By Eddie Castro
The 2025 Major League Baseball season is over and once again, the Los Angeles Dodgers were crowned once again as World Champions, becoming the first team to win back-to-back World Series Titles since the Yankees did it from 1998-2000.
This off-season will be a very pivotal one for all teams who were not able to hoist the commissioner’s trophy. One of the teams that will have quite the highlighted microscope on them will be the New York Mets.
As I alluded to on Sports Talk With Eddie podcast a few weeks ago, the Mets were one of the heavy favorites in the National League to make a strong push towards a World Series appearance. Unfortunately, the team was decimated not only by injuries but defensive and offensive lapses all year long.
What once looked like a promising year for the first half of the season as the Mets had the best record in the majors at 45-24. However, the team took a turn for the worse as their division lead in the National League evaporated and so did their playoff hope as the Mets finished up the second half going 38-55.
This winter will probably be the biggest one for the franchise in some time as owner Steve Cohen and General Manager David Stearns will aim to make some major moves to their roster both with the lineup and pitching.
What should the Mets first move be? Well, there is a pretty good pitcher that possibly could be on the trade market in Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal. The team really did not have a healthy starting rotation at all last year.
In fact, the Mets dealt with so many pitching Injuries, it ultimately forced their hand to call up not one, but three of their top pitching prospects in Nolan Mclean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong to solidify the rotation. If the Mets were to add Skubal, Detroit’s asking price will no doubt be a high one for a pitcher who is on the verge of winning his second consecutive Cy-Young award.
A potential trade with the Tigers could even involve one or perhaps two of the team’s top pitching prospects as well as additional draft capital. If the Mets are able to land Skubal, it will give the team the Ace pitcher they need. Skubal has one year left on his contract and if the Tigers make him available via trade, it will not only be the Mets who will be looking to acquire him. Framer Valdez, Dylan Cease, Sandy Alcantara, Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez are also options that the Mets could have talks with.
The Bullpen and lineup are also spots that Sterns will look for upgrades. Closer Edwin Diaz is a free agent this year and despite some tough blows throughout his tenure with the Mets, Diaz has been worth the price of admission since he signed a five-year deal with the team in 2022. Diaz has decided to opt out of his current deal; however, this should not stop the organization from keeping their star closer in a Mets uniform in 2026 and beyond.
Upgrading on defense will be another task on the Mets’ to-do list. The team does not have an in-house candidate to play center field and the market for that position will be quite thin this winter. First base will also be another necessity.
Pete Alonso opted out of his three-year deal making him a free agent and it looks very unlikely they will bring him back. All and all, we should expect a very active off-season for the team to address their pitching (both starting and bullpen) and an offense that went 0-70 when trailing after eight innings in 2025. Fasten your seatbelts Met fans, it should be a Wild off-season for the team. One that will hopefully see them in the playoff picture in 2026.
Sports Notes (Basketball) The Brooklyn Nets will look to get their first win of the 2025-26 season. The team will play the Detroit Pistons in the first game of the NBA Cup in-season Tournament on Friday night. The Knicks have started the season 4-0 at Madison Square Garden for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
The Knicks continue their 7-game home stand as they Welcome the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday Night in the first of 4 scheduled meetings. (Football) The Giants will play the Chicago Bears on Sunday in hopes of snapping their three-game losing streak. The Jets return from their bye week and battle the Cleveland Browns.