Inside the Mets’ Offseason Overhaul: What Pete Alonso’s Comments Reveal About New York’s 2025 Collapse
The New York Mets didn’t just make a few tweaks this offseason-they tore it all down. President of Baseball Operations David Stearns has orchestrated a full-scale roster reset, and while the front office hasn’t spelled out every reason behind the sweeping changes, the message is clear: the 2025 Mets didn’t meet expectations, and it’s time for a new direction.
The buzz around the Mets’ clubhouse dynamic last season has only added fuel to the fire. While manager Carlos Mendoza and others have pushed back against the idea that internal friction played a major role, the roster moves speak volumes. Stearns is reshaping not just the depth chart, but the culture-starting with two key pillars: Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.
Let’s walk through what’s happened. Brandon Nimmo was traded.
Edwin Díaz and Pete Alonso hit free agency and weren’t brought back. And on Sunday, Jeff McNeil was sent to the Athletics-a move that felt inevitable, even if it still raised eyebrows.
Each transaction has peeled back another layer of the Mets’ identity, and together, they reflect a franchise in full reset mode.
But even with all the change, the chatter hasn’t stopped. The McNeil trade reignited conversations about what really went wrong in 2025.
Was it chemistry? Injuries?
Something deeper? While Soto has publicly praised Lindor-helping to quiet rumors of tension between two of the team’s biggest names-there are still questions lingering about what derailed a team that, on paper, looked like a World Series contender.
And then there’s Pete Alonso.
The former face of the franchise appeared on Foul Territory this week, and while he didn’t directly address any clubhouse drama, his comments offered a revealing glimpse into how he viewed the season-and why his perspective might not align with the front office’s.
When asked if he saw the roster shakeup coming, Alonso described the team’s pivot as a “philosophical thing.” He pointed out that the Mets missed the playoffs by just one game, citing a rash of injuries that he believes made the difference.
“It just came down to one game,” Alonso said. “There was a ton of guys hurt … if they weren’t, that would have put us in a better situation.”
On the surface, that’s a fair point. The Mets did deal with injuries.
They were close to a postseason spot. But zoom out, and Alonso’s take feels a little out of sync with the expectations surrounding this team heading into 2025.
This wasn’t supposed to be a fringe playoff team. After coming within two wins of the World Series in 2024 and adding a superstar like Soto, the Mets were expected to be in the thick of the title race.
The goal wasn’t just to sneak into October-it was to win the whole thing. So when Alonso frames the season as being undone by a single game, it raises eyebrows.
It suggests a lower bar than what the team-and its fans-had set.
To be clear, Alonso’s effort and consistency were never the issue. He played hard, stayed healthy, and continued to be a force in the lineup. But his view of the 2025 campaign doesn’t quite match the reality that led to this offseason’s fire sale.
The Mets didn’t just fall short-they fell flat. And whether the root cause was injuries, internal friction, or a misaligned locker room, Stearns clearly saw enough to start from scratch.
That doesn’t mean Alonso wasn’t valued. Players like him don’t come around often. But Stearns is betting that a new core, built around Lindor and Soto, can take the Mets where they were supposed to go last year-and beyond.
In the end, the Mets’ offseason isn’t just about who left. It’s about what they’re building next. And while Alonso’s comments may reflect how players inside the clubhouse viewed the season, the front office is operating with a very different lens-one focused not on just getting in, but getting it done.