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Offseason Outlook: Chicago White Sox

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The Reinsdorf era may be drawing to a close.  With clean books and many unsettled positions, do the White Sox have any bold offseason moves up their sleeve?

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

  • Luis Robert Jr., CF: $20MM club option ($2MM buyout); deal includes $20MM club option for 2027
  • Martin Perez, SP: $10MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)

Total 2026 commitments (if Robert's option is exercised): $38MM
Total long-term commitments (if Robert's option is exercised): $52.5MM through 2027

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Wilson, Hill

Free Agents

In last year's Offseason Outlook, we briefly touched on the bigger-picture questions of who will own the White Sox long-term and where they will play in 2030.  One of those questions has likely been answered.  In June of this year, the team announced that "Jerry Reinsdorf and Justin Ishbia have reached a long-term investment agreement that establishes a framework for Ishbia to obtain a future controlling interest in the White Sox," adding that "Ishbia will make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations."

That's the headline, but the details are crucial:

"The agreement provides that, from 2029–33, Reinsdorf will have the option to sell the controlling interest to Ishbia. After the 2034 season, Ishbia will have the option to acquire the controlling interest. In the event of any such future transaction, all limited partners of the Sox would have the opportunity to sell to Ishbia at that time. In addition to Justin Ishbia, his brother Mat Ishbia, and father Jeff Ishbia will also be significant investors. There is no assurance that any such future transaction will occur, and in no event will such a transaction take place before 2029."

If you've got 20 minutes to spare, check out this discussion between Alex Maragos of NBC 5 Chicago and Jon Greenberg of The Athletic, who has done a lot of reporting on this planned transfer of ownership.  You'll hear the word "transformative" thrown around, but there's no reason to expect a significant player payroll increase in the near future.  White Sox fans have a new sense of hope about the future of the franchise, but for the 2025-26 offseason, we don't expect much of an Ishbia effect.

The 2025 White Sox were just normal bad, rather than historically bad.  It was the team's third consecutive 100-loss season, with a 60-102 record.  The White Sox ranked 14th in the AL with 3.99 runs scored per game.  The starting rotation ranked 11th with a 4.39 ERA, while the bullpen checked in at 10th with a 4.16 mark.  The defense seemed to be bottom-five in the league.

Despite that, positives are emerging.  The White Sox have established a Kyle Teel-Edgar Quero job-share at catcher.  Teel came up in June and posted 1.9 fWAR in 78 games, including a 125 wRC+ at the plate that ranked sixth among all catchers.  Shortstop Colson Montgomery came up in July and slugged at a level well beyond anything he'd done at Triple-A: a 129 wRC+ with 21 home runs in just 284 plate appearances.

On the pitching side, GM Chris Getz snagged Shane Smith from the Brewers in the Rule 5 draft last winter, and he remarkably became the team's All-Star representative.  The righty, 26 in April, faltered in the middle of the summer but posted a 3.09 ERA and 27.1 K% over his final ten starts.

First base was a bit of a black eye.  The White Sox justifiably gave up on former third overall pick Andrew Vaughn, optioning him to Triple-A in May and sending him to the Brewers for pitcher Aaron Civale in mid-June.  The Brewers brought Vaughn up a few weeks later and he put up a surprising and robust 142 wRC+ in 254 plate appearances, plus a couple of key home runs in the Division Series against the Cubs.

The White Sox never really settled on a first baseman after moving on from Vaughn, with guys like Tim Elko, Ryan Noda, and trade deadline pickup Curtis Mead getting looks.  The majority of starts went to Miguel Vargas, who also played a bunch of third base.  Vargas flashed signs of life in May and August, but overall his 101 wRC+ doesn't really play for a starter at an infield corner.  So what can be done?

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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat, Today 3pm CT

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Steve Adams

  • Good afternoon! I'll get this going in a couple hours, but feel free to submit questions ahead of time, as always.
  • Hello there!
  • Let's get underway

Mariners

  • Mariners have announced starters for games 3 and 4 already, and woo is not among them. Do you think he appears in the ALCS at all?

Steve Adams

  • Adam Jude with the Seattle Times reported a bit ago that they're targeting a Game 5 start for Woo, so as long as the M's don't sweep, yeah I expect to see him.

