Benjamin Grimm

Well, if they contend every year we won't be bored. But it's certainly not the model I would prefer.

Maybe they can coax James Loney out of retirement. It feels like 2026 is going to be a team of Michael Cuddyers and James Loneys. (Lonies?) I'm sure (I think) that it will be better than that, but it really may be a transitional season with stopgap veterans and young players trying to establish themselves. It may work, I suppose. Especially when 84 wins can get you to the postseason.

I just got an email from the Mets saying that spring training tickets are on sale today. I'm sure a lot of people will be jumping on that today. I know the date was prearranged, but the timing is especially bad this year. I understand that some of us are angry. I get that. I'm just sad and disappointed. I don't think I have the capacity to feel actual anger about anything the Mets do. I guess I'm just mourning the diminished amount of "Metliness" we'll see next season. If they find themselves relying on a bunch of short-termers, like Marcus Semien is likely to be then I'll feel that much less of a connection with the 2026 team. That's one of the reasons that 2015 was so much fun. There were a lot of young players, guys we thought (in some cases correctly) who would be around for years to come. Harvey. deGrom. Syndergaard. Matz. d'Arnaud. Conforto. Familia. Flores. It's possible that the 2026 team will have that vibe, if players like McLean, Baty, Benge, Tong, Sproat, Williams, Alvarez, and Vientos play prominent roles, in addition to Lindor and Soto and maybe McNeil. But if this season features a bunch of 35-year-olds who are plugging gaps, it will probably be less fun, even if they contend. That's where I'm at. I value continuity, and with Nimmo and Alonso and Diaz gone, a lot of that has been fractured.

I removed the link to the forum. Another step in the "unbranding"

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That homer in Milwaukee was one for the ages. Good guy, great Met. I'm very sorry to see him go, but I understand the reasoning behind it.

He's been great lately, but wow, he made a terrible first impression. He was arguably the main reason the Mets missed the playoffs in 2019. Just about everybody hated the trade that brought him here, but it turned out to be a pretty good one.

I just made a change. The cookies were being cached at the old site at ultimatemets.com. Hopefully this will fix it. You may experience this issue one more time, but if this works, then you should be good going forward.

The Mets didn't lose anyone in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, but they did lose three players in the minor league phase: Rockies: RHP TJ Shook (from NYM) Astros: RHP Trey McLoughlin (from NYM) Nationals: RHP Dylan Tebrake (from NYM)

I voted "make the postseason" but I really mean, go deep into the postseason. Getting in as the sixth berth and an early exit won't do. Things will look sunnier if guys like McLean and Benge step up and have standout seasons. And Alvarez and Baty and Vientos are big contributors. Something that makes the future look promising like it did in 2015.

Seaver. Strawberry. deGrom. Wheeler. Reyes. Diaz. Alonso. Stearns and Cohen have badly underestimated what losing a franchise icon means. I will never forgive David Stearns. I'm not sure that Wheeler was a franchise icon, but yeah, I get the larger point. You'd think having two longtime Mets fans running the team that they'd be more conscious of this. They say they are, but recent evidence suggests otherwise.

I think it's the Mets who can opt out of Soto's contract. After five years, they either give him a raise that would cover the final ten years, or they let him become a free agent. The contract would go from $51 million per year to $53 million over those last ten years.

It's starting to feel like 1977.

Juan Soto, I assume.

Double-check your typing.

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(I find myself tempted to pronounce his first name with the accent on the second syllable, like we do with his brother.) Reports are that the Mets have reached out to the Brewers about making a trade for Tylor's older brother. Trevor turned 32 last week. In 2025, he appeared in 50 games, saving 30 of them. 2.49 ERA in 47 innings. 17 walks, 60 strikeouts, 3 homers allowed. Two years of team control before he's eligible for free agency.

I can see players preferring the Mets over many other teams, but I can also easily see players preferring the Dodgers over the Mets.

A salary cap would hurt the Mets too.

I agree with the general consensus here. If the Dodgers had offered too many years or too much money I can see the Mets passing. But they really didn't do either. Unless maybe Diaz really didn't want to come back, or at least really preferred going to the Dodgers? They certainly are a more attractive team at this point.

What kind of issue is he seeing?

I'm seeing reports that Pete is at the winter meetings in Orlando. He has meetings scheduled with the Orioles and the Red Sox.

The forums are going to be temporarily locked. If all goes well, we'll soon be up and running in our new location. And if not, the forums will again be unlocked and I'll try again. Please stand by, and thank you for your patience.

Reports indicate that the Pirates have made a four-year offer to Schwarber. According to Ken Rosenthal, it's almost surely worth more than $100 million. (I would think that any serious offer for Schwarber would top $25 million per year.)

Mark Feinsand (that's the kind of sand you would put in your kid's sandbox) reports that the Mets are one of the teams pushing hardest for Michael King.