The New York Mets made it all the way to the National League Championship Series, where they fell against the Los Angeles Dodgers in six exciting and competitive games.
Yes, they had the most expensive payroll in baseball, but some of those assets weren’t with the team anymore and the organization was in the process of rejuvenating the player pool, developing some internal contributors, and stockpiling quality prospects.
It’s safe to say that most of those objectives were fulfilled. Player development allowed the Mets to create a few cheap contributors for the next five or six years — Mark Vientos, David Peterson, Luisangel Acuña, Jose Butto, and Christian Scott are some of them, and there is more help on the way.
The Mets are in a perfect position to enter the upper echelon of MLB teams
Mets insider Danny Abriano expressed optimism about their upcoming offseason:
“Combine the Mets’ terrific payroll situation, their emergence in 2024 as a legitimate World Series contender with a strong core of winning players, the willingness of owner Steve Cohen to outbid any team, and Stearns’ measured aggression and savvy, and you get what should be an incredibly intriguing offseason,” he wrote for SNY.
The Mets will have spending power, a wealthy owner, money coming off the books, and a talented pool of players available via free agency or trade to improve the roster. It helps when your core is superstar Francisco Lindor, Kodai Senga, Edwin Diaz, Vientos, Brandon Nimmo, and Francisco Alvarez.
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They have about $180 million coming off the books, but some of those players are likely to re-sign with the Mets such as Pete Alonso, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea (he could potentially enter the market), and others. They still project to have lots of cash to splurge on the Juan Sotos or Corbin Burnes of the world if they want to.
President of baseball operations David Stearns is used to operate with payroll restrictions in Milwaukee. Now, he will have more of a green light with the Mets.
