting the dramatic comeback in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

Carter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 as a Montreal Expo, a team he spent 12 years with. Famously, Carter expressed a desire to go into the Hall in a Mets cap. However, the Hall of Fame determined that his accomplishments in Montreal during those years warranted his induction as an Expo. While Carter may not be in the Hall of Fame in the blue and orange, his number should be in the rafters of Citi Field. He spent many years in Montreal, but he’s most remembered for his time with the Mets and the 1986 team.

Gary Carter in 1986. Photo by Westchester County Journal News

Future Mets Hall of Famers?

Carlos Beltran

It’s almost certain that Carlos Beltran will be announced as a Hall of Famer on Tuesday. The question, of course, is what team he will represent in Cooperstown. While Beltran was put on the map as a member of the Kansas City Royals, as well as his 2004 run with the Houston Astros, Beltran spent seven seasons with the Mets and made the All-Star team in six of those seasons.

New York signed him on the heels of that great postseason run with Houston. He became one of the best free agent signings in team history and the best center fielder they’ve ever had. All three of Beltran’s career Gold Gloves and both of his Silver Sluggers came as a Met. Beltran has been a member of the Mets front office since 2023. If Beltran’s name is called, expect him to become the third player to put on a Mets cap. 

Keith Hernandez

One of the biggest omissions from the Hall of Fame, Hernandez is regarded as one of the best first basemen of all time. In 1983, the Mets needed a veteran to teach the club how to win. After a successful run with the St. Louis Cardinals for nine seasons, including winning the National League MVP in 1979 and the World Series in 1982, Hernandez was traded to the Mets, and he would guide them to their most successful era in team history. He was named captain, won six of his 11 Gold Gloves with the Mets, played on three All-Star teams, and, of course, helped them win the World Series in 1986. 

Nowadays, Hernandez is recognized for his 20-year run on the SNY broadcasts with Gary Cohen and former teammate Ron Darling. Hernandez has been part of Mets broadcasts since the late 90s, but his time on SNY since the network’s launch has been nothing short of legendary. Hernandez’s number 17 was retired by the Mets in 2022. His name has gained traction in recent years, so look for him to get in at some point. If he does get in, he could go in as a Met.

David Wright 

Wright’s name is one of the more interesting on the ballot. The fact that he has remained on the ballot right now is a good sign. Though it still won’t be easy for the former Mets captain, as injuries derailed his career. However, his peak was outstanding, and he was a perennial MVP candidate in his prime. As a Met, Wright hit 242 home runs and is the franchise’s all-time leader in RBIs (970) and hits (1,777).

He was a seven-time All-Star and helped the Mets win the division title in 2006. He made a significant return in 2015, contributing to their run to the World Series. Wright would have his number 5 retired in 2025. He also made a name for himself in the World Baseball Classic as “Captain America”.

Wright will be on his third year on the ballot in 2026, and he has stayed on the ballot with 6.2% in 2024 and 8.1% in 2025. It’ll be interesting to see what his vote total will be in 2026, but if he does get in one day, it’s a guarantee The Captain will be on the team he grew up watching in Norfolk, Virginia.

Jacob deGrom

The most recent New York Met and still playing for the Texas Rangers, deGrom became one of the best pitchers in franchise history from 2014-2022. Right there with Seaver and Dwight Gooden. deGrom won Rookie of the Year in 2014 and helped the Mets to the pennant in 2015 all in his first two years in the league. Then, later in the 2017 season, deGrom became the best pitcher in baseball, and he won back-to-back Cy Youngs in 2018 and 2019. He also made the All-Star team four times.

Injuries, however, would be the story of 2021 and 2022 before he departed the Mets in free agency. If not for injuries that held him out of the second half of the 2021 season, it could’ve been one of the best seasons ever by any pitcher. He was that good in the first half on the mound. Injuries have also halted his tenure in Texas, but he bounced back with a really good 2025 season.

Still, deGrom’s resume and peak could put him in Cooperstown one day. If it does, he’ll be the next player to go in wearing the blue and orange. Not to mention his number being retired at Citi Field one day. 

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But Josh Jung fought off an 0-2, 96 mph inside fastball for an RBI single to right. Then the dam broke. Alejandro Osuna singled in a run. Jonah Heim walked to load the bases. Cody Freeman connected for a two-run single. Michael Helman added a two-run double. It was 6-0 Rangers and Tong’s night was done. He recorded two outs.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers (78-70) went on to secure an 8-3 victory, sending the Mets to their seventh-straight loss behind a quality start from Jacob deGrom, who was grateful for the run support at Citi Field. In 209 starts for the Mets, the two-time Cy Young winner never received more than four runs of support in the first inning, per SNY. His two strikeouts upped his Citi Field-leading total to 901.

The Mets cut the lead in half in the third. Francisco Alvarez led off the frame with his first homer since coming off the injured list last Friday. After Cedric Mullins singled and Francisco Lindor doubled, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso hit back-to-back sacrifice flies.