Gavin Cordes

  • Should the Padres trade Pivetta for prospects and use that money to sign King longterm

Steve Adams

  • This might've felt more plausible if King had repeated his 2024 season, but his earning power was crushed pretty heavily by all the health struggles this year. I think they can probably find a way to try to keep him on a creative deal like the ones president AJ Preller has dreamt up with Robert Suarez, Nick Martinez and Pivetta himself. The Padres are pretty good at manipulating player options and back/front-loading contracts to mitigate the CBT hit but do so with a notable guarantee and a crack at returning to free agency early for the player in question.And really, because of that, I doubt Pivetta has the value many would see upon first glance at his numbers. He can opt back into free agency next season.Pivetta  was only paid $4MM this year. He's still guaranteed $51MM over three years, with $19MM of that paid out in 2026.
  • Any team trading for him knows that if he pitches like he did in '25, he's opting out, effectively rendering him a one-year rental. If he struggles or suffers a major injury, they're on the hook for $51MM guaranteed.
  • As with all player option/opt-out contracts, there's just far more downside than there is upside.

Eutaw Street

  • I know Alonso wants a 7 year deal, but those long term deals are just not popular with teams anymore. And I think it’s even less likely for a power hitting first baseman. Could something like a 4 year/$180 million deal with a 5 year player option do it for Alonso?

Steve Adams

    • I don't think Alonso has any delusions of signing a 7-year deal this winter, and I don't think any team in its right mind would do 4/180. We're going to end up predicting some $60-70MM less than that on our top 50

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Offseason Outlook: Washington Nationals

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The Nationals hoped the 2025 season would represent a step forward in their rebuild, but the opposite took place. The results were discouraging enough that ownership fired not only manager Davey Martinez but longtime president/general manager Mike Rizzo, who'd run the team's baseball operations for nearly two decades. A new front office regime will try to turn things around for a club that won more games in 2024 (71) than in 2025 (66).

Guaranteed Contracts

Other Financial Commitments

Total 2026 commitments: $49MM
Total long-term commitments: $79MM through 2030

Option Decisions

  • None

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz):

Non-tender candidates: Alfaro, Garcia, Thompson, Adams

Free Agents

The Nationals' summer ousting of Rizzo kicked off an executive search while longtime Rizzo lieutenant Mike DeBartolo ran baseball operations through the trade deadline and the end of the season. Washington spoke with executives from multiple clubs and ultimately settled on Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni to head up the organization. Because he was in the running to be promoted to Red Sox general manager under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, Toboni was hired with the title president of baseball operations. The Nats could hire a GM to work underneath him at some point, but it wasn't framed as an immediate priority at Toboni's introductory press conference.

Changes in the front office have already begun. The Nats will retain DeBartolo in a yet-to-be-announced role, but assistant GMs Eddie Longosz and Mark Scialabba are set to depart the organization amid further changes in the scouting department. Even if Toboni doesn't immediately add a general manager, it seems likely that he'll bring on some new hires to take over some of the AGM and scouting responsibilities (particularly if DeBartolo is moved to a role other than assistant general manager).

The Nats will also need to hire a new skipper. Interim manager Miguel Cairo is a candidate in the team's ongoing search, Toboni indicated this week, but the Nationals are also in the process of interviewing candidates from outside the organization. Washington is one of an incredible seven teams looking for a new manager and one of an even more remarkable nine clubs that will have a different manager on Opening Day 2026 than on Opening Day 2025.

Of course, beyond the broader changes at the highest levels of the organization, fans are more concerned with what the offseason will look like under the new regime. Toboni naturally didn't delve into specifics at his introduction. He spoke in general terms, repeatedly mentioning the desire to build a "scouting and player development monster" that eventually stands as the envy of the industry.

Even more pressing, however, is what the future holds for some of the organization's key young players. While emerging outfielders like James Wood and Daylen Lile are controlled for another five-plus seasons, many of the team's other most important contributors are already halfway -- or more -- through their original level of club control. That'll put Toboni in an interesting spot this winter as he looks to determine whether some of his core players are building blocks or whether they're best used as trade currency to further stock a farm system that, even after picking No. 1 overall in July and trading several players at the 2025 deadline, ranked 21st in the majors at Baseball America and 23rd at MLB.com.

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Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Good afternoon everyone, hope you're well! Looking forward to another of these, let's get going

NY Reds

  • Would Benge Or Jett Williams be enough to get Lodolo? Mets must be in on Zach Littel right?

Anthony Franco

  • I think Benge would at least get their attention. Doubt the Reds would be super keen on moving Lodolo for a prospect but unless they're way down on him because he had a bad few weeks in Triple-A, Benge seems like the kind of talent who'd get their attention. Not as convinced on Williams, whose offensive ceiling seems lower
  • Littell for the Mets? Sure. He's kind of boring though, that'd need to be their second of two rotation acquisitions

RJ

  • Do the Angels bring back Moncada to play 3rd next season? Or do they look elsewhere?

