The Mets are staring at a tricky arbitration batch, and not every decision comes with an easy label. Some players are obvious keepers, some are obvious cuts, and a few sit in that awkward middle where the front office has to decide whether the contract number, the roster spot, or the upside matters most.
Francisco Alvarez, for all the frustration he can bring, is not going anywhere. He’ll be tendered a contract. Whether the Mets actually keep him or move him is a separate discussion entirely.
Christopher Morel and Cristian Pache are on the other end of the spectrum. Those are straightforward non-tender candidates, and the issue isn’t really the projected salary. It’s the combination of what they’ve produced and the fact that they don’t have minor league options, which makes them the kind of depth pieces you’d rather have far down the list than taking up valuable roster space.
The more complicated calls come with three other names.
Mark Vientos is the kind of player the Mets should tender and then shop. He still carries some appeal as a right-handed DH, but that also makes him tough to move for anything meaningful.
His projected arbitration salary is $2.4 million, which is low enough that another club probably wouldn’t blink at the number, but high enough that the Mets may not want to simply walk away from him for nothing. Tendering him keeps the door open.
If a trade develops, great. If not, the Mets can still later DFA him and potentially avoid paying the full amount.
Even if they end up on the hook for the full $2.4 million, that may still be the better play.
Ultimate goal: Trade
Cionel Perez is another case where the Mets should tender a deal, but only while they keep searching for a better option. He posted a 3.99 ERA this past season, generated a lot of ground balls, gave up more home runs, and still did enough striking hitters out and limiting walks to look like the type of bullpen arm the Mets would want.
The problem is roster math. He’s out of minor league options, and Nate Lavender needs to be on the roster.
A Perez-Lavender pairing as the club’s two lefties would not be ideal, which is why the Mets could still look to add a third left-handed reliever such as Adrian Morejon. Lavender looks like the stronger 1b option, with Perez as the more proven depth piece behind him.
Since Perez was signed as a minor league free agent, there’s not much downside here. Still, if the Mets want any chance of keeping him, even temporarily, they need to tender him before someone else gives him a cheap major league deal.
Ultimate goal: Minor league depth
Tylor Megill is the toughest call of the group. The Mets should non-tender him and then see whether he can be brought back on a split contract or minor league deal.
Because of his service time, he won’t have minor league options unless he agrees to it. He’s projected to make $2.5 million next year after missing all of 2026, and the Mets already paid him to rehab.
That may create some goodwill, but there’s no guarantee it leads to a cheaper return. Megill has drawn interest from coaches and front office people inside the organization, though nobody has been willing to commit to him as a full-time bullpen piece.
His brother’s success with the Milwaukee Brewers has been part of the conversation, but not the whole reason. The bigger point is that Megill hasn’t shown enough to profile as a starter from beginning to end.
The bullpen might be his best path. The problem is that the Mets can’t bounce him between the majors and minors, which leaves him with one realistic route into the 2027 picture: not being on the 40-man roster to start the year.
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