Jeff McNeil was ejected for the first time in his career in the fourth when he protested a 3-2 pitch that was called a strike at the knees. The 37-year-old deGrom (12-7) retired the last 15 batters he faced. A night ago in Philadelphia, 25 consecutive Mets were set down in a row.

The bullpen kept the Mets in it for awhile. Huascar Brazobán threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings and Ryne Stanek got five outs without allowing a baserunner, but Gregory Soto gave up a two-run, pinch-hit homer to Dylan Moore in the seventh that extended the Texas lead to 8-3. Soto gave up four runs in his prior outing on Wednesday at Philadelphia.

At the moment, the Mets (76-72) lead both the Cincinnati Reds (74-72) and San Francisco Giants (74-72) by one game for the final Wild Card spot. The Reds play at the Athletics and the Giants host the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday on the West Coast. The last time the Mets were only four games over .500 was on April 16 when they were 11-7.

The start was deGrom’s first at Citi Field since the 2022 playoffs when he beat the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round.

“I think watching film and some of his last outings, we’re looking at the guy that you guys saw here for a long time,” Carlos Mendoza said before the game. “Electric stuff and his ability to command the baseball. You still looking at 98-99 the fastball, the slider, the change-up. But like I said his ability to command and manipulate the ball the way he’s capable of, it’s a tough match-up.”

Tong vs. deGrom happened 40 years after 20-year-old Dwight Gooden faced 42-year-old Jerry Koosman at Shea Stadium. (It is understood that Tong is not anywhere near the phenom that Gooden was at the time.) Gooden (five earned runs, five innings) and Koosman (six earned runs, 1 2/3 innings) didn’t have their best stuff.

Gooden gave up homers to Mike Schmidt and Rick Schu and Koosman served up long balls to Gary Carter, Ray Knight and Tom Paciorek. The Mets won 10-7.

Stat of the Game

Tong’s outing was the shortest for a Met starter since David Peterson lasted one-third of an inning against the Chicago Cubs in September 2022, per SNY.

It is asking a lot to look for Tong (and his fellow rookie starters) to come up clutch in the heat of a playoff race. A month and two days ago, Tong (1-2) was pitching for Double-A Binghamton in front of 6,144 fans at TD Bank Ballpark in Somerset, N.J.

Player of the Game

Brazobán was sharp in his first major-league appearance since Aug. 26. He gave up two hits and a walk and threw 35 of 51 pitches for strikes.

On Deck

Another rookie vs. veteran matchup. Brandon Sproat (0-1, 4.50 ERA) makes his Citi Field debut against Patrick Corbin (7-9, 4.36 ERA). The 36-year-old lefty is 8-13 with a 5.07 ERA over 165 innings pitched lifetime against the Mets. Game time is 4:10 p.m. ET and it will air on SNY.

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Without the context of everything happening around the Mets over the last two months, tonight’s game should be incredibly exciting. Jacob deGrom returns to Citi Field to take on the Mets, who are sending out Jonah Tong and are about to follow him up with Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean, who make up the most exciting group of starting pitchers since deGrom, et al. Both teams are in a playoff race, meaning this should be must-watch TV.

The Mets are just playing terribly right now, though. They have lost six games in a row and are one bad weekend away from losing their Wild Card spot. The Mets looked great in the first inning on Thursday night, but then they fell apart again. They desperately need a win.

Jonah Tong by Roberto Carlo

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – RF
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Brandon Nimmo – LF
5. Mark Vientos – DH
6. Jeff McNeil – 2B
7. Brett Baty – 3B
8. Francisco Alvarez – C
9. Cedric Mullins – CF

Tong will make the third start of his career tonight. In his first two outings, he allowed eight runs (five earned) over 11 innings on nine hits while striking out 12 batters. Tong cruised through his debut before running into trouble in the fifth inning from Miami Marlins hitters and the defense behind him. The Reds just played a very Reds game in his last start, as he gave up only three hits and all of them were home runs, which matches almost exactly how Great American Ball Park plays.

Opposing Lineup

1. Josh Smith – SS
2. Wyatt Langford – LF
3. Joc Pederson – DH
4. Jake Burger – 1B
5. Josh Jung – 3B
6. Alejandro Osuna – RF
7. Jonah Heim – C
8. Cody Freeman – 2B
9. Michael Helman – CF

deGrom has thrown over 100 innings this season for the first time since 2019. Over 155 2/3 frames, spread over 27 starts, he has a 2.78 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 0.931 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. He’s coming off of a more human start against the Houston Astros where he allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings, mostly due to two home runs. In the three outings before that, he allowed only two runs across 15 innings while striking out 18 batters.

