One Shot At Glory: The New York Mets’ One-Time All-Stars, Part 3

The people have spoken: Juan Soto is an All-Star, and a starter at that. He will be in the outfield for the National League on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, following the release of final fan voting results Saturday. Soto finished in the top three in the final phase of balloting, joining Brandon Marsh of the hometown Phillies and Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The result makes Soto a first-time New York Mets All-Star, after he wasn’t added to the NL squad last season. He joins almost three dozen other players — including some franchise icons — who have represented the club once at the Midsummer Classic, although we should expect him to come off the list as soon as 2027 with another selection.

Grand Central Mets has put together a three-part series on those players who got one shot at glory. Part 1 covered the period from 1962 to 1981. Part 2 covered 1982 to 2006. Part 3 covers 2007 to the present (2026).

Francisco Rodriguez (2009)

"“K-Rod” was approaching the end of his prime when he signed a three-year, $37 million contract with the Mets as a free agent in December 2008. He would remain an effective closer going forward, but he would prove to not be the guy who saved an MLB-record 62 games for the Los Angeles Angels in the ‘08 season.

None of that was obvious in July of ‘09, though. He was 23-for-26 in save opportunities with a 1.90 ERA at the break, and so he was named a member of the NL ‘pen. He finished the Senior Circuit’s 4-3 loss at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.

He ended the year with 35 saves, but a 6.75 ERA in the second half pushed his overall ERA to 3.71. The next year, there was the infamous fight inside a Citi Field lounge. Rodriguez punched his father-in-law, an act that got him suspended by the club. In 2011, with his contract running out and the Mets looking to sell, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.   

Johan Santana (2009)

Santana put a jolt into the franchise in February 2008 when he agreed to come over in a trade with the Minnesota Twins and sign a six-year, $137.5 million contract extension. He gave the Mets what they wanted: an ace. After leading the majors with a 2.53 ERA in 2008, he had 10 wins at the break in ‘09. He watched the NL lose in St. Louis.

But Santana was also pitching hurt as a Met. There was a meniscus tear in his knee in 2008. There were bone chips in his elbow that ended his season in late August of 2009. There was a shoulder capsule tear in 2010 that cost him the 2011 season. And in 2012 . . . well . . .

It was the knockout blow, and it hit after one of the greatest moments in franchise history. On June 1, Santana became a Mets folk hero by throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history. But it took him 134 pitches, and by the end, he could barely get his vaunted changeup to the plate. He seemed to rebound well, but then he hurt his ankle in July, which in turn messed with pitching mechanics. Eventually, his back and shoulder felt the effects. The last five starts of his career were painful to watch. He had another shoulder surgery after the season and could never get back on the mound. 

R.A. Dickey (2012)

Dickey went from flameout to late-career star with the Mets. The knuckleballer was a journeyman for his first nine years, but in 2010 he became a stud for New York. By 2012, he was one of the hottest pitchers in the game. He got to the All-Star Break that year with a 12-1 record, a 2.40 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 120 innings.

He worked a scoreless sixth inning for the NL in its 8-0 victory at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, and then continued his dream season. It ended with Dickey posting a 20-6 record and a 2.73 ERA. He won the NL Cy Young Award, receiving 27 of 32 first-place votes.

In the offseason, the Mets sold as high as possible on the 38-year-old right-hander. They traded Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays for a package that included Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. Dickey pitched until he was 42, but he never came close to repeating his 2012 season. 

Matt Harvey (2013)

This was no ordinary Harvey Day; the Dark Knight was stepping onto one of baseball’s biggest stages, and in Gotham, no less. Harvey got the start for the NL at Citi Field. At the time, he was carrying a 2.35 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over 130 innings. His two scoreless innings came to represent the peak of his hero arc. A few years later, he was the villain, and the turn started with an injury.

Six weeks after this game, his season ended because of a UCL tear. He had Tommy John surgery that October, costing him the 2014 season. He came back strong in 2015 and the Mets won the NL pennant. But then came the World Series. 

After losing Game 1, he got the ball for Game 5. With his team down three games to one, Harvey was at his best. He blanked the Kansas City Royals for eight innings and he wanted the ninth. Manager Terry Collins gave it to him. A walk, a stolen base and a double later, the Mets’ lead was 2-1, and Harvey was out of the game. KC tied the game on the Lucas Duda play and won the game and series.

By 2016, it was all going south for Harvey. He needed surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in midseason. (His shoulder never recovered.) In May 2017, his off-field habits caught up with him. He called in sick before a game, claiming a migraine. In fact, he partied the night before and played golf in the morning. That got him a three-game club suspension. He left the Mets after the 2018 season, and threw his last big-league pitch in 2021 for the Baltimore Orioles.  

Daniel Murphy (2014)

Murphy made his Mets bones with his unconscious 2015 playoff run, but he was a decent player before then. He was good enough to be selected by NL manager Mike Matheny to represent the Mets in the ‘14 ASG. He played the final two innings of the Senior Circuit’s 5-3 loss at Target Field in Minneapolis. He struck out his only time up, against Fernando Rodney in the eighth.

His full-season numbers that year were modest (111 OPS+, nine home runs), so seven homers in his first nine playoff games the following year were not at all expected. He flopped in the World Series, but by then no one seemed to care, certainly not the Washington Nationals. They signed Murphy to a three-year, $37.5 million contract on Christmas Eve. 

