There are myriad holes the Mets must try to fill this winter, but president of baseball operations David Stearns suggested Tuesday during the general managers’ meetings that second base isn’t one of them (via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and SNY’s Chelsea Janes). Stearns noted that with Marcus Semien, Brett Baty and several prospects on the cusp of being MLB ready, they are confident in their second base group. First base and the pitching staff are the main areas of focus right now.
Both Semien and Baty are coming off bad seasons. The former hit just .215/.280/.340 and saw his typical elite defensive marks drop below average during his age-35 season. However, he receives $25 million per season through 2028, leaving the Mets with no choice but to hope for a rebound. Baty, a former top prospect at third base, broke out in 2025 while splitting his time between multiple positions. His follow-up in 2026, however, only saw him slash .238/.311/.374.
Even if the season numbers of the two players do not seem important, Baty got back up with a big second half. Over his last 190 plate appearances – starting July 1 – he has hit .279/.337/.488. It’s a small sample size with plenty of platoons to go with it, but that finish, coupled with his quality in 2025, likely gives the Mets some confidence in his ability to play a leading role in 2027.
New York also has young people Jefferson Rojasthe headline of the exchange that sent Clay Holmes And Tyrone Taylor to the Cubs, approaching his big league debut. He’s widely considered a top-100 prospect and is coming off a .274/.338/.505 hit line in 554 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A – all during his age-21 season. The Mets’ first round in 2025, Mitch Voitfinished in Double-A this season, but had a strong performance in his own age-21 season. Emilien Pitreacquired from the Rays in the Freddy Peralta trade, hit High-A and Double-A pitchers during his age-23 season this year, but slowed down a bit in a small sample size of 20 games at Triple-A. However, all three can play second base, so it’s understandable why the Mets wouldn’t feel obligated to pursue a veteran such as Brandon Lowe, Luis Arraez Or Jazz Chisholm Jr. in free agency.
First base is a different story. The original signing last year of Jorge Polanco – made with the thought that he was playing a lot of first base – was an abject flop. Polanco barely saw the field due to injury and was not effective when he was on the field. Thirty-one years Jared Youngrecovered in December 2024 after a nice run in the Korean Baseball Organization, had a career-high 342 big league plate appearances last season and hit .266/.330/.429.
He’s middling production, backed by plenty of platoons, but the Mets are confident he can be part of the solution. Janes notes that Stearns hasn’t ruled out bringing in a left-handed bat to play first base regularly, but specifically mentioned Young as a potential option. A platoon duo of righties could make sense, but it’s not an easy sell for many free agents.
Ty France will obviously look for a daily role after a big 2026 season. The candidates bounce back as Alex Bohm And Ryan Mountcastle I’d probably rather sign somewhere with more playing time than a short timeshare at first base. The commercial market might have some options. Speculatively, names like Jake Burger Or Royce Lewis might do the trick, but it’s a bit surprising if the Mets are indeed content to roll with Young and a platoon partner as their preferred setup out of the gate. A name not in the mix is Juan Soto. Stearns specifically told reporters today that Soto is focusing on left field.
On the pitch side, we already know that Tarik Skubal is a target. The Mets have scheduled a meeting with him next week. They will likely participate in a variety of impact rotations and bullpen upgrades while also looking for fits to a potential deal. Kodai Senga elsewhere.
Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported this morning that several clubs have asked about Senga. It’s probably a cheap ability to buy, of course. Senga’s 2025 season got off to a dominant start followed by a catastrophic slump that resulted in him being optioned to Triple-A and spending the remainder of the year in the minors. He looked sharp in his first two starts of the ’26 campaign before once again falling into a calamitous run of poor results — an 11.48 ERA over his next 26 2/3 innings.
Senga finished with intriguing results as a reliever. Over his last 16 2/3 innings, he’s notched a 3.78 ERA with a 22-to-9 K/BB ratio, sitting at just under 97 mph with his heater going. If the Mets are willing to pay off the majority of his contract, he could draw interest as a low-cost bullpen driver for a budget-strapped team. Senga has a partial no-trade clause, but it’s possible he would appreciate a change of scenery.
For now, Stearns told Mike Puma of the New York Post and others that the plan is for Senga to return to being a starting pitcher whenever camp begins. This is natural, as it is much easier to develop as a starter and “step down” to a relief role than the other way around. Time will tell if the Mets can find a buyer and recoup some of the remaining money owed to them, but it’s worth noting that Senga has at least garnered interest from some other clubs as a rebound candidate.
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