Anthony Franco

  • Moncada has to be like Plan F. If he's the only option available in February for $5M again, sure. They'll probably make a run at Geno, could trade for Alec Bohm or wait and see if the Phils non-tender him

Glenn inSeattle

  • How are the Mariners going to fill their openings at 1st and 3rd?

Anthony Franco

  • I buy that they're going to try to keep Naylor. If he ends up at four years in the low-mid 70s, I could see them doing that. If it gets to five years and closer to $100M, not so much. I'd probably put them on a Ryan O'Hearn type fallback at that point
  • Not sure they need to as big at third. Emerson's not far off, Williamson can handle the position defensively if nothing else. If they bring Polanco back to rotate between 2B/3B/DH and still have Bliss and Young in the mix at second, I feel like that's enough to at least bide their time to see if Emerson can take the job in the second half

Dan S.

  • When will the MLBTR Top 50 come out? One of my favorite bookmarks every off-season.

Anthony Franco

  • Five days after the end of the World Series
  • That's the cutoff point for teams/players to make option decisions and teams to decide whether to issue qualifying offers. There aren't many guys who'll make the Top 50 if the team declines a club option (Imanaga this year would be the main candidate) but player option/QO decisions have a big impact on the market, so we wait until those are in
  • Also planning to do a top offseason trade candidates list (probably not 50 but at least 20-30) that we expect to drop the morning after the World Series ends

Baseball been very, very good to me.

  • Who do you think matches up better with the Dodgers in a seven game series, Cubs or Brewers and why? Who do you think will win tomorrow nights game 5, assuming the starters are Imanaga and Misirowski? Obviously, the starters are sppeculative and both would be on super sjhort leashes.

Hope

  • Any teams that have a good shot of beating the Dodgers? I am so worried by how they are ruining baseball. They are gonna go back to back

Anthony Franco

  • I'll still take Milwaukee but predicting any single MLB postseason game is 55-45 at best
  • I do think the Brewers have a better shot at beating the Dodgers. I'd consider L.A. the favorite over either of them but it's not like they're unbeatable with that bullpen
  • Sasaki being a lights out reliever has been huge so far. Their actual relievers aside from Vesia are pretty bad

Cat_Herder

  • You're Toronto.  Would you rather Detroit or Seattle win tonight?

Anthony Franco

  • Detroit. I think Seattle's a deeper overall team and the Jays wouldn't see Skubal until Game 3
  • Non-zero chance that they'd only have to face him once in the series, especially if they take the first two at home

Stockholm, AZ

  • Hey Anthony! I know pitching is top priority, but who will play the outfield for the Diamondbacks next year? Hard to believe they won’t at least try to trade McCarthy or Thomas. And who will be on the infield corners? Lawlar has looked lost so far.

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah I'm coming increasingly around on the idea that they'll dangle Lawlar for pitching. Another team that'd probably need to be in on Bohm or Josh Jung if they do that. Blaze Alexander's a utility guy
  • Agree that they also need to add an outfielder, though I think it'll probably be a lower-cost platoon type given the expected payroll rollback and their pitching needs
  • Carroll, Thomas and an Austin Hays type. Hope for Lourdes to make it back around the All-Star Break and/or that Ryan Waldschmidt hits his way to the majors quickly

Duffy S Cliff

  • What are potential landing spots for Munetaka Murakami? Could my Red Sox go after him? What do you think his ceiling is in MLB?

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Offseason Outlook: Cincinnati Reds

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The Reds made the postseason in a 162-game schedule for the first time in 12 years. They looked overmatched against the Dodgers and were swept out of the Wild Card Series. This year was a nice stepping stone, but the Reds need to add a couple bats to pull alongside the true best teams in the National League.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Hunter Greene, RHP: $41MM through 2028 (including buyout of ’29 club option)
  • Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B: $36MM through 2029 (including buyout of '30 club option)
  • Jose Trevino, C: $11.25MM through 2027 (including buyout of '28 club option)

Other Financial Commitments

Option Decisions

  • Team, OF Austin Hays hold $12MM mutual option ($1MM buyout)
  • Team holds $6.5MM option on RHP Scott Barlow ($1MM buyout)
  • Team holds $3MM option on LHP Brent Suter ($250K buyout)

2026 financial commitments: $37.5MM
Total future commitments: $105.5MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Lux, Espinal, Gibaut, Moll, Benson

Free Agents

The Reds ranked 14th in MLB with 4.42 runs per game. That's an underwhelming mark for a team that plays in one of the league's most favorable hitter's parks. They'll need to improve upon a .245/.315/.391 batting line. The offense should be the offseason priority, but their first couple decisions are in the bullpen.