The Mets have the following career stats against deGrom:

• Starling Marte 2-12, BB, 5 K
• Cedric Mullins 1-7, K
• Juan Soto 5-18, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 5 K

Game Notes

• Joel Díaz’s gem helped High-A Brooklyn clinch a spot in the SAL Championship Series on Thursday night. For more, check out our minor league recap!
• With the Alumni Classic set to take place at 2:40 p.m. EST before tomorrow’s game at 4:10 p.m., the Mets announced that the parking lot will open at 12:10 p.m. and the Early Entry STM Gates will open at 12:40 p.m. while all other gates will open at 1:10 p.m.
• Kodai Senga will make his first start for Triple-A Syracuse tonight after accepting an option to the affiliate last week.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Jacob deGrom. deGrom will make his first start against the Mets since leaving the team in 2022. The long-time ace ranks third in career pitching bWAR among pitchers in the club’s history at 41.2, sitting behind Dwight Gooden at 41.6 and Tom Seaver at 76.1. deGrom also has the best career ERA in Mets history at 2.52, which is just barely ahead of Seaver’s 2.57 mark. I personally thought I would have more feelings about his return, but I don’t. It’s a combination of how poorly the Mets have played recently and how long ago 2022 was. This is deGrom’s first dominant year since signing that massive contract with the Rangers, which is due to him missing a large chunk of the last two years due to Tommy John surgery. If he returned one or two seasons after signing with the Rangers, emotions would be stronger, but the Mets have lived multiple different lives since he left.
2. Repeat last night’s start. The Mets had the perfect start to Thursday’s game: Lindor single, Soto single, double-steal. They went on to have multiple hits with runners in scoring position, leading to four runs. David Peterson shut down the Phillies in the bottom of the first inning, but the Mets’ hitters were silent for the rest of the night. As the game got to the middle innings, where things typically fall apart for the Mets, they allowed six runs and just could not recover. They need another fast start, but then also need to sustain it throughout the game.
3. Wild Card race. The Mets are going to need some help tonight. The two most important games in terms of scoreboard watching will probably begin around the time the Mets game ends. The Reds and Brady Singer will take on the struggling Athletics while Justin Verlander and the Giants will take on Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers. There’s a world where we wake up tomorrow and the Mets have a 2 1/2 game lead in the Wild Card race, but there’s also a world where the Mets have a half-game lead.

Let’s go Mets!

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Let’s take a look at some notes ahead of the three pitching matchups.

Nolan McLean (26) Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PITCHING MATCHUPS

• Friday: Jacob deGrom (11-7, 2.78 ERA) vs. Jonah Tong (1-1, 4.09 ERA): For the first time since leaving the Mets, deGrom will take the mound at Citi Field. His last start in Queens came in Game 2 of their 2022 Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres. Over his first two years in Texas, he made a total of nine starts due to Tommy John surgery. This season, deGrom has already made 27 starts. He has been good but not great in recent weeks, pitching to a 3.66 ERA over his last six outings. As an old friend returns, a future stud matches up against him. The long ball hurt Tong his last time out, allowing three home runs over six innings against the Reds last Saturday. All three came against his four-seam fastball. Let’s see how the young Tong bounces back in the series opener.
• Saturday: Patrick Corbin (7-9, 4.36 ERA) vs. Brandon Sproat (0-1, 4.50 ERA): Corbin played an important role in the Washington Nationals winning the World Series in 2019. In the five seasons that followed, he struggled quite a bit. Corbin led the league in losses from 2021-23, in part due to playing for a rebuilding team. Nonetheless, Corbin has pitched well at times for the Rangers this season, although he owns a 6.34 ERA since the start of August. Sproat impressed in his debut last Sunday against the Reds despite taking the loss, giving up three runs over six innings. In particular, his breaking stuff was impressive, as six of his seven strikeouts came on his sweeper and his curveball. Sproat will make his first big league start at home on Saturday.
• Sunday: Jacob Latz (2-0, 2.91 ERA) vs. Nolan McLean (4-1, 1.42 ERA): Latz has been invaluable for Texas, pitching in a variety of roles this season. With Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle and other rotation options on the injured list, his innings have increased. Each of his last three appearances have come as a starter, pitching to a 2.35 ERA over that stretch. Prior to this season, Latz had one career big league start, which came in 2021. McLean continues to exceed expectations with each passing start. Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, he still manages to provide quality innings. McLean has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any of his first five outings. His last home start came on August 27 against the Phillies, when he threw eight shutout innings.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

The return of deGrom is big, but I think it would be getting even more attention if the Mets were playing well. Because they aren’t, though, the focus is on the team that is struggling across the board. With 15 games to go, the thought of the Mets missing the playoffs is very real. Both the Giants and the Reds are right on their heels, playing clean, crisp baseball with momentum of their side. A strong case can be made that either of them will get into the postseason ahead of the Mets, based off what we have seen in recent weeks. Things need to change, and quickly. Otherwise, the Mets will no longer have control of what October brings for them.

PREDICTION

Even with the absences of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and potentially Adolis García, the Rangers pose a big threat. With how the Mets played in Philadelphia, it’s difficult to predict a series victory. But in fairness, things do line up well from a pitching perspective. I think deGrom returns with a win, but Sproat and McLean follow that up with quality starts of their own. The Mets take two of three.

