The New York Mets may not have much riding on the final week of the regular season, but a few players do. For three familiar names, these last games are a final audition before the offseason gets serious.
David Stearns is expected to have plenty of work ahead as the Mets try to move past a miserable season and get back to October in 2027. That means tough calls are coming on the current roster, and history says no one is safe if Stearns thinks a change makes sense. He was willing to move on from Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil last offseason, and the same kind of hard-nosed approach could show up again.
Francisco Alvarez may have the most to prove of anyone on the roster. The 24-year-old catcher has been viewed for years as a breakout waiting to happen, and that buzz only grew after he came back from injury near the end of 2025 and caught fire. Over his final 30 games that year, he hit over .270 with seven home runs, worked the whole field, and showed a much better eye at the plate.
That player has not shown up in 2026. Alvarez is batting .232 with 16 home runs and a .711 OPS, and the edge that once made him such a threat at the plate has faded.
His last 30 games have been especially rough, with a .184 average, four home runs, and a .564 OPS. That kind of stretch is not enough from a starting catcher on a team with playoff hopes.
And with Luis Torrens swinging a hotter bat over the last month, Alvarez now has real competition for the job heading into 2027.
Brett Baty is in a similar spot. Another former top prospect, Baty finished the second half of 2025 looking like he might be ready to turn a corner, but that momentum has not carried over this season. He’s hitting .235 with 10 home runs, a .674 OPS, and an 89 wRC+, and he has not been driving the ball with the same authority, squaring up only 20.8% of the pitches he swings at.
For now, Baty has slid into a utility role, which makes steady everyday playing time harder to come by. Still, he has done more with his chances lately, batting .311 with three home runs and a .943 OPS over his last 30 games.
With Jared Young out for the final week because of a concussion, Baty should get a run of at-bats at first base. If he closes strong, he can carry some momentum into the offseason and give Stearns something to weigh when his 2027 role comes up.
Then there’s Mark Vientos, who may be facing the biggest question of all. His 2024 breakout - 27 home runs and an .838 OPS - kept him in the Mets’ plans, but that season looks increasingly like the outlier. In 83 games, Vientos is batting .218 with 13 home runs, a .673 OPS, and an 84 wRC+, and he has not put together a full month that looks anything like the player he flashed two years ago.
Vientos is still under team control for two more seasons, but with a wave of prospects on the way, he could be a non-tender candidate this offseason. The most realistic path for him to stay would be as a power bat off the bench, though the current roster does not seem to have room for that kind of role.
If he wants to stay in the picture, this week is his last chance to make a case. Of the three, he has the most on the line.
In Other News...
Mets Just Turned Another Special Weekend Into A Fan Frustration
The Mets spent Sept. 19 trying to make a weekend feel celebratory, but the timing never quite let it breathe. Carlos Beltrans jersey retirement ceremony landed in the middle of a critical stretch of the season, and the weather did the atmosphere no favors, turning what should have been a polished tribute into another reminder that even the clubs special dates have been hard to stage cleanly this year.
Howie Roses long-awaited celebration is now being pushed to the opening weekend of the 2027 season, a delay tied to ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations and, reportedly, his own preference. Still, it fits a broader pattern for the Mets, who have managed to create multiple calendar headaches around their feel-good moments, leaving fans to wonder why so many of the years best intentions keep arriving with some obvious complication attached. [Read more 🡒]
Carlos Beltran Just Changed The Mets Manager Search Mood
Carlos Beltrans number retirement ceremony at Citi Field gave the Mets a celebratory backdrop, but it also turned into a reminder of where the clubs managerial search stands. Asked about the opening, Beltran did not close the door, yet he made clear that the job would require a major commitment and that his current personal and professional priorities are part of the equation. For a team still sorting through what it wants in its next manager, the timing of the question alone said plenty.
The Mets are widely viewed as needing someone with experience and a steady hand, and Beltrans response only sharpened that conversation. He remains a beloved figure in the organization, but his uncertainty adds another layer to a search already tied to broader questions about fit, readiness and leadership. Even on a night meant to honor his place in franchise history, the discussion drifted back to the future and the challenge of finding the right person to manage it. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Are Still Waiting For These Offseason Trades To Pay Off
The Mets spent the offseason reshaping the roster with three moves that were supposed to help now and later, most notably swapping Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien and Jeff McNeil for Yordan Rodriguez. They also dealt Franklin Gomez for international bonus slot money, a quieter transaction that was meant to open another avenue for future talent. On paper, it was the kind of activity that signals a front office trying to balance immediate needs with longer-term flexibility.
But as 2026 unfolds, the return on those deals still has not arrived in the majors. Semien and Rodriguez have yet to provide the sort of impact the Mets were after, and the bonus pool space from the Gomez trade has not yet translated into any visible payoff either. That leaves these moves sitting in a holding pattern for now, with the real judgment on them likely coming only after the organization finally gets something tangible from one or more of the pieces it acquired. [Read more 🡒]