The Mets’ 2026 season is done, and with it goes a team that spent the year making itself easy to grumble about, only to become the kind of club fans will probably miss once the offseason drags on.
Francisco Lindor delivered the long-awaited swing that sent him into a place no shortstop had ever reached before. His 300th career home run made him the first shortstop in major league history to hit 300 homers and steal 200 bases, and he became just the second switch hitter to do it.
Bo Bichette’s future in Queens still isn’t locked in, but it’s at least something he can picture. Nothing becomes official until after the World Series, yet he can already imagine returning to the Mets for the second year of his contract.
The Mets’ disappointing year may still end up helping them in one small way. Their stronger draft lottery odds won’t matter until after the lockout ends at the earliest, and they might never cash in at all.
There’s still one race that could shift the mood around the club. Sal Stewart had looked like the clear favorite for NL Rookie of the Year, but Carson Benge might have done enough to make it interesting.
Elsewhere in the division, the Phillies nearly turned their season into a disaster before hanging on. A Diamondbacks loss, paired with a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, pushed Philadelphia into the Wild Card round against Atlanta.
Jesus Luzardo also made his way back after three weeks out with shoulder inflammation. He threw four pitches, and he told the team he is ready for whatever they need from him in the playoffs.
The Marlins wrapped up their season by going out exactly one game under .500. Sandy Alcantara handled the bookends of the year, throwing the first pitch in March and the final pitch yesterday in Miami’s 5-3 win over the division champion Braves.
Around the league, the postseason field is set and MLB has already announced the dates and times for the AL and NL Wild Card series. Regular season talk is over; the next wave of postseason analysis is here.
A few veterans also gave the season one last heavyweight moment. Max Scherzer went seven innings, struck out seven, and got to yell at his manager one more time in what may have been the final start of his Hall of Fame career, even if he didn’t quite catch Justin Verlander in career strikeouts.
George Springer had his own sendoff in that same game. It was the final contest of the six-year contract Toronto gave him after 2020, and he left to a standing ovation that fit the moment.
Pete Alonso added a weird little slice of baseball history to the year, becoming the first player in major league history to lead both the National League and the American League in RBIs in different seasons.
Houston’s season ended with a strange bit of infamy, too. The Astros finished at .500, yet somehow became the worst team in Major League Baseball history to win their division.
Jacob Misiorowski closed out what sure looked like a Cy Young season with rate stats that belong in rare company, the kind not seen since prime Pedro Martinez.
The Yankees didn’t even finish their slate on the field, canceling Sunday afternoon’s game against the Orioles and ending their season at 161 games after the Red Sox went to Tropicana Field to close things out away from the rainy Northeast.
And in Los Angeles, Dave Roberts kept piling up wins. The Dodgers’ victory over the Giants gave him 100 wins for the sixth time as manager, leaving him one more triple-digit season away from becoming the first manager to reach seven.
In Other News...
Several Familiar Mets Could Be Pushed Out After Another Costly Letdown
The Mets came out of 2026 in a familiar and frustrating place, having finished worse than they did a year earlier despite another round of major spending. That kind of letdown usually triggers a hard look at the roster, and this one is no different, with the front office facing pressure to sort through a group of veterans and younger pieces who did not exactly lock down their places for 2027.
Marcus Semien is among the names being talked about as a possible exit, while Ronny Mauricio and others also sit in a gray area because of performance questions, contract details and roster crunches. Some players have opt-outs or are heading toward arbitration, which only adds more uncertainty to what this group looks like next season, and the Mets may have to make some uncomfortable decisions before the winter is over. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Just Got A Brutal New Measure Of How Bad 2026 Became
By the time the 2026 season ended, the Mets had spent months living through the kind of year that drains a ballpark as much as it drains a clubhouse. A 74-87 finish and a 36-45 record at home told the story on the field, where injuries to key players and a wave of midseason trades left the roster in constant flux and the home product stuck near the bottom of the league.
The latest reminder of how far things slid came in the attendance figures. According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Mets averaged 33,901 fans per game, a 14.8% drop from the previous season, and fell from fifth to 12th in MLB attendance rankings. Only opening day produced a sellout, a sharp sign of how quickly a disappointing season can echo beyond the standings and into the seats. [Read more 🡒]
Ronny Mauricio Just Forced A Mets Decision They Cant Delay
Ronny Mauricios latest burst of power gave the Mets something they have not had much of from him this year, and it came at a time when every impression matters. He launched two home runs in a late 2026 game, a reminder of why the organization has long viewed his upside so highly even as his season has been interrupted by a limited role. In 19 games, Mauricio has flashed enough to keep the conversation alive, but not enough to make the decision simple.
The complication for New York is the roster math and the calendar. Mauricio has already used all of his minor league options, he will be arbitration eligible next year, and the team has to decide whether to tender him a contract before the upcoming lockout or consider other paths, including trade talks. Andy Green has praised Mauricios potential while also pointing to the areas he still needs to sharpen, which leaves the Mets weighing present production against long-term control at exactly the wrong time to stall. [Read more 🡒]