Mets 26-man roster prediction 2.0 for 2024 season
When I made my way-too-early Mets roster prediction back on Jan. 18, there were tons of free agents remaining on the open market.
At the time, it was clear that the Mets had to (and were going to) make more additions to the bullpen.
New York made those reliever adds, and -- in what really shouldn't come as a shock -- there are still lots of free agents available, including four of the biggest names.
The very talented but deeply flawed Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, and Matt Chapman remain out there, as does Jordan Montgomery.
Of the above players, Bellinger and Chapman aren't Mets fits.
As it pertains to Bellinger, the Mets have a full outfield (and are obviously set at first base), will likely see the debut of Drew Gilbert at some point during the first few months of the season, and don't seem like the team that should gamble on the boom-or-bust Bellinger.
Chapman has never been viewed as much of a fit in Queens, and -- while he's a stellar defensive third baseman -- his offensive production has taken a serious dip in recent seasons.
What about Snell and Montgomery?
The Mets will almost certainly need serious starting rotation reinforcements ahead of the 2025 season, but the wild/inconsistent Snell and the solid Montgomery (whose asking price has reportedly been beyond that of a solid pitcher) aren't great matches.
If either pitcher winds up settling for a deal of two or three years, maybe that could make sense for the Mets. But it seems obvious that their demands are still in a different stratosphere.
With the new additions and potentially more additions (DH, anyone?) factored in, here is our Mets 26-man roster prediction 2.0 for the 2024 season...
REGULAR LINEUP
Francisco Alvarez: C
Pete Alonso: 1B
Jeff McNeil: 2B
Francisco Lindor: SS
Brett Baty: 3B
Brandon Nimmo: LF
Harrison Bader: CF
Starling Marte: RF
Mark Vientos: DH
Most of the legitimate external DH options are off the board, including Jorge Soler and Justin Turner, but one very intriguing name is still out there.
J.D. Martinez, who had a stellar season for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, is unsigned. And the Mets have been in contact with him.
Perhaps the Mets will pounce on Martinez if the price is right -- something like $12 million for one year could be enticing enough.
If they don't, they'll be going internal, with Mark Vientos as the most sensible option to turn to.
Other options include DJ Stewart, Luke Voit, and Ji-Man Choi, with the latter two recently signing minor league deals. But if the Mets don't add Martinez or Brandon Belt, they should simply let Vientos -- who has immense power potential and hasn't gotten a full shot -- sink or swim.
As far as the outfield, the Mets have hinted for months that they intend to play Bader in center field regularly, and Carlos Mendoza stated it plainly on Monday.
So Bader will be in center, with Nimmo in left and Marte in right. Shortly after arriving at spring training, Marte said he feels like he can play 170 games this season -- hopefully returning to form after an injury-riddled 2023.
STARTING ROTATION
Kodai Senga: RHP
Jose Quintana: LHP
Luis Severino: RHP
Sean Manaea: LHP
Adrian Houser: RHP
Things are status quo here.
The depth behind the top five starters is strong, with Tylor Megill and Jose Butto having big league experience, and Christian Scott and Mike Vasil close to big-league-ready.
An option for later in the season is David Peterson, who is working his way back from hip surgery.
Peterson won't put a timetable on his return, but the expectation is that he will miss the first month or two of the regular season.
BULLPEN
Edwin Diaz: CLS
Brooks Raley: LHP
Adam Ottavino: RHP
Jake Diekman: LHP
Drew Smith: RHP
Jorge Lopez: RHP
Shintaro Fujinami: RHP
Michael Tonkin: RHP
In my way-too-early roster prediction, I had the Mets signing Ryne Stanek and Wandy Peralta.
They didn't nab those guys, but they made three other bullpen signings: Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, and Shintaro Fujinami.
Ottavino and Diekman are obviously locks for the Opening Day roster, and Fujinami could be as well.
However, because Fujinami has minor league options, the Mets will at least have the ability to start him in the minors without running the risk of losing him to another team. If the flame-throwing Fujinami looks good in spring training, though, he should be part of the group that goes North.
What David Stearns has done with the bullpen is assemble a group around Diaz that might not be flashy, but should be good enough to hold things down most nights.
The bullpen lacks a true shutdown guy beyond Diaz, but has two pitchers -- Lopez and Fujinami -- who have the stuff to be lights out. It will simply be a matter of which version of Lopez and Fujinami the Mets get.
Beyond that, it will come down to the Mets picking from a huge group that includes Yohan Ramirez, Sean-Reid Foley, Phil Bickford, Josh Walker, and others.
BENCH
Joey Wendle: INF
Tyrone Taylor: OF
Tomas Nido: C
DJ Stewart: DH/OF
Nothing has changed here, despite the additions of Voit and Choi.
Wendle (signed as a free agent) and Taylor (acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the deal that also brought Houser to New York) are locks for the bench.
Stewart has the ability to play right field, and should be a good option as a lefty bat with power.
Nido isn't on the 40-man roster and is currently blocked by current backup Omar Narvaez. But the guess here is that Narvaez will get traded before the season, clearing the way for Nido to be the backup for Alvarez.
