By Eddie Castro
With the recent change in daylight savings and the Brooklyn temperature flirting with 70-degree weather, this is just a sign that the 2026 baseball season is officially near. If the 2026 World Baseball Classic is any indication of what we can expect for the upcoming Major League season, all Baseball fans are in for quite the treat. One of the team’s that is expected to be in the middle of it all will be the New York Mets.
During the off-season, the Mets made key additions to the team in hopes of becoming a serious playoff contender this year following a disappointing 2025 campaign. It was clear this off-season General Manager David Stearns’ approach to free agency was to make the necessary additions to avoid those failed high-leverage situations New York failed to capitalize on in the second half last year. What Stearns was able to do was improve the roster by getting upgrades both athletically and defensively.
In the infield, the Mets traded Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second basemen Marcus Semien. Although Nimmo was a fan favorite and the longest tenured Met at the time of the trade, bringing in Semien improves their defense tremendously despite his offensive numbers going down the past three years. The moves also provide the team with financial flexibility.
Nimmo was owed $101.5 million over the next five seasons. The Mets also signed shortstop Bo Bichette, Center Fielder Luis Robert Jr. And Jorge Polanco to solidify their infield/outfield upgrades.
As far as pitching goes, the team currently has six starting pitchers on the roster lead by Freddy Peralta whom the team acquired via trade with the Milwaukee Brewers back in January.
Kodai Senga, Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, and David Peterson round up the potential starting pitching for the Mets for 2026. It is unknown whether the Mets will go with a rare six-man pitching rotation to begin the season, however, you can pretty much pencil in Peralta as the team’s Opening Day starter next Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bullpen upgrades were also made lead by former Yankees Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.
With the flurry of moves the Mets have made, the team is poised to compete and contend in 2026, however, it is important to point out they are in one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive divisions in all of baseball (National League East). The Mets now have a balanced offense minus Pete Alonso who left via free agency and signed with the Baltimore Orioles.
The offense will be led by Super Star Juan Soto. The expectations are once again high for this team. The dedication to improve was present with the free agent moves. Now, for the Mets is all about finding their identity as a team and bringing the excitement back to Citi Field. We are officially less than a week away from Opening Day.
Sports Notes: (Baseball) We are less than a week from Opening Day for the Yankees and Mets. (Basketball) The Brooklyn Nets will try to salvage the fourth and last regular season meeting with their cross-town rival the New York Knicks. The two teams will play at the Barclays Center tomorrow night.