New York New York
By John Jastremski
What a crazy few weeks to start the offseason for the New York Mets.
Of course after the way the 2025 season ended up, you had to imagine the status quo was not going to be accepted by ownership and GM David Stearns.
The Mets were going to have a much different team going into 2026, sure.
However, who could have possibly imagined that before Christmas, the Mets have said goodbye to three of the most popular players the team has had over the past seven or so years.
It started with Brandon Nimmo and then last week the Mets saw Edwin Diaz sign with the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers and franchise home run leader Pete Alonso take his talents to the Baltimore Orioles.
Unlike the Diaz sweepstakes, the Mets had no interest in bringing Alonso back to Queens.
The Mets will point to the amount of years the Orioles gave Pete Alonso and suggest it was a length of contract they did not feel comfortable with.
There is some truth in that, but it digs even deeper.
David Stearns did not want Pete Alonso back. He didn’t want to resign him last year and simply has a different vision for building and reshaping the ballclub.
Look, if I was in David Stearns shoes. I would want Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz back on my baseball team.
Diaz is one of the best closers in baseball and Pete Alonso is one of the best slugging right handed hitters in the sport.
However, I’m not running the Mets.
David Stearns has put his reputation on the line this offseason.
Remember, Stearns grew up a Mets fan on the Upper East side as a kid.
He probably wants nothing more than returning his boyhood team to glory with a trip down the Canyon of Heroes.
Stearns clearly has a plan for what he envisions this Mets roster to be in 2026 and beyond.
At the moment, he’s not exactly the most popular person in town.
The Mets said goodbye to three players the fan base absolutely adored.
Mets fans are not exactly going to show a ton of patience with the team’s GM if the team doesn’t win and win in a big way next season.
He knows that.
David Stearns acted with serious backbone and conviction in charting the current course for the team.
He has a plan, the pieces are not officially all in place quite yet.
Will Stearns offseason be a story of vindication or of massive regret.
The plot thickens indeed…
You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts every Sunday & Thursday. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite at 11 PM on SNY.
