What are the Mets' biggest priorities this offseason?

November 4th, 2022

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo's Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The World Series may not be quite complete, but it will be history by Sunday at the latest. And once the Fall Classic ends, one of the most important offseasons in recent Mets history will begin in earnest.

Five days after the conclusion of the World Series, the first pieces of Major League Baseball’s offseason machinery will begin clicking into place, with various deadlines throughout November and December. For the Mets, it will mark the beginning of a major roster overhaul designed to keep the team competitive in 2023.

Here’s a look at everything in store for the Mets over the next three months:

Which players are free agents?

A better question might be who isn’t. Eleven members of the 40-man roster will become free agents after the World Series:

• RHP Chris Bassitt
• RHP Edwin Díaz
• RHP Mychal Givens
• RHP Tommy Hunter
• RHP Seth Lugo
• RHP Trevor May
• RHP Adam Ottavino
• RHP Trevor Williams
• LHP Joely Rodríguez
• OF Tyler Naquin
• OF Brandon Nimmo

What about deGrom? I thought he was a free agent?

He is one of several Mets with a contract option that can make him a free agent. The full list:

• RHP Jacob deGrom can opt out of the final guaranteed year and $32.5 million of his current contract. He has stated on multiple occasions that he intends to do so.

• RHP Carlos Carrasco has a $14 million team option with a $3 million buyout. It is unclear if the Mets will exercise this option.

• RHP John Curtiss has a $775,000 team option after spending all year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. It is unclear if the Mets will exercise this option.

• RHP Taijuan Walker has a $7.5 million player option with a $3 million buyout. He will almost certainly decline this to become a free agent.

• DH Daniel Vogelbach has a $1.5 million team option with a $200,000 buyout. The Mets stand a reasonable chance of picking up this option.

Are any of them likely to receive qualifying offers, and what is the deadline for that?

Bassitt, deGrom, Díaz and Nimmo will likely receive qualifying offers, which are one-year deals at a league-determined salary -- this year a reported $19.65 million. The deadline is five days after the conclusion of the World Series, and players must accept or reject by Nov. 15.

None of those four are likely to accept a qualifying offer, since they desire multiyear deals on the open market. But extending those offers guarantees the team Draft pick compensation should any of the quartet sign elsewhere.

Might any of the Mets’ free agents return to New York?

Almost all of them have a chance to return, though most will not. Top priorities include Díaz, who could become the game’s first $100 million reliever, as well as Nimmo, who is one of the only prominent center fielders on the open market. The Mets will try to re-sign deGrom as well, but it remains to be seen if they will offer enough to entice him back to Flushing, or if another suitor will successfully woo him.

Do the Mets have any non-tender candidates?

The most obvious is first baseman Dominic Smith, who spent much of this season at Triple-A Syracuse after struggling to find at-bats in a DH role. Vogelbach’s presence leaves little room on the roster for Smith, who no longer holds much trade value.

After making $3.95 million through arbitration this season, Smith could hook on with another team for cheaper if he is non-tendered. The deadline for such a move is Nov. 18.

How active will the Mets be in free agency?

Extremely. Once most (or all) of the above players reach free agency, the Mets will be left with massive holes in their rotation and bullpen. They will need to acquire multiple starting pitchers and relievers simply to field a full roster; returning to the level of success they enjoyed this summer will be harder still.

If the Mets hope to go a step further and try to improve upon their 101-win team, their Hot Stove shopping spree could become even more extensive.

That sounds pricey …

No doubt about it. Owner Steve Cohen may have shown some relative restraint over the course of this season, keeping the Mets’ payroll under $300 million, but that won’t be so easy this time around. While Mets officials aren’t revealing exactly how much they intend to spend, their payroll should clear $300 million and MLB’s highest luxury tax threshold with ease. Cohen’s Mets could even soar into the mid-300s or beyond.

What about the trade market?

Expect New York to be active here as well. Given how many pitching holes they need to fill, the Mets could look to fill at least one spot with a trade acquisition, much as they did in acquiring Bassitt from the A’s in March. It’s unlikely the Mets will accomplish all their goals through free agency alone.

That’s not to say the Mets, who are trying to build their farm system into a sustainable pipeline of talent, will be eager to deal away top prospects. But the team does have expendable depth at shortstop, third base and catcher, where Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos and Kevin Parada are blocked at their natural positions. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Mauricio or Vientos go.

Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter?

Because most of their top prospects are either already on the 40-man or too inexperienced to qualify for the Rule 5 Draft, the Mets won’t need to make many moves before the Nov. 15 protection deadline. (If players signed at age 18 or younger are not added to 40-man rosters within five seasons, other organizations can draft them. Players signed at age 19 or older must be protected within four seasons.)

Two Mets outfielders stand out as protection candidates: 26-year-old Jake Mangum, who could make his MLB debut next year, and 22-year-old Stanley Consuegra, who is a higher-ranked prospect than Mangum but has never played above Single-A ball. The Mets have plenty of available roster space should they choose to add those two or others.

So what’s first on the agenda?

The General Managers’ Meetings will take place Nov. 8-10 in Las Vegas. GM Billy Eppler will be there with his lieutenants as the Mets embark upon one of their most intriguing offseasons in recent memory.