The Mets are heading into another winter with the same uncomfortable question hanging over them: when do you hold, and when do you swing big?
David Stearns has already shown he’ll make both kinds of calls. He kept some players around longer than he probably should have, and that’s part of the job when nobody has a perfect read on the future.
It happened with Mark Vientos after 2024. It happened with Ronny Mauricio, who has now drifted to the point where he looks more like a non-tender possibility than a trade chip.
Those are the kinds of misses the Mets have to live with, because there’s no crystal ball for this stuff.
That same debate is already surfacing again with Jonah Tong. MLB insider Pat Ragazzo recently wrote for Rising Apple that Tong could be an intriguing trade chip for the Mets this winter.
He was a highly valued prospect in the summer of 2025, and while his stock dipped this year, it didn’t completely collapse. That’s exactly the kind of player the Mets may be better off keeping, rather than dealing away for the next Freddy Peralta-type return.
The tricky part is that the Mets can’t just stash every young arm and call it prudence. They do need to move some prospects or young players if the right deal shows up.
The rotation picture alone makes that clear. Nolan McLean and Christian Scott are locked in.
Zac Thornton has shown a lot of promise, but he could still wind up on the outside looking in, especially with Sean Manaea being tough to move. And the expectation is that the Mets will add at least one veteran arm, whether that comes through free agency or a trade.
Tong isn’t the only name in that mix, either. Jonathan Santucci and Jack Wenninger are also potential options.
Gary Gill Hill, who came over in the Peralta trade, could also work his way up and make a couple of starts in the majors. He’s Rule 5 eligible this offseason, which makes him one of several prospects who could end up on the 40-man roster.
Still, the fear of moving on too soon has been a familiar Mets flaw. They never traded away the Baby Mets, and years later the best remnants of that group are Brett Baty as a utility man and Francisco Alvarez as an often streaky hitter with a negative defensive reputation.
That’s the gamble the Mets keep making on the wrong side. They’ll probably hold onto another prospect too long again.
The alternative, though, can be even worse.
And that’s why the other side of this winter matters just as much. The Mets also shouldn’t be scared to chase superstar talent in a trade. Those dream deals are rarer in the offseason, since the biggest names usually move at the deadline when teams are trying to avoid losing them for nothing.
The cautionary tale is already on record. In October 2022, trade chatter around Shohei Ohtani led SNY to put together a Mets mock deal that looks laughable now. The package was led by Baty, sent the Los Angeles Angels a choice between Kevin Parada or Alex Ramirez, and included two more unnamed prospects, with a preference for anyone outside the top 15.
That mock proposal didn’t age well at all. Looking back at the top Mets prospects from 2022, Christian Scott is far better than anyone else in that group, and he was only ranked 25th. Even for just one year of Ohtani, that kind of return looks like an extreme underpay based on how those players developed.
So this winter brings the same tug-of-war again: protect the young talent, but don’t get paralyzed by it. The Mets have enough depth in the minors to tempt a front office into both directions, and the decisions they make now could say plenty about Stearns’ reputation later.
In Other News...
Sean Manaea Had A Brutally Awkward Reaction To Mets Fans
Pete Alonsos return to Citi Field came with the kind of built-in drama that only baseball can provide, and the crowd played its part. On a night when he launched his 300th career home run against the Mets, the former franchise centerpiece took a curtain call and was met with cheers from the home fans, who still seemed happy to salute one of the most recognizable hitters in recent team history.
Sean Manaea, though, didnt exactly hide how he felt about the moment. The Mets starter said the reaction was crazy, making clear he respects Alonso but wasnt comfortable with how warmly the ballpark embraced the celebration. Alonso, meanwhile, kept working the room after the blast, trading memorabilia with the fans who caught the ball and even offering tickets to games in Baltimore, another reminder that his bond with Mets supporters remains complicated in all the familiar ways. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Manager Search Just Became A Huge Offseason Gamble
The Mets managerial search has already turned into one of the more revealing decisions of the offseason, and not just because the job opened earlier than anyone in Queens expected. After the team was eliminated from postseason contention and moved on from Carlos Mendoza in June, Andy Green stepped in as the interim manager and is expected to slide back into a front office role, leaving Steve Cohen and David Stearns to sort through a search that carries real weight for how the organization wants to move forward.
The list of names being considered underscores how wide open this process may be, with reports pointing to Carlos Beltran and Albert Pujols, two prominent former players who have no Major League Baseball managerial experience. Cohen will have the final say, with Stearns involved in the decision, and the choice now feels less like a routine hire than a test of how much the Mets are willing to bet on reputation, leadership traits and projection over a conventional track record. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Players Just Weighed In On Citi Fields Pete Alonso Problem
Pete Alonsos milestone 300th career home run at Citi Field brought out a reaction few around the Mets expected. Sean Manaea and Francisco Lindor both said they were surprised, and a little frustrated, to hear a portion of the crowd cheer for the former Met in a moment that should have belonged to the visiting slugger and the home ballpark he once called his own.
Andy Green acknowledged the oddity of it, but cast the response in a broader light, saying it reflected respect for players who do something special. Still, the scene fit into a series that has already felt charged in the stands, with fans sending mixed signals throughout and even breaking into chants aimed at president David Stearns, another reminder that the mood around the club can shift fast depending on who is at the plate and whats at stake. [Read more 🡒]