Cincinnati holds options on relievers Scott Barlow and Brent Suter. It's an easy call to move on from Barlow, who'll receive a $1MM buyout. They'll probably also opt for a $250K buyout on Suter, as the Cincinnati native struggled to a 7.36 ERA after the All-Star Break. Closer Emilio Pagán hits the market following one of the best seasons of his career. Nick Martinez will again be a free agent after playing this year on a $21.05MM qualifying offer salary.

If Pagán walks, the Reds could be in the market for a closer. They're not going to spend at the level it'd take to bring in Edwin Díaz, nor does a splash for Robert Suarez seem advisable given their needs on offense. Old friend Raisel Iglesias will be available on a one or two-year deal at age 36, though he pitched well enough with Atlanta to command an eight-figure salary. Kenley Jansen will sign a decent one-year deal, while Ryan Helsley and Michael Kopech are probably looking for pillow contracts. Devin Williams, Brad Keller, Luke Weaver, Kyle Finnegan and Pagán himself should all be looking at multi-year contracts -- though it'd be a surprise if Pagán commands more than two guaranteed years entering his age-35 season.

Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft and Connor Phillips are Cincy's top returning leverage arms. Santillan has a little bit of closing experience, while Phillips has shown wipeout stuff with hit-or-miss command. If the Reds find the prices too high on free agent closers, perhaps they'll let Santillan and Phillips compete for the ninth inning while pursuing a setup type like Tyler Rogers or Phil Maton. In any case, they should bring in at least one back-end arm.

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MLB Mailbag: Reds, Bregman, Bichette, Polanco, Braves, deGrom

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This week's mailbag gets into the Reds' offense, whether Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, and Jorge Polanco will stay with their respective clubs, trade targets for the Braves' rotation, and whether the Rangers could trade Jacob deGrom.

Bill asks:

What can the Cincinnati Reds possibly do to fix the mess that is their lineup? They need at least one big bat and probably do not have the money to accomplish that.

The Reds' offense ranked eighth in the NL with 4.42 runs scored per game.  Let's examine where the lineup stands after the Reds were eliminated by the Dodgers in the Wild Card round.

No one on the Reds had a stellar offensive season.  Almost every regular fell between a 97 wRC+ and a 109 mark, with 100 being league average.  Where can improvements be found?

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Offseason Outlook: St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals officially have a new head of baseball operations for the first time in nearly two decades. As announced at the beginning of last offseason, longtime president of baseball ops John Mozeliak has stepped aside and passed the torch to former Rays and Red Sox executive Chaim Bloom, who'd previously been a senior advisor with the Cardinals. Bloom's end-of-season press conference spelled out what had already become abundantly clear over the past 12 months: this will be an offseason unlike any the Cardinals have experienced in recent memory -- the onset of what's likely to be a yearslong rebuild.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Nolan Arenado, 3B: $42MM through 2027 (Rockies paying $5MM)
  • Willson Contreras, 1B: $41MM through 2027 (includes buyout of 2028 club option)
  • Sonny Gray, RHP: $40MM through 2026 (includes buyout of 2027 club option)

2026 guarantees: $75MM
Total long-term guarantees: $117.5MM through 2027

Option Decisions

  • None

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Alcala, King

Free Agents

For the early portion of last offseason, it seemed quite possible that the Cardinals would embark on the very type of rebuild that now seems far likelier. Instead, no-trade clauses in the contracts of veterans Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras threw a wrench into those plans. Gray and Contreras seemed unfazed by the idea of a youth movement and quickly let the team know they were content to remain in St. Louis. Arenado was open to trade scenarios but to a limited number of clubs. He wound up vetoing a trade to the Astros and remaining in St. Louis.

This time around, it seems overwhelmingly likely that at least one of those veterans will change hands. Gray candidly said after his final start that he has to consider trade scenarios this winter after talking to Bloom about the direction of the team. Contreras has said his preference is still to remain in St. Louis but he'll consider waiving his no-trade protection in the right scenario. Arenado has voiced his intent to be more open to a wider array of teams this time around.

