David Stearns left the Mets’ second-base situation wide open, and that alone says plenty about where Marcus Semien stands heading into next season.
At his end-of-season news conference at Citi Field, the Mets president of baseball operations was asked directly whether the club is committed to Semien as the starter at second base next year. Stearns did not make that promise. Instead, he pointed to a position group that, in his view, gives the Mets options.
“Sitting here right now, I’m not going to commit to where second base looks like next year,” Stearns said, “but I do think we’ve got some really good players both at the major league level and prospects that are coming that can make that a productive position for us.”
That answer mattered because Semien’s first season in a Mets uniform was a rough one from start to finish. He hit .215 across 547 plate appearances, posted a .620 OPS and finished at -0.5 fWAR.
Those were the second-worst numbers among qualified hitters in the sport, and his 74 wRC+ was better than only three other qualified hitters. For a player who finished third in AL MVP voting three times in a five-year stretch from 2019 to 2023, those were career lows.
The slide was not limited to the batter’s box. After winning a Gold Glove with Texas one year earlier, Semien endured the worst defensive season of his career.
Statcast had him in the 5th percentile in range, with -9 outs above average. His -2 defensive runs saved tied for the fifth-worst mark among qualified second basemen in 2026.
Health was part of the story. Semien played through a hip issue before going on the injured list in June with a left hip flexor strain. That likely helped drag down both his defense and his offense.
Still, the larger picture is hard to ignore. Semien is 36, his numbers have declined in each of the past three seasons, and he’s under contract for two more years at $46 million.
This is the reality the Mets signed up for when they swapped Brandon Nimmo for Semien last winter, a deal that also opened outfield reps for Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing.
For the Mets, second base now looks like a spot where pressure is already building.
Brett Baty is part of that equation. Stearns said the club saw enough from Baty over the final stretch of the season to believe there’s more there.
“I think Brett showed us our last four six weeks of the season what his ceiling looks like,” Stearns said. ”We need him to get to that ceiling more consistently. And then we have a host of really good minor league infielders who are knocking on the doorstep."
Baty gave them a strong finish. He hit .269 with an .838 OPS in the second half over 50 games, and over his final 30 games beginning Aug. 21, he went even hotter, slashing .366/.439/.606.
It was a striking late surge, though it came with a familiar caution flag. Baty also closed last season on a tear, hitting .314 with an .867 OPS over his final 38 games, only to struggle badly the next spring.
Through June 29 this year, he had a .585 OPS, the fourth-worst mark among qualified hitters.
That means Baty can push Semien without necessarily taking the job outright on Day 1. The Mets can still use him in a utility role, but if Semien falters again, Baty is already on the roster as an immediate alternative.
And the pressure doesn’t stop there.
Jefferson Rojas, the Mets’ No. 1 prospect, made a strong impression after coming over from the Cubs in the Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor deal this summer. He hit .280 with a .929 OPS in 29 games at Double-A Binghamton, then moved to Triple-A Syracuse and kept rolling, batting .308 with a 1.037 OPS in six games.
The Mets have already shown with Benge and Ewing that they’re willing to move top prospects quickly, even with limited Triple-A time. That doesn’t automatically make Rojas an Opening Day answer at second base, but if his bat keeps advancing and the power comes with it, an early-season call-up starts to look realistic.
Two more infielders are also in the mix. Émilien Pitre, acquired from the Rays in the Freddy Peralta deal, earned a quick promotion from Binghamton to Syracuse. Across 30 games between the two stops, he hit .301 with a .739 OPS.
Then there’s Mitch Voit, who was named the Mets’ Minor League Player of the Year. A first-round pick in last year’s draft, Voit put together a strong first full pro season by hitting .347 with a .947 OPS in 29 games at Double-A.
Taken together, those names give the Mets real depth at a spot that was a problem all year. Semien still has the contract and the first chance to claim the job. But Stearns made clear the organization is no longer treating second base as settled.
If Semien doesn’t rebound, the Mets have already lined up the next wave. And if the production still isn’t there, the price of a change may become a necessary one.
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