What We Learned About The Mets' Big Offseason Acquisitions In The Season's First Series

The New York Mets showed off their retooled roster this past weekend at Citi Field. Nine offseason acquisitions made the 26-man Opening Day squad. They represented the front office's emphatic response to last season's second-half collapse and reported clubhouse drama.

Fans and media got to form their initial judgments on the key newcomers as all of them appeared in the club's series win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. What did we learn from their play? Here's a quick rundown:

Bo Bichette's transition to third base won't be seamless

Bichette had a bumpy first series at the hot corner. He showed good hands, but his throwing was poor, a carryover from his days at shortstop. Three times he pulled first baseman Jorge Polanco off the bag with throws. All of them sailed to the arm side, an indication his release point was too low. On top of that, fans booed him for a slow start at the plate. Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Saturday that Bichette will put in the work to improve, but until that work pays off, he will be the weak link on the infield.

Devin Williams will make the ninth inning interesting

Edwin Diaz's replacement got the ninth in a 0-0 game Saturday. The results were good, but the process was messy. Williams allowed a double and a walk but then fanned Reynolds to end the threat. His pitch mix was his typical 50-50 split of changeups and four-seamers, but the heater averaged just 93.0 mph, more than 3 mph off his peak of 2019 and 2020. He was unavailable Sunday after throwing 19 pitches the previous day.

If only Luis Robert Jr. can stay healthy...

That has been the mantra around Robert the past few years. His injury history makes him a wild card. He's healthy right now, and he came up aces this weekend. He delivered a three-run, walk-off homer in the 11th inning Saturday, a pair of RBI singles on Opening Day and two more hits Sunday. He showed why the Mets took on all of his $20 million salary for 2026.

Freddy Peralta looks as advertised

Peralta's Mets debut on Opening Day looked like most of his Brewers tenure: lots of Ks, lots of pitches, lots of battling, not a lot of innings. The right-hander got through five on 80 pitches (53 strikes), striking out seven and allowing a pair of home runs to Brandon Lowe. Zero bases on balls was a positive sign, given that Peralta has a career 9.3 percent walk rate.

Marcus Semien's bat may not bounce back  

Semien had hits in his first two times up on Opening Day (thanks, Oneil Cruz), and then none the rest of the weekend. He extended the drought to 11 plate appearances by going 0-for-3 with a sac fly Sunday. Maybe his 89 wRC+ and .134 ISO last season were signs rather than outliers. The second-base defense still looks solid as he starts his age-35 season, so there's that.

Jorge Polanco had his own adventures at first base

Between lunging for Bichette's throws and knocking down grounders behind the bag, the guy who's replacing Pete Alonso had a busy weekend at his new position. The good news is he got through it without incident. His weekend at the plate was just slightly better; five walks inflated his OBP to .500.

The jury remains out on Luke Weaver 

Weaver did not resemble the 2024 version of himself. He turned in two scoreless outings, but he was inefficient. He stranded one runner in a tie game Saturday and two runners in a tie game Sunday. Control was an issue -- 20 strikes and 18 balls combined. He got the ninth inning Sunday with Williams down, but it's fair to wonder how long he'll remain the fill-in closer.