Major League Baseball’s offseason is underway. Front offices are in the early stages of implementing their plans to make their respective clubs better moving forward.

One club people should expect to be at the forefront of MLB’s offseason is the New York Mets. Owner Steve Cohen isn’t afraid to flex his financial muscles. President of Baseball Operations David Stearns will have access to the necessary resources to make them a strong World Series contender next year.

“We’ve got financial flexibility,” Stearns said on Oct. 23 during his end-of-season news conference. “It means that pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us.”

A decent number of 2024 Mets are currently free agents. Starting pitchers Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana are on the market. Combined, those three made 94 starts in 2024. Starting pitching is priority No. 1.

First baseman Pete Alonso is also a free agent. Alonso had a solid 2024. It was not his best campaign, but a slow finish to the regular season was followed by a strong postseason. Alonso has been a key middle-of-the-order bat for the Mets since debuting in 2019; he has a career .514 slugging percentage with 226 home runs.

On top of those four, other 2024 Mets that are on the free-agent market include Harrison Bader, J.D. Martinez, Adam Ottavino, Phil Maton, and Ryne Stanek.

The Mets have a lot of needs. And with a good chunk of money now off their payroll, Stearns expects them to spend some cash over the next few months.

“We have a lot of money coming off the books,” Stearns told reporters. “I would expect us to spend some of that – a good portion of that – to compliment our team; to improve our team heading into next year.”

Don’t expect New York’s front office to get crazy. While they’re going to spend this offseason, they want to remain financially flexible moving forward.

“We’re also not going to do anything that hamstrings us in future years and prevents us from adding to our core group [in the future],” Stearns said.

With so many needs, the Mets are going to be active between now and the start of spring training. They may end up being the most active organization during that time span.

The free-agent market has fits for New York. In terms of starting pitching, they could bring back one, or two, of Manaea, Severino, and Quintana. Then, they could get aggressive and sign someone like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, or Blake Snell. Adding three starters could cost about $55 million in 2025 and $250 million overall if they sign a top-of-the-market arm.

Re-signing Alonso should certainly be a priority. Not bringing him back would create a hole in the middle of the team’s lineup. A deal worth $125 to $140 million over five years ($25 to $28 million per year) sounds reasonable.

In the bullpen, New York will probably need to add two, maybe three arms. Ottavino was their second-most-used reliever during the regular season. Maton and Stanek pitched plenty down the stretch and in the playoffs. Adding a trio of relievers could cost around $30 million in 2025 money. If they sign one of those relievers to a multi-year pact, their overall bullpen spending could come in at around $50 million.

Martinez was New York’s designated hitter in 2024, making 489 plate appearances. Bader played more than 1,000 innings in center field. He could be replaced internally, with Tyrone Taylor taking over in center. Replacing Martinez could come internally, too, depending on roster construction.

And then comes the biggest fish swimming around this winter’s free-agent pond. The Mets are expected to heavily pursue Juan Soto. He’d be a great fit for any team. At 26, Soto would become the face of Mets baseball, alongside Francisco Lindor, for the next decade-plus. His new deal could be worth at least $47 million per year. Altogether, it could total at least $560 million – a conservative estimate.

Adding all those rough numbers up brings New York’s potential 2025 spending to nearly $160 million. The total potential guarantees are in the ballpark of $990 million.

All of the Met’s needs would be filled by doing everything above. It would cost a lot, and maybe it “hamstrings” the organization, which Stearns doesn’t want. But in order to contend at the top of the league, money has to be spent.

The Mets want to be World Series contenders in 2025. As a club with a longer list of needs, they’re going to have to spend, and maybe make some trades, to become just that. A very active offseason is ahead.

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