The Mets’ first week of November brought a little bit of everything: front-office business, roster maneuvering, and a strange Hollywood detour at Citi Field.
The biggest baseball storyline hanging over the club remains Tarik Skubal speculation, and the Mets are still being treated as one of the top suitors until they’re officially out of the picture. With the impending MLB lockout looming, there’s a sense that resolution could come sooner rather than later.
Away from the rumor mill, SNY made a major change that hits Mets fans right in the gut. On Friday, the network announced mass layoffs, and with that came the end of Baseball Night in New York and Sportsnite.
The website, too, has been stripped down, with its Mets coverage losing the kind of commentary that made it such a familiar part of the team’s daily orbit. As one source told The Athletic, “The website is pivoting from a content-driven site to a promotional and informational platform.”
That shift leaves a very different kind of SNY behind. For years, the network’s staff helped shape a huge chunk of Mets conversation, whether fans agreed with the takes or not. Now that voice is gone.
On the roster side, Robert Stock is sticking around - at least for the moment. The Mets have given him a split contract, a move that fits the pattern David Stearns has leaned on.
The setup gives Stock a better minor league salary, which is designed to encourage him to remain with the organization if he’s eventually designated for assignment. If he chooses free agency after a DFA, he gives up the deal.
If he clears waivers and accepts a minor league assignment, he keeps both the minor league and major league pay.
There’s no guarantee that part plays out cleanly, though. The Mets tried something similar with Richard Lovelady last offseason, and he was claimed by the Washington Nationals anyway.
Then there was the most unusual Mets-related sight of the week: Tom Hanks at Citi Field, at least in movie form. Fans from both the Mets and Phillies got a kick out of the fake players and banners used during filming for Hanks’ new movie, “The Comebacker.”
In the film, Hanks plays a pitching coach whose life gets thrown into chaos after one of the Mets pitchers is struck by a line drive. That’s the entire setup, and that’s all that’s been revealed.
For a few days, Citi Field turned into a made-up baseball universe, complete with fictional names like Denny Clark, August Botwin, and Damon Londo taking over the ballpark.
In Other News...
Mets Are Finally Moving On From A Pitcher Fans Knew Too Well
David Peterson had become one of those familiar Mets fixtures by the time the 2026 season arrived, the longest tenured player on the roster and a pitcher the organization had watched grow from prospect to established arm over more than six seasons. But the year never really settled for him in New York, and his struggles eventually pushed the club to move him midseason to the Chicago Cubs, ending a run that had stretched across multiple front-office eras and plenty of turnover around him.
Peterson did show some improvement after the trade, enough to remind teams why his name had lingered in the conversation for so long. Now he is headed into free agency for the first time, and the timing adds another layer of uncertainty with looming CBA negotiations expected to shape the market. For the Mets, it is another sign that a once-familiar chapter is closing, even if the next one for Peterson is still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Risk Letting A Dangerous Bat Slip To A Rival
The Mets offseason priorities are starting to come into focus, and for now Teruaki Sato does not appear to be at the top of the list. According to The Athletic, New York is less inclined to chase the Japanese slugger this winter, with Bo Bichette having opted into his 2027 deal and the organization already carrying a group of young infield prospects in the minors. Sato, one of the premier power bats in Japans NPB, has drawn attention around the league, including from the Phillies, Dodgers and Yankees.
For the Mets, the calculation seems to be less about the players talent than about timing and roster fit. Their bigger push is expected to come on the pitching side, though that does not necessarily close the door on Sato completely. If the market shifts or ownership decides to get more aggressive, New York could still circle back, but for now the danger is obvious: a bat with real thump could end up landing with a rival while the Mets wait on a different part of the board. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Could Make A Costly Bullpen Bet Fans Would Debate
Adrian Morejons market is already shaping up to be one of the more interesting bullpen stories of the winter, and it is easy to see why the Mets are being mentioned as a possible fit. The left-handed reliever has been handed a qualifying offer that could pay him $23.15 million next season if he accepts, a figure that would set a new high-water mark for a pitcher in his role. Even without closing duties right now because of his current teams setup, his underlying performance has been strong enough to keep him squarely in the conversation.
For the Mets, the appeal is obvious even if the cost would spark debate. Morejon is viewed as a pitcher who should move into a closers job with his next team, and the expectation is that he can still get better from here. That makes the qualifying-offer attachment a real hurdle, but also the kind of bet a bullpen-needy club sometimes has to weigh if it wants impact rather than just depth. [Read more 🡒]