MIAMI — The collapse of the 2025 Mets might be the worst in team history and is among the worst in baseball history. It will be attached to every player and staff member’s résumé.
It also will guarantee that next year’s club will not be just like this year’s club.
“That’s part of the reason why this sucks,” Francisco Lindor said after the season-crushing, 4-0 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot Park on Sunday. “Because no matter what, the team is going to be different. There’s a lot of good guys here.”
The offseason to-do list will begin with figuring out the futures for Pete Alonso, who said he will opt out of his contract, and Edwin Díaz, who said he will consider opting out of his own.
Alonso will embark on a second round of free agency that he hopes will be more fruitful than his first, which became a prolonged experience that ended with what amounted to a $30 million pillow contract for 2025.
For Alonso, if not his team, this season was a personal success. He set the franchise’s all-time home run mark. He bounced back from a subpar 2024 and posted his best OPS (.871) since his rookie season. He blasted 38 home runs and drove in 126 runs. He led the majors with 41 doubles. There would be an intangible value, too, to bringing back a lifelong Met.
“I’ve loved playing here. There’s some great guys in this clubhouse. There’s some great people on staff,” Alonso said after a heartbreaking finale, which included the hardest-hit ball of his season (115.9 mph) becoming a bases-loaded line out. “I’ve really appreciated it and have been nothing but full of gratitude every single day. Nothing’s guaranteed, but we’ll see what happens. I’ve loved being a Met. Hopefully, they’ve appreciated me the same.”
There are reasons to believe his market will be stronger this time around, notably the facts that he is coming off a great season and can no longer can be slapped with a qualifying offer.
There are reasons to believe his market still will not fetch him that enormous and lengthy deal he craves: He is now a year older, turning 31 in December; the same concerns exist about how his swing will age; growing concerns exist about his first base defense.
For his part, Alonso said his top priority in free agency will be an organization that has a World Series shot.
“The biggest thing is I want to win,” Alonso said. “I know we didn’t this year, but we had the right pieces, I think. We just didn’t do it. … I want to be on top of the mountain. I want to win the World Series.”
The situation is a bit more complex with Díaz, who is coming off a marvelous season (1.63 ERA with 28 saves) and would have two years and $37 million left on his contract, plus a club option for 2028 worth $17.25 million, if he opts in.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
He could test the market. He also could hash out a new pact with the Mets, who worked out a five-year, $102 million contract to retain Díaz in November 2022 before he could reach free agency.
Díaz will return home to Puerto Rico to discuss his future with his family. Even if he does opt out, he said he would “love to come back” to the Mets.
“I love this organization,” the 31-year-old said. “They’ve treated me really, really good.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
