Morning Briefing: Mets’ Offseason Earning National Praise
Good morning, Mets fans! Hope everyone affected by the storms made out okay.
The dust has settled (I think) on the Mets’ offseason. And after all the moves, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com thinks the Mets are the National League team most likely to beat the Dodgers in the playoffs this year.
He likes the defense up the middle, the Freddy Peralta–Nolan McLean one-two punch and notes that the Mets are third in FanGraphs’ projected team WAR (46.8), trailing only those pesky Dodgers (54.4) and the Yankees (47.7). For the record, the rest of the NL East’s projected team fWAR: Braves (45.4), Phillies (43.9), Marlins (32.3) and Nationals (28.3).
“So despite all the justifiable frustration from their fans when popular players departed this offseason, they certainly have the talent to go deep and give the Dodgers a run for their money should they meet on the postseason stage,” Castrovince wrote.
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On perhaps a related note, Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com wrote about the 10 biggest positional upgrades in the majors this offseason. The Mets made the list for center field.
Luis Robert Jr. may not find his 2023 form (38 homers, .857 OPS), but he should be better than what the Mets got from Tyrone Taylor (113 games, .598 OPS), Cedric Mullins (42 games, .565 OPS) and Jose Siri (2-for-32 in 16 games) last season. Robert’s 2025 OPS was .661. Harrigan also cited the Orioles and Dodgers for upgrading at first base and closer, respectively. Fair.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com wrote about how the Mets were rewarded this offseason by remaining patient.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield wondered (as we all do) if this Mets team will be better than last year. The conclusion: “Add it all up and the Mets appear better and more balanced heading into the 2026 season.” He thinks they can win the division and expects a three-team race with the Phillies and Braves.
He pointed out how in three of the last four seasons the Mets’ playoff spot came down to one win. In 2022, the Mets lost the divisional tiebreaker to the Braves and had to play in the Wild Card round. In 2024, the Mets finished with the same record as the Braves and Diamondbacks and Arizona missed the playoffs because of tiebreakers. Last season, the Mets lost the tiebreaker to the Reds.
In another ESPN piece on “bold predictions” for the rest of the offseason, Schoenfield sees the Mets trading Brett Baty to Seattle. In return, the Mets get prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje and reliever Matt Brash. Cjintje, 22, was a first-round pick of the Mariners in 2024 who can pitch with either hand. His ERA was 3.99 last year in 108 1/3 innings combined at Double-A and High-A. Brash, 27, pitched to a 2.47 ERA and struck out 58 in 47 1/3 innings for the Mariners last year. I am intrigued by a switch-throwing pitcher, but no thank you.
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Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Tigers are one of many teams interested in free agent pitcher Lucas Giolito. If he signs with Detroit, he would join high school teammate Jack Flaherty. They are alums of Harvard-Westlake HS in Los Angeles.
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John Wilson likes Bo Bichette‘s strikeout rate.
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Born on This Date: Andrés Torres (1978).
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