After a disastrous 2023 season, there have been a lot of changes for the Mets. They have a new president of baseball operations, a new manager and plenty of new faces on the roster. With 2024 planned on being a sort of bridge year, the offseason moves ended up staying on the modest side, though there were many of them. Major League Signings LHP : (Manaea can opt out after 2024) RHP : plus incentives OF : plus incentives RHP : LHP: : (deal includes club/vesting option for 2025) RHP: : plus incentives IF : plus incentives RHP : RHP : split deal, $400K in minors RHP : * (later outrighted off 40-man) 2024 spending: $55.65MM Total spending: $69.15MM * Adams salary courtesy of the Option Decisions C $7MM player option Team $6.5MM option on LHP instead of $1.25MM buyout RHP $6.75MM player option but later was Trades and Claims IF off waivers from Tigers C/OF off waivers from (later to Giants) C off waivers from Blue Jays (later to Red S0x) Rule 5 pick RHP to Red Sox for LHP and cash considerations RHP from White Sox for cash considerations RHP and OF from Brewers for RHP IF/OF off waivers from Diamondbacks (later lost on to Yankees) RHP off waivers from Pirates LHP off waivers from Angels Notable Minor League Signings , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Extensions None Notable Lo ses , , , , , (lost on waivers), (non-tendered), (non-tendered), (non-tendered), (non-tendered), (non-tendered) What a difference a year can make. Last winter, the Mets re-signed and to huge deals and added and to their pitching staff, which had them opening 2023 with World Series aspirations. But a series of injuries saw them fall out of contention quickly, which led to a deadline selloff that sent Verlander, and others packing. Scherzer had no-trade protection but that he was told by the front office that 2024 was going to be something of a transitional year. With the club looking to do a sort of reboot, he decided to take the opportunity to head elsewhere and was able to win a World Series in Texas. As the Mets became focused on changes, they started at the top of their baseball operations department. David Stearns was hired to be president of baseball operations, a move that had been anticipated for years. Stearns is a New York native who grew up a Mets fan and he stepped down to a le ser role in his final year with the Brewers. That seemed to pave the way for him to jump to the Mets, which came to fruition in October. General manager Billy Eppler was initially expected to stay on and work under Stearns but he later stepped down. It was revealed that Eppler was under investigation for misuse of the injured list and he didnt want to be a distraction as that played Rudy Gay Jersey out. MLB eventually announced that Eppler will be placed on the ineligible list for the entire 2024 season. The Mets have not replaced him to this point, with Stearns atop the decision-making pyramid and several a sistant general managers and others helping him out. Change in the dugout was also on the menu, as one of Stearns first moves was to fire manager Buck Showalter. The Mets were connected to the high-profile Craig Counsell drama, which made some sense since Counsell was looking to push managerial salaries as high as po sible and Mets owner Steve Cohen is famously not shy about spending. Counsell and Stearns also worked together with the Brewers for many years, but the Mets ultimately didnt seem to be interested in that bidding war, with Counsell landing with the Cubs. Instead, the Mets pivoted to Carlos Mendoza, who has been a coach with the Yankees for the past 18 years. This is his first managerial gig, which is why his earning power is significantly le s than that of Counsell. Mendoza will make a total of $4.5MM over three years while Counsell will be making more than that annually, as he got a five-year, $40MM deal from the Cubbies. With the front office and dugout leaders selected, the attention turned to the roster. Since the Mets have been so aggre sive in past winters, they were connected to some big names like and . That interest didnt really align with their plan of dialing things back this winter, but there were reasons to think they might make an exception. Ohtani is a unicorn talent and the ability to sign a player like him had never come up before and likely wont ever happen again. Yamamoto is also incredibly talented and hit the open market at the age of 25, a situation thats also fairly unprecedented. The Mets seemed to at least consider these unique situations but ultimately didnt land either player, with both of them going to the Dodgers. They made a real run at Yamamoto, reportedly offering the same 12 year, $325MM terms which he accepted from Los Angeles. Once they mi sed on those two, they seemed to have little interest in other top free agents, instead focusing on guys who could be signed to short-term deals. The rotation was an obvious focus, with Verlander and Scherzer having been dealt last year. also hit free agency, creating another opening and leaving the Mets with just Senga and as established starters. One depth