The Mets may not be headed for a full-scale makeover, but the roster math is starting to squeeze someone out, and Zac Thornton looks like a real candidate to feel it.
New York already made some of its biggest moves at the trade deadline, shipping out more than just expiring pieces. Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazoban were among the names moved, and David Stearns has been clear that the rotation still needs help. As he put it, it is "necessary" for the Mets to add to their starting rotation.
That makes Thornton’s place on the depth chart a lot less secure than his 3.42 ERA in 15 starts might suggest. The surface numbers look useful enough, but the underlying profile is a different story: a 4.51 expected ERA and not much red showing up on his Baseball Savant page. For a front office that leans on the numbers, that can read less like a finished product and more like a pitcher with work still to do.
How big New York goes this winter could decide everything. If the Mets make a splash for Tarik Skubal, Thornton may still have a path. Sean Manaea remains a wild card in the rotation picture, and his salary, along with the fact that he showed more signs of being a starter than a reliever in 2026, could keep him in line for the fifth spot.
Thornton, though, still has minor league options. That matters for a team that has consistently valued depth. If the Mets end up with a fully healthy rotation, they could choose to send Thornton down and let him keep refining things like his velocity.
There’s also a broader baseball case for patience. The playoffs keep reminding everyone how hard it is to line up five truly dependable starters.
Openers are part of the landscape now, not just a gimmick. Thornton would still have a role in 2027 even if the Mets go heavy on quantity and he winds up back in Syracuse for a while.
Rising Apple’s Pat Ragazzo projected a different path, saying the Mets would miss on Skubal and instead bring back Clay Holmes while also adding Michael King. That kind of pairing would offer a practical alternative, especially when you weigh the combined AAV against a single megadeal. Is one $44 million player worth more to you than two $22 million players?
Thornton has already shown he can get outs in the majors without big strikeout totals, a ton of ground balls, or much in the way of missed bats and weak contact. The Mets may need him at some point, but the signs point toward a crowded rotation and a front office that may prefer to keep him stretched out rather than guarantee him a job.
And with less than 40 innings in Triple-A, all of them coming in 2026, there’s a clean baseball argument for more seasoning. Thornton could be asked to sharpen a few things in the minors while the Mets sort through the bigger names ahead of him. He’s also positioned to be next in line if Manaea is cut or once his contract runs out after the 2027 season.
None of that means the Mets are down on him. They clearly like him. They just can’t afford to assume the rookie version of Thornton will be enough to hold a rotation spot if the front office decides to keep adding.
In Other News...
Mets Still Have One Massive Roster Question To Solve
Looking ahead to 2027, the Mets roster picture already has a clear priority at the top of the list: finding a starter who can anchor the rotation at the highest level. The market could eventually offer some intriguing names, and Tarik Skubal stands out as the kind of impact arm who could reshape a staff if he ever gets there. From the Mets perspective, this is the sort of move that can alter both the floor and the ceiling of a club trying to build around contention.
The bigger challenge is that the rotation question is only part of the checklist. The Mets also have holes that would deepen the roster in important ways, including a right-handed bat for first base, a right-handed fourth outfielder and another high-leverage reliever to shorten games late. There are candidates who fit those jobs, from Alec Bohm and Paul Goldschmidt to Nick Morabito, Tyrone Taylor, Randal Grichuk, Lane Thomas, Ramon Laureano, Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam, but the real issue is how the front office prioritizes all of it when the time comes. [Read more 🡒]
Mets May Already Have A Quiet Devin Williams Backup Plan
The late-season conversation around the Mets has had a familiar shape: Devin Williams was supposed to be part of the answer at closer, but the results have not matched the role, while Kodai Senga has given the club a different look in the high-leverage mix. With the bullpen picture still unsettled, the Mets have started to examine lower-profile options who might matter more than they did in spring, especially if the ninth inning remains open going into next season.
Nate Lavender is one of those arms worth keeping in the back of the mind. He has shown enough strike-throwing and miss bats to stand out as a potential relief piece, even if he is not in the current closer conversation, and the appeal is obvious for a team that wants more answers in the pen. The velocity is not eye-catching, but the Mets may not need a radar-gun headline if the rest of the profile keeps playing the same way. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Could Find Smart Rotation And Outfield Help In One Market
The Mets are going to spend plenty of time this winter weighing how to reinforce both the rotation and the outfield, and the upcoming market could present a few interesting ways to do it. San Diegos Michael King stands out because of the way he has pitched and the kind of arm the Mets could use behind their front-line starters, while Chicagos Matthew Boyd offers another rotation path if the club wants a different type of left-handed stability. On the position-player side, Torontos Myles Straw is part of the same conversation, giving the Mets a possible outfield fit if they want speed and defense to round out the roster.
What makes this market intriguing is that none of these possibilities depends on a simple free-agent shopping trip. Each name comes with contract wrinkles that could shape whether he is actually available, and that uncertainty is exactly why the Mets will be watching closely. If even one of these players reaches the market, it could give New York a smarter way to address more than one need without chasing separate high-end fixes in every area. [Read more 🡒]