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Frankie Montas struggled yet again on Wednesday, making his place in the Mets’ rotation a point of contention. The newly acquired Montas had a line of 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K (80 pitches, 47 strikes) in his sixth rehab start since returning from a high grade lat strain. This outing actually lowered his ERA in rehab starts this season to 13.19 as he has given up eight home runs in 18 2/3 innings. Montas must be called up to the big league squad, assuming he’s healthy, but it could be hard to justify any major role given his struggles.

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

Atlanta continues to be a house of horrors for the Mets as they were shut out by Chris Sale for 8 2/3 innings while the Braves clinched the series win. The Mets turned mental lapses, defensive errors and a poor start from Paul Blackburn into a 3-0 deficit early on and could never climb back, resulting in their fifth straight loss. Click here for the full game recap.

The Mets will look to salvage the last game of this set as Clay Holmes (7-3, 2.87 ERA) will face Spencer Strider (1-5, 4.35 ERA) at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday night. 

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN released his MLB Mock Draft 2.0 and has the Mets taking LF Devin Taylor from Indiana with their first pick.

Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Brett Baty wasn’t available last night and is not sure if he will need an IL stint.

Latest MLB News

Dodgers owner Mark Walter is buying majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in advanced talks to sell the club to a group led by Jacksonville home builder Patrick Zalupski, per Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Parties have signed a letter of intent and the price is roughly $1.7B. Click here for more on the potential purchase.

Former Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was named Team Puerto Rico’s manager for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Franmil Reyes, who is now playing in Japan, is being sued for failing to follow through on his earning stake, per Michael McCann of Sportico. When Reyes was a 21-year-old minor league outfielder, he agreed to a player investment contract where he’d give up 10% of annual earnings in exchange for $302K.

Latest On MMO

Francisco Alvarez continues to struggle.

The Rays are in advanced talks about selling the team.

Tyrone Taylor continues to shine!

On This Date in Mets History

2014: Zack Wheeler throws a three-hit complete game shutout, the first shutout of his career.

2004: Mike Cameron tallies his second walk-off hit in as many days.

1989: Dwight Gooden records his 100th career victory, joining Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman in the exclusive Mets club.

Born on This Date: Logan Verrett (1990), Devin Mesoraco (1988), Jacob deGrom (1988), Collin McHugh (1987), Claudio Vargas (1978), Doug Mientkiewicz (1974), Bob Gibson (1957), Bob Aspromonte (1938), Larry Miller (1937).

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From Nolan McLean at Triple-A to Jose Chirinos, who recently got promoted from the Florida Complex League, and every level in between, there is pitching talent with tantalizing potential throughout the organization.

Nolan McLean. Photo Credit: Kylie Richelle

The Stable

The headliners are McLean and Jonah Tong, prospects with big-time helium who are taking off in 2025.

McLean started the year at Double-A, dominated, got promoted to Triple-A, and hasn’t missed a beat. He has an elite sweeper that has been big league ready from the moment he stepped onto a professional mound, a mid-90s heater, a sinker that has been missing bats like crazy, a cutter that has been inducing weak contact, and a changeup and curveball he mixes in occasionally.

Tong boasts the best fastball in the organization. Due to it’s elite IVB (induced vertical break), it was already the best fastball in the organization when he was throwing it in the low-to-mid 90s. Now, he’s routinely throwing it 95 and can get it up to 97. He has a big looping curveball and a slider that can both be plus pitches, but his new Vulcanchange has been a game changer, giving him an effective offspeed pitch that he had been searching for. He’s too good for Double-A, and should probably receive a promotion to Triple-A soon.

There’s also Brandon Sproat, who is probably more of a household name than Tong and McLean despite those two passing him in the prospect ranks. Sproat flew through the minors last year, making it all the way to Triple-A in what was his first season of professional baseball. However, he struggled mightily once he got there, and those struggles have continued in 2025. Sproat has a bunch of solid offerings, but no standout pitch like Tong and McLean. He’s still just 24, and is less than a year removed from dominating hitters at Double-A, so there’s plenty of time for him to right the ship. (He has a 2.25 ERA in his last 16 innings as of publishing.) He remains one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, the hype has just faded a bit.

Blade Tidwell is at Triple-A as well, and he’s been one of the most effective pitchers in the league. Don’t let the 4.02 ERA fool you—that’s pretty good for the International League. It’s also a full run lower since he was returned to Triple-A after making his big league debut a little over a month ago. He got hit around a bit by the Cardinals in that debut, but he has good stuff, and it’s very possible he makes another big league start at some point this season.

Meanwhile, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies have a stacked rotation just one level below. It’s headlined by Tong, but there are multipe probable future big leaguers on that staff as well.

