In a season where the goal was simply to reach the playoffs, the New York Mets did one better by coming within two wins of reaching the 2024 World Series.
Their journey ended with a 10-5 loss to the Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. But the run also opened up many possibilities for the Mets’ franchise in the near future.
“Obviously it stinks because you want to keep going, but I just told the guys how proud I was because of not only we became a really good team, we became a family,” manager Carlos Mendoza said late Sunday night. “And now we raised the bar. Expectations now, this is what we should strive for every year, to be playing deep into October. And we showed that this year.”
It will be a busy offseason for a team built on prove-it deals. Most of those players, including Sean Manaea and Luis Severino, well exceeded expectations to help the Mets achieve unforeseen heights.
As the Mets’ season comes to an end, here are the biggest questions facing the team entering the offseason:
Will Pete Alonso re-sign with Mets?
It is the biggest question for the Mets, but it will also send ripples throughout the baseball landscape.
Pete Alonso is set to become an unrestricted free agent once the season ends after making $20.5 million in his final season of arbitration in 2024.
The Mets are the only team Alonso has known since he was drafted out of the University of Florida in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft. If Alonso stays, he has the chance to be one of the all-time greats in the history of the franchise. He is already third all-time with 226 home runs and sixth with 586 RBI.
How much stock do the Mets put in Alonso’s career tenure with the team? In a contract year, he posted one of his worst seasons with a .240/.329/.459 slash line with 34 home runs, 88 RBI, 31 doubles and 172 strikeouts. But he rose up in the playoffs and delivered some of the most memorable home runs in team history.
Alonso hired Scott Boras, who squeezes all he can for his clients, but first basemen have not traditionally received the same money as other positions of value. He loves New York, but will that affinity outweigh a massive payday?
How will Mets bolster the starting rotation?
When David Stearns came on board as the Mets’ new president of baseball operations, he methodically filled in the gaps on the team’s roster with short-term options that would help provide some financial flexibility into the future.
That meant some gambles in bringing in Severino and Manaea. Severino had dealt with injuries since 2019 while Manaea was trying to reassert himself as a dependable starter following a season split between the rotation and bullpen with the Giants.
