Major League Baseball (MLB)

Grading The New York Mets Offseason Moves After Pete Alonso Signing

Wednesday, Feb. 5 was a memorable day for New York Mets fans: It was the day the Pete Alonso saga came to an end. That reason alone was worth of a grand celebration.

Following a season where Alonso hit 34 homers, a career-worst, the first baseman now becomes the highest-paid player in 2025 at his position. What a turn of events. From drama. “exhausting” back-and-forth negotiations plus headaches to the Polar Bear making more the richest one-year first baseman contract in baseball history.

I’d call that a massive win for Alonso and a victory for the Mets.

As I broke down late last night on my show “Mets Daily,” I’d also call it the icing on the cake to a remarkable offseason from David Stearns, Steve Cohen and the Mets franchise.

It’s an offseason that now is pretty much complete. They might not be done making small depth moves, but anything bigger than that is pretty much signed, sealed and delivered — barring a Cohen surprise of course.

And most fans and the team itself should be perfectly fine with that.

Now, let’s grade the Mets moves this offseason and evaluate how they did adding on to a team that was just two wins away from a National League pennant and World Series appearance in 2024.

This was a never-ending saga and way more dramatic than it probably should have been, but it’s done and the fan base is happy. Alonso ends up getting a shorter deal than he hoped for, but is getting a much higher dollar amount than anyone on the planet expected him to get for 2025 at $30 million. It’s a win for both sides as he can be the bridge first baseman for the Mets to either Vladimir Guerrero Jr., someone else in next year’s free agent class or internally to someone like Ryan Clifford. He also could put up a big year, opt-out and still re-sign with the Mets on a long-term deal as well.

The only reason the Mets adding Juan Soto is not an A+ is because 15 years, $765 million is absolutely unheard of and is now the biggest contract in sports history. But when you have a billionaire owner with extremely deep pockets, you can stomach it. Why it gets an A is because Soto is a generational talent, he makes the guys in front of and behind him in the lineup better. He’s also just 26 in the prime of his career and he’s a winner. Soto already has a World Series championship from his days with the Nationals and carried the Yankees to an AL pennant last year. “The Soto Shuffle” in Queens will be must-see baseball every night.

Sean Manaea is beloved by every one of his teammates. This guy was a MUST to bring back to the team more than anyone else. He’s a glue guy and someone who clearly wanted to be here. Manaea was remarkable for the Mets in 2024 and with the changing of his arm slot in July, he has the chance to replicate his numbers and maybe even perform better. Manaea, being the team player he is, took $23.25 million in deferments in the deal, making the three-year, $75 million contract even more of a win for the Mets. Having Kodai Senga healthy in the rotation is also going to take a lot of pressure off Manaea and make the rotation more formidable than last season when they surprised critics.

The Clay Holmes deal has brought mixed feelings. It’s unknown how he is going to translate as a starting pitcher because he has not been a starter since his rookie year in 2018. What we can go off is the fact he made two All-Star teams in the past three seasons with the Yankees and was one of the better relievers in baseball, despite some shakiness as closer. If it works, the number the Mets got him at is fantastic; if it doesn’t, maybe they move him back to the bullpen at some point. The signing can be viewed as mostly positive because come postseason time, Holmes potentially setting up Edwin Diaz with A.J. Minter and Ryne Stanek could become a very intriguing for the Mets given his vast experience as a relief pitcher.

The Mets probably jumped a bit too early on the Frankie Montas train. How the offseason ended up, they probably could have waited it out and got someone better at the price they paid Montas. He’s coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. What the Mets do like is the fact he still made 30 starts, tossed 150.2 innings and is about four years removed from being a frontline starter. Stearns’ hope here is that working with Jeremy Hefner results in reclamation for Montas like it did for Luis Severino, who left the Mets for the Athletics franchise-record breaking $67 million deal for three years. Montas is essentially his replacement, so this could be a hit or miss. Good thing is it’s a short deal and if he pitches great, he likely opts out after 2025. He also projects as the No. 4 or No. 5 starter currently in a six-man rotation so there’s less risk.

A.J. Minter knows the NL East as well as anyone, pitching his entire eight-year MLB career with the Atlanta Braves. He’s also put up strong numbers essentially every year except 2019. He’s coming off a 2.62 ERA in 2024. Why I can’t give the deal an A is because Minter did have hip surgery in August, which ended his season. It should not affect him going into spring training, but you never know with those kind of injuries. He also got a nice price tag at two years, $22 million. While that isn’t a crazy number for the Mets to bring in a much-needed lefty, someone like Danny Coulombe signed just a $3 million deal for a year after a season where he had a 2.12 ERA. Minter did win everyone over though with his comment about Mets fans on Amazin’ Day…so touché, A.J.

Jesse Winker may not be a superstar, but how could you not love the guy if you’re a Mets fan or player in that clubhouse. The dude plays with his heart on his sleeve and as hard as anyone with fire and passion. His aura was a massive piece to the Mets puzzle down the stretch and in the postseason. Winker is the player you hate if he’s not on your team, but the teammate you adore when he’s on your side. He wanted to be here and received a friendly deal for both sides that can get to $9 million after incentives. He will be a part-time DH and backup outfielder, giving the Mets some versatility if anyone goes down or if Brandon Nimmo needs days off in left field as he returns from plantar fasciitis. Winker has a good eye, gets on base and can come up with the big hit. This was a no brainer for the Mets as their clubhouse chemistry should remain strong with Winker sticking around.

Ryne Stanek was clutch in the postseason for the Mets and down the stretch of their playoff push. He’s a bulldog on the mound with a ton of playoff experience. A one-year reunion was an easy one for both sides. Why this doesn’t get an A is because Stanek had a very down year. He needs to be the kind of guy setting up Minter and Diaz with better full-season numbers this season.

The Griffin Canning signing feels like a classic “let’s take him inside the pitching lab with Dr. Hefner and his staff” kind of signing. Canning had a rough year for the Angels in 2024 and gave up a whopping 31 home runs. The good news is he’s competing for the No. 6 starter/swingman role and maybe could be a long man in mop-up duty when the Mets need him. It’s just a low-risk one-year pact that could possibly result in a bounce back season — time will tell for the former second-round draft pick and ex-top prospect.

Jose Siri has the makings to be a tremendous replacement for Harrison Bader in center field. A fresh start in Queens, playing next to Soto and with a contender may be the juice he needs. There’s no doubt he has the power, speed and elite defense to be a big contributor at the bottom of the Mets’ lineup. But he has to be better than a sub .200 hitter he was in 2024. The trade and money to get him was another low-risk move. He’s a definite upgrade over Bader, but he’s got to be more disciplined at the dish. Don’t forget, this guy hit 25 homers in 101 games in 2023.

Remember when people actually had the audacity to call him the childish nickname: “Sleepy Stearns” or “Cheapy Stearns?” This what the X timelines of many Mets fans contained — coming off year-one where Stearns led the team to their first NLCS since 2015. The Mets were two wins away from a pennant in a “punt year” and just got better by adding one of the greatest hitters of this generation in Soto.

Forget about the Dodgers’ loaded roster for a second because they are the Avengers. What the Mets roster looks like now versus what it looked like at the start of the 2024 season…is remarkably better and a threat to win snap their 39-year drought without a World Series title. Stearns and Cohen deserve an A for what they did to bolster the Mets’ roster.

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