The New York Mets could view their failed 2025 campaign as a blueprint for what not to do moving forward. On paper, the Mets were more than talented enough to make the postseason at least.
However, with a lack of quality starters, they encountered problems in the second half. The Mets were historically bad when it mattered most in August and September, which should lead to some pressure on the front office to make the right moves this winter.
When looking for potential options for the Mets to pursue, Bleacher Report named them as the top landing spot for right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres, adding that because they didn’t go out and make the necessary moves last winter, it might have cost them a playoff spot. They can’t allow that to happen again this time around.
âRather, the Mets’ problem was that, aside from Nolan McLean, there wasn’t a single pitcher in the rotation who could be trusted to supply a decent startâlet alone an official quality startâas the team collapsed through the second half of the season. And with a grand total of eight starts under his MLB belt, we shall see if even McLean can remain a top-half-of-the-rotation option moving forward…
âWe thought they’d make a major splash for a Corbin Burnes or Max Fried this past offseason, and neglecting to do so might be the biggest reason they missed the playoffs. Sprucing up that rotation figures to be a major point of emphasis this winter,â Kerry Miller wrote.
Mets Need to Overhaul Starting Rotation
One issue the New York Mets face is that they already have multiple pitchers under contract for 2026, including Frankie Montas, who is currently injured and unlikely to pitch.Â
Danny Abriano of SNY believes that the biggest priority for the Mets this winter is to overhaul the starting rotation. However, he admitted that itâll be tough, so David Stearns will have his work cut out for him.Â
âAs the Mets embark on an offseason that could include some needed shakeups, it can be argued that the most important thing they have to do is reshape the starting rotation. It was the rotation more than anything else that resulted in the Mets going from 45-24 in June to out of the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
âTransforming the starting staff will be a bit complicated considering the amount of options already under contract for 2026, but it has to be done,â he wrote.
Does Dylan Cease to the Mets Make Sense?
It’s tough to say that Cease would be the perfect option at the stage of his career, given that he struggled a bit for the San Diego Padres last year. He ended up posting a 4.55 ERA, which isn’t what the New York Mets would be looking for, but there are also reasons to believe that he could be an excellent addition if he looks anything like he did in 2022, when he finished second in the Cy Young Award race. He threw 184 innings that year and struck out 227 hitters, all while posting a 2.20 ERA.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Mets Linked to Recent Cy Young Runner Up to Fix Pitching Issues appeared first on Heavy Sports.