He turned into a legit slugger in D.C., setting a career high with 25 homers in 2016 and following that up with 23 in 2017. He made the All-Star Team in both seasons. But then came knee surgery after the ‘17 season. His MLB career lasted just three more years.  

Yoenis Cespedes (2016)

It’s fair to say there wouldn’t have been a Mets World Series run in 2015 without Cespedes. He put a charge into the offense after coming over from the Detroit Tigers in a deadline trade, hitting 17 homers in 57 regular-season games and two in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

He was having another strong season in 2016 when he made the All-Star Team, but he couldn’t participate because of a quad injury. It was the first in a series of lower-body ailments that plagued his Mets tenure. The most famous one was the ankle fracture he suffered in 2019 while rehabbing from heel surgery and trying to free a wild boar from a trap on his ranch. 

The Mets paid dearly, on and off the field for their association with Cespedes. They gave him two huge contract extensions: three years, $75 million after the 2015 season; four years, $110 million following the 2016 season after he opted out of the first deal. He played in 127 games for the club from 2017-20.

Bartolo Colon (2016)

The NL needed a DH, so... okay, not really. Colon made the squad because he did his day job very well, at 43 years old no less. He had a 3.28 ERA and seven wins at the break. He didn’t get into the game at Petco Park in San Diego, which the NL lost, 4-2.

It’s funny that the game was at Petco, because two months earlier, in front of the 7 Line Army, Bartolo did the impossible there.

The 2016 season proved to be his last good year. He gave the Mets 191⅔ innings — again, at 43 — and a 3.43 ERA (3.99 FIP). Unfortunately, a lot of people may remember him for that swing, but real ones know he was a horse for a long, long time. He racked up 247 wins in his 21-year career, which he never really called off. He pitched in the Mexican League in 2021 at 48 and wanted to keep going. 

Noah Syndergaard (2016)

NL manager Terry Collins was more than happy to add the guy who tried to plant a fastball in Chase Utley’s butt and sailed a heater over the dome of Alcides Escobar. Syndergaard was 23, with a rocket arm and a nasty disposition.

His All-Star berth came on the back of a 2.56 ERA (2.03 FIP) in 105⅔ innings. He was not used in the game after an abbreviated start in his last outing before the break. He ended the season with 218 strikeouts and an MLB-best 2.29 FIP.

Like many players on this list, Syndergaard suffered misfortune shortly after achieving stardom. In April 2017, he was shut down with a lat muscle tear. He pitched in just seven games that year. He was good in 2018 and decent in 2019, but during that time, he went on the injured list with the funny-sounding, but serious, hand, foot and mouth disease. He needed Tommy John surgery in 2020. His last MLB game was in 2023 for the Cleveland Guardians.

Michael Conforto (2017)

Conforto was another catalyst on the 2015 squad. The Mets called him up from Double-A in July, a year after drafting him in the first round, and he responded with nine home runs and a 130 OPS+ in 56 games. He slumped in 2016 but rebounded in 2017. He had a .945 OPS and 14 home runs when he took part in the All-Star Game at Marlins Park in Miami. He went 1-for-2 off the bench as the NL lost, 2-1.

But he, too, suffered a huge setback shortly after being an All-Star. On Aug. 24, Conforto tore and dislocated his left shoulder while swinging at a pitch in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He would miss the remainder of the season. The injury looked devastating at the time, but Conforto responded with strong seasons in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He was a 3.6 bWAR player in ‘19 thanks in part to his 33 homers and 92 RBIs. He left the Mets as a free agent after the 2021 season.

Starling Marte (2022)

Marte spent four injury-filled seasons with the Mets. His first, the ‘22 campaign, was his best. He did just enough in the first half to merit an All-Star selection: an .803 OPS, nine home runs, 10 stolen bases and strong defense. But a groin injury kept him from going to Dodger Stadium in L.A. for the game. He was replaced by Freddie Freeman.    

Kodai Senga (2023)

Senga became a sensation in the first half of his first MLB season. The fabled Ghost Fork was frightening batters, the fastball was humming, and the mound presence was intimidating. He was striking out hitters at better than a 29 percent clip. He was a logical choice to represent the Mets at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. He did not pitch in the NL’s 3-2 win. To say the next three seasons have been rough would be an understatement. There have been injuries all three years, mixed with bouts of ineffectiveness. He’s now a long reliever for New York. 

Francisco Lindor (2025)

Lindor made four consecutive All-Star Games with Cleveland from 2016-19, but he couldn’t beat out his NL shortstop contemporaries until his fifth season with the Mets. He was voted the starter for last year’s game amid a 19-homer, 15-steal first half. The Mets’ 2024 run to the NLCS might have boosted his popularity, too. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in a 6-6 tie that was settled by a home-run swing off, a.k.a the Kyle Schwarber hat trick. This year, Lindor is far from an All-Star after offseason hamate surgery and a calf stain in April.

David Peterson (2025)

This entry looks almost false given how badly Peterson pitched for the Mets in 2026, but he was worthy of the nod last year. He put up a 3.06 ERA in 109 innings before the break and was a key figure in the Mets’ rotation. He worked the fourth inning in Atlanta, giving up two hits but no runs. The wheels fell off not long after that. He put up a 6.34 ERA in the second half, and the bad run continued until the Mets traded him to the Chicago Cubs last month. 

Juan Soto (2026)

Finally, justice for Soto, who should have been an All-Star last season. Leading up to his selection, he was leading the National League with a .406 on-base percentage, fueled by a 15.6 percent walk rate, and leading the club with 18 home runs.

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