option was also subtracted over the winter when underwent hip surgery that will keep him out of action until the middle of 2024. The Mets interest extended to pitchers like , , and , but they ultimately landed deals with a couple of bounceback candidates. agreed to a two-year deal with an opt-out on the heels of a poor season with the Giants but one in which he . If he can carry that over with the Mets, it could be a nice buy-low move for them. was also brought aboard on a one-year deal in somewhat similar circumstances. He was once arguably an ace but has been battling injuries and poor performance over the past five years. If he can get over his health problems, and the rumors he was tipping his pitches last year, he could also be a nice find. In addition to those two, the club brought aboard from the Brewers, the former club of Stearns. Those three were planned to be paired with Quintana and Senga but the latter is going to mi s the start of the season due to a posterior capsule strain. The club doesnt seem like it will bring in any further additions, relying on depth arms to get by until Senga returns, perhaps in May. is probably the favorite to step in, though and are also on the 40-man roster. In the bullpen, the club deployed a similar strategy of spreading money around to various targets. Adam Ottavino was brought back, while the club also gave roster spots to , , and . They briefly gave a spot to , though he was later outrighted, putting him in the position of providing non-roster depth alongside various minor league signees. A lot of those guys are inconsistent and/or wild, but the club just needs a couple of them to be in good form to be happy with their relief corps. will be coming back after mi sing all of 2023 due to knee surgery and the club has incumbents and still on hand as well. On the position player side of things, the club was mostly focused on marginal moves. They have flirted with but hes still a free agent of this writing. Adding on a one-year deal was the most significant of the moves they did make, as that pushes into a corner and upgrades the defense. , acquired in the same deal as Houser, also bolsters the group in terms of glovework. He should be in a fourth outfielder role behind Nimmo, Bader and . On the infield, the club had a bit of a question mark at third base, with struggling in 2023. The Mets were connected to guys like and this winter but seemed content to leave the spot open as a battle between Baty, and . The latter unfortunately suffered a torn ACL and will mi s most or perhaps all of this year, but the Mets didnt pivot to other free agents. They did add , who could perhaps step in if neither Baty nor Vientos take hold of the spot, but hell ideally be in a utility role. Perhaps the biggest storyline in their position player group this winter was about what they didnt do. With the club undergoing this sort of retooling and set for free agency at the end of 2024, there was plenty of speculation about whether the club would consider either a trade or an extension. Ultimately, neither came together and Alonso will go into 2024 in wait-and-see mode. If the club is in contention, he will likely be a big part of that and would be a lock for a qualifying offer at seasons end. If they slip out of the race again, he could find himself as the top rental player available at the deadline. That situation is a mirror of the club as a whole right now. Despite the frustrations of 2023, the club comes into 2024 looking like a Wild Card contender. The lineup still features incumbents like Alonso, Nimmo, , , Marte and . Breakouts from Baty and/or Vientos could be a huge help, as could a healthy Bader. Perhaps can carry forward his hot streak from the second half of last year. The pitching staff isnt as exciting as last year when they had two future Hall-of-Famers but it could be decent if a few things break right. There are many ways the 2024 season could go, from surprising contention to another dismal summer and another deadline selloff. As they see how things go in the coming months, they will be keeping a close eye on a few youngsters. In addition to seeing how the third base competition plays out, they have prospects like , , and who will all be in the upper minors and perhaps pushing for big league debuts. The Mets are, in many ways, in between this and that. Their modest offseason is a result of that uncertainty. They are still way over the competitive balance tax this year thanks to their previous aggre sion, but they have limited their future commitments. Per , this years CBT number is $328MM but it will drop all the way to $171MM next year. That doesnt include raises for arbitration-eligible players, and they should have plenty of holes to fill with all of these one-year deals expiring, but it highlights how different things could be next winter. As the Mets and their fans know, a lot can change in a year. How would you grade the Mets' offseason? C 42.50% (1,570votes) B 24.34% (899votes) D 20.76% (767votes) F 9.10% (336votes) A 3.30% (122votes) Total Votes: 3,694 David Robinson Jersey