As the Mets limp toward the end of a miserable 2026 season, the focus has already shifted to what comes next. The roster that takes shape in 2027 is likely to look a lot different, and with New York already operating as sellers at the trade deadline, there’s a real chance the front office starts clearing space before the winter even arrives.
That kind of reset fits the way President of Baseball Operations David Stearns has worked. He has never been shy about making the unpopular move, and the Mets may need that kind of blunt roster management now more than ever.
With few long-term commitments baked into this team, the club has room to move on from players who haven’t fit or haven’t produced. If those decisions don’t happen in the next week or so, they look inevitable once the season is over.
One of the clearest names in that group is Tyrone Taylor. He came to the Mets before the 2024 season in the deal that also brought Adrian Houser, and he has mostly functioned as a fifth outfielder in New York. Taylor could still be moved before the deadline, especially with his bat showing more life in July - he has four homers this month - but even if he stays put, the odds point toward him being elsewhere next year.
The fit is starting to disappear. Taylor is 32, and while he has been useful, the Mets have a younger and cheaper option waiting in Triple-A Syracuse in Nick Morabito.
Morabito profiles as a right-handed, plus-defending bench outfielder, and he brings contract options that give the team more flexibility. Taylor’s .718 OPS is his best mark as a Met, and his .839 OPS against lefties is the kind of number that could draw interest from a contender.
Marcus Semien looks like another player whose time in Queens may be short. He arrived as part of the trade that got the Mets off Brandon Nimmo’s contract, but his first season has been rough. The bat has not come around, the defense has slipped, and there is little in his profile that points to a turnaround.
Semien still has two years left on his deal after this season, but the Mets have already shown they are willing to eat money if it helps the roster. They did it with Robinson Cano in 2022, and under Steve Cohen’s ownership, that kind of move is firmly on the table.
There’s also a simple baseball argument here: the Mets probably aren’t planning to carry Semien into 2028 for the final year of the contract anyway. His OPS against lefties sits at just .643 this year, and whatever direction the Mets choose at second base, it would be hard to argue it wouldn’t be an upgrade over the aging veteran.
The biggest change, though, may come in the dugout and the front office structure around the lineup. Eric Chavez, who was hired by former general manager Billy Eppler and has stayed under Stearns through all three of his seasons, was promoted by the Mets’ head executive to Director of Hitting and put back in the dugout after the club’s offense struggled to deliver in big spots down the stretch last year. But the results have not followed.
Outside of the outfield trio of AJ Ewing, Carson Benge, and Juan Soto, along with catcher Francisco Álvarez, the Mets’ offense has been a problem all season. Bo Bichette has been better lately, but he still carries an OPS below .700.
Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. have both had disappointing seasons when healthy. Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have cratered again and are back on the roster bubble, while other key bats have also failed to deliver.
The numbers around the organization’s young hitters only make the case stronger. Four top-100 bats - Baty, Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and Luisangel Acuña - have stalled under Albert’s offensive leadership.
Álvarez’s future as the long-term answer at catcher is also far from settled, largely because he still hasn’t put together a strong, consistent season at the plate. After four seasons, the Mets appear to need a clean break on offense, and that points toward moving on from Albert.
In Other News...
Mets Suddenly Have A Little Known Lefty Fans Need To Watch
MLB Pipelines latest refresh gave the Mets another look at how their farm system is sorting itself out, with recent draft picks still waiting to be folded in and more changes expected by Aug. 3. Jonah Tong remains at the top of the list even after a rough stretch, while Elian Pena has climbed, but the more interesting name for anyone tracking the lower levels may be a left-hander who has quietly put together a strong run in High-A Brooklyn.
He is working with the kind of command and strikeout profile that tends to get attention once the industry starts digging deeper into a system, and the early signs suggest there may be more here than a nice month or two. The Mets do not need to rush him, but if this level of performance holds, he could force his way into a much more prominent conversation than the one he started in. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Linked To Francisco Lindor In Trade Idea Mets Fans Need To See
The Phillies are still hunting for help before the trade deadline, with pitching and bullpen upgrades at the top of the list, but a recent hypothetical involving Francisco Lindor has stirred up a different kind of conversation. For Mets fans, it is the sort of idea that gets attention fast, since Lindor remains one of the most recognizable names on the roster and a player whose value can still spark debate even in a season where his numbers have been uneven.
Philadelphias interest, at least in theory, runs into a simple problem: the fit does not look clean. The Phillies already have Trea Turner locked in at shortstop, and Lindors current production has not exactly made it easy to justify a major long-term swing. If the Phillies are going to make a move, the more sensible path may be a shorter-term addition in the outfield rather than taking on another big commitment for the heart of the infield. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Just Exposed What Mets Fans Feared All Along
Bostons season has offered a cleaner blueprint than the one the Mets have been trying to follow, and that gap shows up in the little decisions as much as the big ones. The Red Sox moved on from their manager earlier, made trades that fit more naturally, and found ways to cover for departures without asking the wrong players to do the wrong jobs. For the Mets, the contrast has been harder to ignore because the roster has spent too much time being asked to solve problems with awkward fits instead of straightforward answers.
Jorge Polancos usage has become a good example of the kind of strain that can follow when a team is still searching for stability, especially with injuries and defense limiting how much value he can provide. Boston, meanwhile, has at least been able to let one key name leave and keep the machine moving, even if the replacement took some time to settle in. The bigger question for the Mets is whether they can stop patching holes long enough to build something that looks as coherent as the Red Sox have managed to make theirs. [Read more 🡒]