That said, there are prominent hurdles when it comes to trading everyone from the group, and there's ample reason to wonder just how much -- if anything at all -- the Cardinals can get back in return for any of those pricey veterans. They're reportedly open to paying down some of the remaining salary (which will be a necessity), but if they really want to extract meaningful prospect value, there are more notable trade avenues to explore.

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Offseason Outlook: Kansas City Royals

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An 82-80 record is nothing to sneeze at in Kansas City, as it represented just the sixth time in the last 31 years that the Royals topped the .500 mark.  Still, the Royals took a step back after reaching the playoffs in 2024, and will again be looking to bolster their lackluster offense.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Bobby Witt Jr., SS: $272MM through 2034 (Witt can opt out after each of the final four years of the contract; Royals can trigger $89MM club option for 2035-37 seasons if Witt triggers all player options)
  • Seth Lugo, SP: $43MM through 2027 (includes $3MM buyout of $17MM club/vesting option for 2028)
  • Michael Wacha, SP: $33MM through 2027 (includes $1MM buyout of $14MM club option for 2028)
  • Carlos Estevez, RP: $12MM through 2026 (includes $2M buyout of $13MM club option for 2027)
  • Cole Ragans, SP: $12MM through 2027 (Royals hold arbitration control over Ragans for 2028 season)

Option Decisions

2026 financial commitments (assuming only Perez's option is exercised): $79MM
Total future commitments (assuming only Perez's option is exercised): $385.5MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Royals got an early jump on their offseason work when they agreed to a contract extension with Seth Lugo just before the trade deadline.  Lugo's previous deal allowed him to opt out of the contract's final year and enter free agency this winter, and the Royals seemed to at least test the trade market just in case an extension couldn't be finalized.  As it turned out, the veteran righty will now be staying in K.C. through at least the 2027 campaign, further solidifying the Royals' starting corps.

The rotation was more good than elite this season, as injuries played a role.  Lugo himself missed about a month and a half due to back and finger issues, Kris Bubic's All-Star season was ended by a rotator cuff strain in late July, and 2024 All-Star Cole Ragans was limited to 13 starts and 61 2/3 innings due to a rotator cuff strain of his own.  The silver lining to these health issues was that Noah Cameron got the opportunity to break into the rotation, as the rookie delivered a 2.99 ERA over his first 138 1/3 frames in the majors.

Better health is obviously no guarantee for 2026, yet assuming the Royals deal with just an average amount of injury misfortune, their rotation looks like one of the more solid on-paper units in baseball.  The Royals have fewer questions about their starting pitching than most clubs, due to both a high talent floor and plenty of depth.  Mutual options are almost always declined anyway, but Michael Lorenzen probably would've been moving on regardless considering all of the other pitching options on hand.

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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat, Today 2pm CT

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Steve Adams

  • Good afternoon! I'll get going at 2pm CT, but as always, feel free to submit questions ahead of time. Looking forward to it!
  • Let's begin!

Dave

  • Instead of signing K Tucker to $450 million and 10 years should the Dodgers reunite with Cody Bellinger for $150 million and 5 years?   Thanks

Steve Adams

  • I think that's a bit heavier than what both would get. I don't really expect the Dodgers to be prime players for Tucker, as I've said. Obviously they can afford to, but they've really only gone to the absolute top of the market/long-term for Yamamoto (25 years old), Ohtani (unicorn for obvious reasons) and, to a lesser extent, Betts (who was a year younger than Tucker and was an extension at a price that didn't break the bank as some might've expected).Adding Tucker (or Bellinger, for that matter) when they already have Pages and Teoscar (through 2027) just seems to further take potential ABs away from Dalton Rushing and prospects like Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope.

    Maybe they just love Tucker and don't care about blocking all those guys -- they could all be traded, I suppose -- but I'm just not big on the idea of the Dodgers shelling out nine figures for any outfielder this winter. (Others on the MLBTR staff are more open to the idea than I am, for what it's worth)

ArchTiger

  • Can a HR-driven team win in the playoffs?

Steve Adams

  • You'd have to go back to the 2019 Nationals to find the most recent time a team outside the top four in terms of home run output won the World Series. I assume you're talking more about teams that are dependent solely on home runs to score, but even that's a little different in the playoffs versus the postseason. You're just not going to face a team's fifth starter or sixth-best reliever in the playoffs unless the game's already out of hand. Every club is a little more homer-dependent in the postseason, because they're facing better pitchers who make fewer mistakes, so the difference will often come down to who can capitalize most often on the relatively fewer number of mistake pitches they see.