Jack Wenninger. Photo by Kylie Richelle

Jack Wenninger has turned in the fourth-highest strikeout rate among  Double-A qualifiers, only behind Tong, top MLB pitching prospect Chase Burns and rising Cardinals prospect Tekoah Roby. Jonathan Pintaro, a former Division II pitcher who was signed out of indy ball last year, would be near the top of those leaderboards as well if he were qualified. He’s a great story, and while he is older at 27, he’s turned himself into a legitimate prospect in this system. Then there’s Zach Thornton, a southpaw, who rarely walks people while still posting a high strikeout rate. Over his last three starts, he’s given up just three hits and one run over 19 innings while striking out 22 and walking four.

High-A Brooklyn has maybe even more talent. 2024 second-round pick Jonathan Santucci actually has the worst ERA of the bunch at 4.32, but after a rough start he’s thrown 20 and 2/3 innings of one-run ball over his last four starts. Third-rounder Nate Dohm has turned in four good starts after his promotion from St. Lucie, and Noah Hall, Brendan Girton and R.J. Gordon all have ERAs under 3.30 in over 40 innings.

The Cyclones actually have too many pitchers for available starts. Gordon and Girton piggybacked each other earlier this week, with Gordon going the first three and 2/3 and Girton going the next four and 1/3. Two days later, Dohm and Hall did the same, throwing a respective five and four scoreless innings en route to a shutout victory.

It continues down to Single-A St. Lucie and the Florida Complex League. Irving Cota has a 1.85 ERA in 35 innings and even threw five scoreless innings in a spot start at Double-A before being sent back to St. Lucie. Will Watson had success, earning a promotion to Brooklyn in early June. Edgar Moreta and Wellington Aracena have both had strong seasons. Jose Chirinos was great in the FCL, and then threw four and 2/3 scoreless with seven strikeouts in his Single-A debut.

There are more. Joander Suarez had a lot of success at Double-A and is now getting his first taste of Triple-A action. Joel Díaz has had a solid season at High-A. Former top prospect Matt Allan is finally back on the mound, pitching for Brooklyn. These guys might be more like organizational depth pieces, but they have all flashed before.

There are also, of course, relievers. Some are former starters, like Douglas Orellana, Felipe De La Cruz, Saul Garcia, Cameron Foster and Dom Hamel. There are a few fireballers, like Ryan Lambert, Dylan Ross and Raimon Gómez, who are capable of touching triple digits. Then there are other relievers, like Ryan Ammons, Anthony Nunez and TJ Shook, who have consistently turned in good results.

The farm system is deeper than it ever has been before.

The Mets have had groups of highly-touted pitching prospects before. Generation K. The Big 5 of the mid-2010s. Maybe it’s a reminder that so often, prospects don’t pan out as expected. But the Mets have also never had the infrastructure to support these pitching prospects as they do right now.

The Big Picture

The Arizona Diamondbacks just provided the baseball world with an unfortunate reminder this past week with the news of Corbin Burnes needing to undergo Tommy John surgery becoming official—don’t sign starting pitchers to long-term contracts. Develop pitchers, that way you’re not forced to sign free agent starting pitchers to big-money, multi-year contracts.

The Mets have leaned heavily into that philosophy in the first two years under David Stearns. They pursued Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a unicorn in the free agent market at 25 years old, but other than that, they’ve stayed away from the big-name, high-priced free agent pitchers. No Burnes. No Max Fried. No Blake Snell. Fried has been great, but it’s an eight-year contract. That’s a long time to count on a pitcher to be healthy. Burnes and Snell are both already on the shelf.

Instead, the Mets opted for shorter deals. In 2024, it was Sean Manaea and Luis Severino. In 2025, it was Clay Holmes, Griffin Canning, Frankie Montas and re-upping Manaea. Montas and Manaea both opened the season on the injured list, but they are signed to two-year and three-year deals, respectively. There’s no true long-term commitment to either.

Is the Big Money Worth It?

Pitchers are inherently a high-risk free agent buy. Burnes signed a 6-year, $210 million deal with the Diamondbacks this offseason. He will miss the rest of 2025, and there’s a good chance he will miss all of 2026 as well. Arizona will pay him roughly $62 million for what could be 11 total starts from 2025 to 2026. The next time he pitches for the Diamondbacks will likely be when he is 32 years old. He already showed some early signs of decline this year before the injury. Who knows how he will look in 2027, especially coming off a major arm injury? Arizona will then be on the hook for four more years, with Burnes making over $30 million each year, and then owe him over $10 million a year for six more years in deferred money starting in 2031.

The Mets are better equipped than most to withstand injuries to players on big contracts, but no team wants that much dead money on the books. Even Steve Cohen wants to avoid paying people to not play as much as possible.

But how does a smaller market team justify that risk? That much dead money can be a backbreaker for a team that only signs a handful of players to big-money contracts — and “handful” might be too optimistic for a few organizations.

Since 2022, 11 pitchers (and Shohei Ohtani, who is yet to pitch for the Dodgers) have signed 9-digit free agent contracts: Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman, Carlos Rodón, Edwin Díaz, Aaron Nola, deGrom, Yamamoto, Burnes, Fried and Snell. Eight of those 11 pitchers have made at least one trip to the 60-day IL. That includes the youngster Yamamoto, who made just 18 starts for the Dodgers in his rookie season.

