Is Shohei Ohtani part of the Mets' plans this winter? Here's their offseason agenda

The World Series matchup between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks showcased a strand of hope for the New York Mets.

The Rangers, who went on to win the club's first championship in their 63-year history, lost 102 games in 2021 and 94 more in 2022. The Diamondbacks grabbed the final playoff spot in the National League with a 84-78 record, easing past the Chicago Cubs by one game.

With that series wrapped up now, the Mets' reconstruction project begins in the shadow of a disappointing 75-87 campaign. That venture will be headed by new president of baseball operations David Stearns under the jurisdiction of owners Steve and Alex Cohen.

The laundry list is long as the Mets front office begins to craft a plan to make a run rivaling that of either the Rangers or Diamondbacks.

As the offseason gets underway, here are the major questions that need to be answered for the Mets:

Who will be the next Mets manager?

The first order of business for Stearns as the offseason gets underway will be deciding who will lead the Mets in the dugout and in the clubhouse as manager.

The logical candidate appears to be Craig Counsell. The 53-year-old former major leaguer spent the last nine seasons as Milwaukee Brewers manager, taking the helm in the same season that Stearns became the team's general manager and remaining there through this season.

The Mets received approval to interview Counsell before his contract expired this week, but they will have to pull him away from the Midwest where he was born and where his four children reside. Counsell also interviewed for the Cleveland Guardians' opening this week.

When he was introduced, Stearns said he would cast a wide net to find the right fit, including those who would be first-time managers. The Mets interviewed a would-be neophyte manager this week in Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, along with Cubs bench coach Andy Green, who is looking for a second chance after four seasons leading the Padres, for the vacancy left by Buck Showalter.

Will Mets hire a general manager?

For right now, the Mets have Stearns leading the charge in all of the club's team-building decisions. That's a position Stearns is comfortable with after he spent seven years as the Brewers' general manager, rising to president of baseball operations in 2019.

However, it has been clear that Steve Cohen has been seeking a tandem approach at the top of baseball ops since he bought the team in November 2020. It took nearly three years to find the right match at the top.

And Cohen's plan may have hit a snag early last month when GM Billy Eppler resigned, citing new leadership, and amid a reported investigation into his handling of the injured list.

Now, the question is just how long will Stearns be making baseball decisions without a sidekick as GM.

What will Mets' starting rotation look like?

The Mets only have one impending free agent in Carlos Carrasco, who is unlikely to return following a disappointing 2023 season that saw him post a 6.80 ERA across 20 starts.

They have a cornerstone piece in Kodai Senga, who impressed with a 12-7 record, 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts across 166⅓ innings and 29 starts in his first MLB season after signing a five-year deal coming over from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

After missing the season's first four months following bone graft surgery, Jose Quintana showcased the quality dependability that the Mets had hoped to receive in 13 starts, as he posted a 3.57 ERA and 1.31 WHIP.

The Mets will need to fill out the top of their rotation if they hope to contend after they traded away Max Scherzer to the Rangers and Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros at the trade deadline.

The team has a host of options deeper in the rotation, with David Peterson and Tylor Megill showing improvement late in the season, Joey Lucchesi bouncing back from Tommy John surgery, and Jose Butto emerging as an option.

The top end of the free-agent pitching class includes Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray and perhaps Japanese import Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Mets, money and free agency: Is Shohei Ohtani in play?

When Stearns was introduced in early October, he said the quest for sustainable competitiveness was a "needle to thread" between putting together a contending team in 2024 but also not detracting from a competitive product beyond next season.

Despite spending a record amount of money in 2023, the Mets fell well short of their goal.

"One thing is clear, especially this year, we're not the only team that spent a decent amount of money and maybe it didn't work out the way we had hoped that it would work out," Cohen said. "It's really about finding the best ballplayers, putting together the best team we can, and cost is not necessarily the determinant of success or not."

Money does, however, certainly help at the negotiating table. Cohen has shown a willingness to spend but now he must walk a tight-rope for how he will approach this free agency based on what he's learned the last few seasons.

The rule-breaker could be Shohei Ohtani, the two-way player, who has ripped more than 40 home runs in two of the last three seasons, while making 74 starts. His cost is clouded by an elbow injury suffered down the stretch this season.

Senga's success is likely to help inflate the value of Yamamoto, who is five years younger. Former NL MVP Cody Bellinger could fill a need in the corner outfield, but he's bound to fetch one of the largest contracts of any position player.

The Mets' approach will be something worth watching as the free-agent chips come off the table this winter.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets offseason: Shohei Ohtani, trades, rumors and free agency