David Stearns made the Mets’ winter mission plain a month ago: they need starting pitching. With the offseason now underway after the Brewers - Stearns’ former club - finished off the Rays in the World Series on Wednesday night, that plan has moved from talk to action.
The conversation starts with Tarik Skubal, the left-hander at the very top of the market. Bringing him in would mean the Mets accepting the kind of long-term risk that comes with signing a starter who has recently dealt with elbow issues. It would also mean stepping well outside Stearns’ usual comfort zone for this sort of deal, and the price figure figures to be staggering.
But the upside is exactly why Skubal sits at the center of this discussion. He would give the Mets a perennial Cy Young candidate and give a rotation that has been searching for an ace for years something real to build around.
Maybe Nolan McLean develops into that answer internally. Even so, a Skubal-McLean combination would give this team a major boost going into next season.
The Mets also have two things working in their favor: money coming off the books in the next few years and an owner willing to spend aggressively on the open market. If Steve Cohen wants Skubal, New York should be able to put together the biggest bid.
Of course, that doesn’t make this simple. Skubal gets a say, too.
He might prefer the West Coast. He might decide winning matters most and ask whether the Mets can keep contending at a high level.
And he would also have to embrace the heat that comes with being the ace in New York, which is a different animal than Detroit - or even his summer in Los Angeles, when he was pitching behind a rotation packed with top-end arms.
Clay Holmes belongs on the Mets’ target list as well.
The right-hander was outstanding for New York early this season, building on what was already an impressive start to his transition into a starter in 2025. He didn’t match that level of success after the Mets traded him and Tyrone Taylor to Chicago for top prospect Jefferson Rojas at the deadline, but Holmes has already shown he can pitch - and pitch well - in New York.
The expectation has been that he will decline his contract and hit free agency. Like Mets infielder Bo Bichette, Holmes has until five days after the World Series to make that official.
If he wants to return, the Mets should move fast.
Former general manager Jim Bowden projected this week in The Athletic that Holmes could land a two-year, $44 million deal. That would be a jump from the three-year, $38 million contract the Mets gave him before the 2025 season.
Bowden’s Skubal forecast was even bigger: “Anywhere from $350-$500 million depending on length of contract,” he wrote. “He will become the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history in terms of AAV and guaranteed dollars.”
Beyond Skubal and Holmes, the Mets have plenty of other possible avenues through trade and free agency.
In Other News...
Former Mets All-Star May Have Ended Any Chance Of A Reunion
David Petersons stint in Queens ended in June when the Mets dealt him to the Cubs after a difficult opening stretch, and the move seems to have worked for both sides in the short term. Peterson steadied himself in Chicago, cutting his ERA even as his FIP climbed, a reminder that the left-hander still offered enough value to matter as he headed toward free agency.
For the Mets, though, the reunion path appears thin. The front office is leaning toward a more accomplished starting option rather than circling back to a pitcher they already moved on from, and Petersons recent run only makes it more likely hell have a stronger market elsewhere. What once looked like a possible familiar fit now feels like a case of timing, roster needs and a changed market pushing the two sides in different directions. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Fringe Roster Battle Is Already Taking Shape This Offseason
The Mets are already staring at one of those early offseason chores that can shape everything that follows: trimming a crowded 40-man roster before the November 2 deadline. At the moment, New York sits at 43 players, and with front-office decisions soon giving way to winter maneuvering, the first task is simply creating room for whatever comes next.
Robert Stock, Cristian Pache and Christopher Morel look like the most vulnerable names as the Mets sort through recent performance and roster utility. None of that is especially glamorous, but these are the kinds of moves that often set up a busier offseason, whether the club is clearing space for additions or just trying to keep its roster flexible enough to react when the market starts to move. [Read more 🡒]
Mets First Base Plan Suddenly Looks More Complicated Than Free Agency
The Mets spent a 74-win season learning just how many holes still need patching, and first base is one of the cleaner places to start. Jared Young and Mark Vientos split time there in 2026, but the production never really matched the opportunity, leaving a position the club had hoped would stabilize instead looking like another spot that needs attention alongside the pitching staff and the rest of the offense.
Jake Bauers has surfaced as a possible free-agent fit after a strong 2026, but the bigger wrinkle is that New York already has a left-handed option in Young who showed enough in his first regular major league season to stay part of the conversation. With Young under team control through 2032, the Mets are not simply shopping for a bat. They are weighing whether the answer is an outside addition, a continued look at what they already have, or some version of both. [Read more 🡒]