Aaron Nola hasn’t, but after signing a seven-year, $172 million deal entering his age-31 season, he’s regressed so much just one year later that his contract is beginning to look like an albatross. He’s also currently on the 15-day IL and just had his return timeline pushed back. Fried hasn’t, and again, has looked fantastic, but he’s just two months into an eight-year deal. Gausman is the outlier, not taking a single trip to the injured list over the three years and change of his five-year deal, and has remained productive.

It’s an unfair line of thinking for pitchers, and it raises a lot of questions about a much larger issue. How does the league balance a need to compensate pitchers fairly for their work with the obligations of a front office to do what’s best for their organization?

Organizations getting what may be the best years of a pitcher’s career, while significantly underpaying them for six years for the value they are providing, and then tossing them aside when they finally have the opportunity to get paid is, to put it bluntly, a pretty crappy way to treat pitchers. However, organizations should always do what is in their best interests as they pursue the ultimate goal of winning a championship, and that includes wisely distributing their payroll. Smart organizations pay players for what they believe they will do over the course of their new contract, not what they have already done.

History shows it is not smart to sign free agent pitchers to long-term contracts, but underpaying pitchers for years only to cut them loose when it’s finally time for them to make money feels borderline predatory. Short-term contracts for pitchers will always exist, but even if they have high average annual values, they lack the security many players desire.

Is the solution players hitting free agency earlier, maybe after four years instead of six (or seven if their service time is manipulated)? That way, players hit free agency younger, they can cash in earlier, and maybe long-term deals for pitchers are more justifiable if that pitcher is 26 or 28 instead of 30 or 32.

Of course, that opens a much, much, MUCH larger can of worms, and would likely have a ripple effect on many other parts of the Collective Bargaining Agreement — too much to get into right now.

It’s such a difficult issue. Players deserve to be compensated fairly for the value they create, but ultimately, teams need to do everything possible to win, and anything less is malpractice. Unfortunately, that usually means staying away from giving long-term free agent deals to pitchers, signing pitchers to short-term deals when needed, and ideally, developing your own pitchers instead of buying them.

The Mets didn’t have a ton of MLB-ready, quality arms in the minor leagues in 2024 or to begin 2025. They turned to undervalued veterans with good tools like Manaea, Canning and the others, and focused on getting the most out of them. Soon, some of those big league starts will be taken by players the Mets have developed through the minor leagues themselves. McLean has the best combination of talent and proximity, but Sproat, Tidwell, Tong, Wenninger, Pintaro and Thornton are all at least at Double-A. Once you reach that level, the big leagues are within striking distance.

Not everyone will stick in the big leagues, but some will, and that’s an exciting thing for Mets fans to look forward to.

The post The Mets Have As Much Pitching Depth As They Ever Have appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Opening Day is finally here! After five long months of cold weather and no Mets baseball, Amazin’ fans can rejoice as their club will take the field yet again today. Last season was a wild roller coaster ride that saw the Mets look dead in the water a couple of months in, to doing a complete 180 and going to the sixth game of the NLCS. The squad from Queens has now added some new faces, including former crosstown foes Juan Soto and Clay Holmes, to try to get themselves over the hump. The energy is high as another exciting season is on tap in Queens!

The Mets open up in Houston today at 4:10 p.m. EST. It will be Clay Holmes making his first start as a Met, going against Astros ace Framber Valdez.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

Manny Randhawa of MLB.com did an interview with Juan Soto’s mentor and Little League coach, Rafel Zapata, who turned Sot from a pitcher to a position player. 

Frankie Montas‘ MRI this week showed “really good healing” in his strained right lat, David Stearns said. He still is a week or two away from starting a throwing program, per Tim Healey of Newsday.

Steve Cohen went in depth with Jon Heyman of the NY Post on how any why he went to the length that he did to get Soto.

Carlos Mendoza says Brett Baty will receive “a lot of the reps” at second base with Jeff McNeil starting the season on the IL, per SNY.

Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña made the Opening Day roster. Click here to learn more about the Mets’ Opening Day cuts.

Latest MLB News

Strauss is beginning a Minor League Baseball partnership as the first brand partner on MiLB helmets, per David Broughton of Sports Business Journal.

RHPs Carl Edwards Jr. and Touki Toussaint each signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels and were assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake.

New Brewers starter and former Met Jose Quintana agreed to be optioned to the minors to complete his build-up, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

In 2025 spring training, the ABS challenge system yielded these results: 4.1 challenge per game, 52.2% overturn percentage, 2.6% of called pitches challenged and 13.8 seconds added per challenge.

The Yankees and Mets are expected to generate $909 million in economic impact for New York City during the 2025 regular season, according to projections from NYC mayor Eric Adams and the NYC Economic Development Corporation, per Mike Mazzeo of Sports Business Journal.