Ned Colletti’s Toupee

  • Does Munetaka Murakami’s value take a hit because he’s limited to a corner outfield or first base?  I know he will get paid but I don’t see him getting Yamamoto money.

Steve Adams

  • Murakami's value takes a hit because he strikes out too much in Japan, even against lesser pitching, has struggled in the past against above-average velocity (I don't have his '25 numbers against MLB-caliber fastballs handy, but the average NPB heater is like 91-92 mph), and yes, because he's a poor defender who's best suited at 1B in all likelihood.
  • I imagine there might be clubs willing to play him at 3B briefly early in his MLB run.
  • He's probably a 1B long term, but I don't think 325MM like Yamamoto has ever been plausible since his numbers dipped a bit after the back-to-back MVP wins in 2021-22. He's still going to cash in on something worth more than $100MM in all likelihood, but to your point, I wouldn't be surprised if he signed for less than half of what Yamamoto got

Steve from the Cleve

  • Cleveland needs an OF bat that can hit LHP. Robert Jr can't be had since he's on the White Sox and expensive. Tyrone Taylor was Tim Dierkes suggestion, but you might as well play Petey Halpin instead since he's a great fielder, runner and had a .734 OPS in AAA. Seems like there aren't any good options who are younger than 33

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Offseason Outlook: New York Mets

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A record $340MM payroll couldn't even guarantee the Mets a playoff spot, as the Reds edged New York out of a wild card berth via tiebreaker on the final day of the regular season.  The near-miss was the final insult after a disastrous second half, leaving the Amazins with plenty of roster decisions and perhaps some bigger-picture questions to answer during what is sure to be a busy offseason.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Juan Soto, OF: $643.125MM through 2039 (player opt-out after 2029 season, but Mets can override opt-out by adding $40MM to final 10 years of contract)
  • Francisco Lindor, SS: $192MM through 2031 ($5MM deferred annually)
  • Brandon Nimmo, OF: $101.25MM through 2030
  • Sean Manaea, SP: $50MM through 2027 ($7.75MM deferred annually)
  • Kodai Senga, SP: $42MM through 2027 (Mets receive $15MM club option for 2028 if Senga misses at least 130 consecutive days due to elbow injury/Tommy John surgery)
  • Clay Holmes, SP: $25MM through 2027 (Holmes can opt out after 2026 season)
  • Jeff McNeil, 2B/OF: $17.75MM through 2026 (includes $2M buyout of $15.75MM club option for 2027)

Option Decisions

  • Edwin Diaz, RP: $18.5MM player options for 2026 and 2027 seasons (Diaz must decide on both options this offseason; if he remains, Mets hold $17.25MM club option for 2028 season with $1MM buyout)
  • Pete Alonso, 1B: $24MM player option for 2026 (Alonso has already stated he is opting out)
  • Frankie Montas, SP: $17MM player option for 2026
  • A.J. Minter, RP: $11M player option for 2026
  • Brooks Raley, RP: $4.75MM club option for 2026 ($750K buyout)
  • Drew Smith, RP: $2MM club option for 2026

2026 financial commitments (assuming Diaz and Alonso opt out): $201.625MM
Total future commitments (assuming Diaz and Alonso opt out): $1,105,875,000

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

In almost a direct inverse of their magical 2024 season, the 2025 Mets looked like arguably baseball's best team over the first two and a half months before the bottom fell out.  The club was 45-24 at the end of play on June 12, but Friday, June 13 ended up being the start of a Citi Field horror movie --- New York posted just a 38-55 record the rest of the way, leading to increased panic in Queens as it became apparent that the season was slipping away.

Several coaches are already on the way out, including pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes.  But, manager Carlos Mendoza is staying, and president of baseball operations David Stearns isn't being fired two seasons into his tenure after owner Steve Cohen pursued Stearns for years.  Cohen has already issued a public apology for how the Mets' season ended, and it remains to be seen how the owner will react in the face of such a disappointing result.

If you're assuming the reaction will be "Cohen spends another fortune in free agency," that can't be ruled out.  Last winter's record-breaking Juan Soto contract notwithstanding, Stearns' usual strategy in free agency is to aim for shorter-term and relatively less expensive deals on the open market.  This approach simply didn't work in 2025, and during his wrap-up press conference earlier this week, Stearns took responsibility for not doing enough to reinforce his pitching staff either last winter or during the season when the rotation fell apart.

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