A quiet moment at Citi Field in mid-November can fool you. The place looks still on the surface, but underneath, the New York Mets are already moving with urgency. They don’t want another 83-79 season hanging over their heads. Not after the uneven ride they just lived through. Not after watching the postseason from the outside again.
The Mets are shifting
Carlos Mendoza is still steering the dugout, but almost everything around him is changing. The coaching staff has been reshaped. The front office is telegraphing that the roster will follow. It feels less like tinkering and more like a reset, the kind a team makes when it’s tired of chasing its tail and finally commits to building a roster that fits an identity.
The Mets need help everywhere that matters. They need a real center fielder. They need starting pitching depth. They need more bullpen certainty. They need to get younger and more athletic. That’s a long list for November, but it also reflects a franchise that knows exactly why it stalled out.
Heyman’s read on the priorities
If you want a quick snapshot of what matters most, MLB insider Jon Heyman offered it. According to his reporting, and as shared by SleeperMets on X, Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso rank as priorities “1 and 1A.” That’s not a subtle distinction. It’s a front office broadcasting that before it reshapes the roster, it wants clarity on the two players most central to its recent identity.
Both opted out of their contracts, and both are now staring at a free agent market eager to pay for their talent. The Mets knew this was possible, maybe even likely. And still, they want both back.
Why Diaz might be the true No. 1
There’s no mystery with Edwin Diaz. Even with a bumpy opening to his season, he finished with a 1.63 ERA and 98 strikeouts. Few relievers can dominate innings the way he does when he’s right. You don’t replace that kind of certainty in the ninth inning unless you overpay for someone else’s risk.
David Stearns is too pragmatic to pretend otherwise. If the Mets want to build a stronger bullpen and a more stable pitching infrastructure, they need Diaz anchoring it. He’s not perfect, but he’s the closest thing the Mets have to a guaranteed elite piece.
Alonso’s value and the looming question
Pete Alonso is trickier. Fans love him. The clubhouse respects him. The power numbers still jump off the page. Thirty-eight home runs and a 141 wRC+ don’t grow on trees, and the Mets know it. The problem is what comes next. He’ll be 31 next season, and investing in a slugger with limited defensive value into his mid-thirties isn’t exactly Stearns’ style.
But then you look at the production, and you understand the dilemma. The Mets need run-scoring certainty while they overhaul the rest of the roster, and Alonso offers exactly that. Even now, he’s the kind of bat that changes a lineup’s temperament.
Heyman suggests Diaz is the more urgent priority, and that tracks. But Alonso isn’t far behind, and the Mets’ next series of moves probably hinges on whether they can strike a deal with him.
The offseason map depends on these two
There’s a reason the Mets haven’t sprinted into other areas of the market yet. They want to know whether Diaz and Alonso are part of the 2026 picture before they start addressing center field, rotation depth, and the bullpen’s second tier. You can’t build a roster until you know the foundation, and for all the changes happening around the organization, these two remain the pillars.
Everything else can wait a little. Not forever, but long enough for the Mets to learn whether their top priorities want to come back home.
In a winter full of decisions, this is the one that shapes everything else.
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