Pirates star young pitcher Jared Jones is dealing with a UCL sprain and the organization is being careful and exploring other avenues as they try to avoid Tommy John surgery, per Noah Hiles of Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette.

Latest on MMO

MMO has released their 2025 pre-season MLB power rankings. 

Check out MMO’s preview on new Met A.J. Minter!

See what moves the Mets made to complete their opening day roster.

On This Date in Mets History

2022: Jacob deGrom pitches the first three innings and Max Scherzer finishes the game with six innings in relief as they strike out 12 in a 7-3 spring training win over the Cardinals.

1987: The Mets acquire David Cone from the Royals in exchange for Ed Hearn, Rick Anderson and Mauro Gozzo. 

Born on This Date: Clay Holmes (1993), Brandon Nimmo (1993), Matt Harvey (1989), Johnny Monell (1986), Michael Cuddyer (1979), Bill Sudakis (1946).

The post Morning Briefing: Opening Day is Here! appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

While the hot stove is currently buried in 10 feet of snow, MLB has announced some news regarding 2025 Opening Day. On March 27, which will be MLB Opening Day, ESPN will have extra coverage, as they’ll be showcasing a doubleheader to kick off the season. The two World Series representatives will be in action; the first game will be the Milwaukee Brewers taking on the New York Yankees in the Bronx at 3 p.m., while the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Detroit Tigers in Chavez Ravine at 7 p.m.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

The Mets ranked 28th in farm system hitting rankings, based on data from all leagues and levels, per Dylan White of Baseball America.

Keith Hernandez‘s longtime beloved cat Hadji passed away last week at the age of 22, the ’86 World Series champion announced on twitter.

Latest MLB News

Now-former Blue Jays assistant major league hitting coach Matt Hague is accepting a job as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ hitting coach, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports. 

The All-MLB Team Awards Show will be happening on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on MLB Network. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates are signing Brent Strom as an assistant pitching coach, per Noah Hiles of The Pittsburgh Gazette. 

Diamond Sports Group, owner of Bally Sports, have agreed to a multi-year deal with Amazon Prime Video, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic. However, this does not mean you can watch your local team, as you will have to buy an additional add-on to do so.

Latest on MMO

Take a look at a possible infield addition for the Mets, Willy Adames.

MMO gave Mets backup catcher Luis Torrens a grade for his 2024 season.

Could the Mets look to add another southpaw to their rotation? Get to know Garret Crochet!

On This Date in Mets History

2018: Jacob deGrom receives 29 of 30 first place votes en route to his first Cy Young Award. DeGrom finished the season with a 1.70 ERA and a 218 ERA+.

2012: R.A. Dickey becomes the third different Met to win the Cy Young Award. Dickey became the first knuckleballer to earn the award, while tallying 20 wins and a 2.73 ERA in his award-winning season.

1986: Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon purchase the Mets from Doubleday & Co. for $80.75 million, splitting the franchise at 50% apiece.

Born On This Date: Francisco Lindor (1993), Akeel Morris (1992) Joely Rodríguez (1991), Xavier Nady (1978), Tim Hamulack (1976), Darrell Sutherland (1941), Jim Piersall (1929).

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When we think of Cy Young awards and New York Mets pitchers, the first guy that likely comes to mind these days is Jacob deGrom — winning two in a row will do that.

He’s not the only Mets hurler to take home those honors in the past decade, of course — R.A. Dickey accomplished the feat while deGrom was in High-A.

There’s no point in comparing the two because the sample sizes — and results — are incredibly lopsided. For example, deGrom has won just 21 games over the past two seasons, while his performance has been worth 16.0 fWAR. As for Dickey, his magical performance led to nearly as many wins (20) and not nearly as much fWAR (4.7). But DeGrom put together some historically dominant stretches en route to winning this award twice, and the same was true for Dickey.

After all, it’s difficult to post a 20-6 record with a 2.73 ERA, a 3.25 SIERA, and a 1.05 WHIP in 233.2 innings without wiping the floor with the opposition with some form of regularity. The knuckleballer threw at least 30 innings in each month of the 2012 season and posted an ERA south of 3.20 on four occasions. Upon looking at his splits, though, there was one specific stretch where he was mostly untouchable, which likely helped propel him to winning the award: the month of June.

Anyway you slice it, the 48.1 frames Dickey tossed in June was just off the chain, and head-and-shoulders better than any other month during this year-long campaign.

The ERA Ride

Here’s a peek at how Dickey’s monthly ERA and wOBA allowed progressed each month.

It’s not surprising that his four highest monthly innings pitched totals all came in the instances where his ERA was below that 3.20 mark. I mean, when you pitch well, you get to pitch deeper in games.

June sticks out because it’s the highest total. No other qualified starter in baseball threw more innings than Dickey during that 30-day span, and nobody posted an ERA lower than him. He also led the league with 2.0 fWAR, meaning about 43.0% of his year-end fWAR total came in approximately 20.0% of the work.

Of the six starts Dickey made, he threw fewer than seven innings just once, which came on June 24th against the New York Yankees when he allowed five runs in six innings. The other five starts? He allowed just one run, and it wasn’t even an earned run. This stretch also included three of his five complete-game efforts for the entire year: a seven-hit shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 2nd and consecutive one-hitters against the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles on June 13th and June 18th, respectively.

The Strikeout and Walk Rate Progression

When looking at how Dickey’s strikeout and walk numbers progressed throughout the season, it shows a build-up to June and a gradual drop afterward, for the most part.

Once again, that June start against the Yankees stands as the outlier during an other-worldly stretch of success. Dickey struck out just three in that appearance, and it was the only time he exited a June start with fewer than eight punchouts.

He piled up a total of 25 during those consecutive one-hit complete games and finished off the month with 10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in eight innings on June 29th. The knuckler piled up seven different single-game performances of 10-plus strikeouts, meaning just about half of them came in a four-start stretch.

Dominating Quality of Contact

Obviously, the tricky part about throwing a knuckleball is it has a mind of its own. Dickey can have a good feel for the pitch, but even he didn’t know exactly what the ball would do given the conditions he was throwing it in. Once again — as if there was any surprise — June stands out as the best stretch for him with regard to managing the contact of opposing hitters.

Here’s a look at how the batted-ball profile shook out each month.

I looked at this for a couple minutes and tried to pick just one June rate that really stuck out, but it’s impossible. All of them put together is just so crazy. With the rate at which he was inducing ground balls and limiting hard contact, giving up just one home run was basically expected.

When using FanGraphs’ Game Score statistic as the measuring stick, four of his six June starts are classified as his best single-season performances from 2012.

Would he have still won the Cy Young if this month was more in line with what he did in other months? Maybe, but who knows. Either way, it’s easy to see that this stretch of domination is what propelled him to an easy victory in the voting, taking home 27 of 32 first-place votes.

The post The Unequivocal Peak of R.A. Dickey’s Cy Young Season appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns addressed the media for his post-season press conference. While there were plenty of quotes regarding pending free agents, including the mention of wanting to bring back both Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker, Stearns also gave updates regarding injured Mets.

First was right-handed relief pitcher Dedniel Núñez, who was severely missed by the Mets’ bullpen down the stretch run of the season. The Mets’ president of baseball ops said that Núñez is progressing well after missing the last month of the season due to a strained flexor tendon in his right arm; the club hopes to get him back on the mound by November, and have a normal offseason if that goes well.

The other major piece of injury news was not as positive, as Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio has not started baseball activities while his rehab has not progressed as quickly as the club hoped for. Mauricio tore his ACL last offseason during his stint in the Dominican Winter League and is trying to get back on the field some time in 2025.

For a full breakdown of Stearn’s presser, click here!

Photo by Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

The Mets’ seventh-round pick in the 2019 draft, Luke Ritter, was selected by USA Baseball to represent the nation at the WBSC Premier 12 Tournament, which will feature the top 12 baseball nations in the world, per Taylor Eldridge of The Wichita Eagle. 

The League Championship Series was the most-watched since 2017, per MLB Communications. Game 1 of the NLCS between the Mets and Dodgers drew more than 20.6 million viewers in the United States and Japan. 

Alex Cohen, wife of Mets owner Steve Cohen, announced she is taking a social media break, but made sure to show her love for Mets Nation prior to doing so. “You guys have been the best fans any team could ever ask for,” she wrote.

Latest MLB News

The Miami Marlins will interview Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough for their vacant managerial position, per Isaac Azout of Fish On First.

Netflix has officially premiered its documentary on the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox, titled “The Comeback.”

Sam Blum and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic detailed what it feels like for major leaguers whose big league cameos resulted in World Series jewelry. 

The Tampa Bay Rays re-signed RHP Michael Flynn to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, per Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. Tampa acquired him in a trade where they sent the Dodgers Amed Rosario. 

Latest on MMO

MMO writers gathered to give the Mets’ miracle season a letter grade.

Ronny Mauricio is not doing baseball activities following his ACL surgery. 

David Stearns addressed the media in his post-season press conference. 

On This Date in Mets History

2019: The MLBPA announces Pete Alonso as the NL Outstanding Rookie and Jacob deGrom as the NL Outstanding Pitcher for the 2019 MLB season. 

2006: Carlos Delgado is awarded the Roberto Clemente Award; Clemente is the reason Delgado wore 21. 

2000: Al Leiter becomes the second Met to ever win the Roberto Clemente Award, joining Gary Carter. 

2000: The Mets beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series behind a Benny Agbayani go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Born On This Date: Omar Quantanilla (1981), Mike Matthews (1973), Junior Ortiz (1959), Ron Gardenhire (1957).

The post Morning Briefing: Dedniel Núñez Progressing Well appeared first on Metsmerized Online.