The Philadelphia Phillies outfielder is not known for holding his tongue. He once called a reporter’s question “stupid” during a postgame interview and even got benched in June 2025 for an “inappropriate comment” made toward his own manager. So when he sat down for an interview, everyone knew a viral moment was possible.

And that moment arrived on Thursday, October 2, 2025, on the Foul Territory TV podcast when host A.J. Pierzynski asked Nick Castellanos if he was surprised at any of the teams that didn’t make the playoffs. “I mean, you’re always a little bit surprised when a team goes out and spends $765 million on one player and doesn’t make the playoffs,” Castellanos didn’t name names, and he didn’t have to, too.

“Am I surprised? I don’t know, because baseball is very hard,” Castellanos continued, softening the tone. “Um, but… you know, that and not talking s— or anything, uh, sorry for cursing, but, you know, usually when an acquisition like that is made, a team does better than when they… they did in the past.”

The comment hit real hard. Especially after the Mets getting disqualified from the 2025 season, coming off a 2024 season where they were unarguably more successful, even before snatching Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract from the Bronx.

Plus, the Mets had the best record in all of baseball around mid-June.

Then, the team completely collapsed in the second half, where they posted 38-55 over their final 93 games. And finished the year 83-79, a full 13 games behind Castellanos’s Phillies.

After all that $340 million in payroll and projected luxury tax spending and all that early promise, they missed October.

But blaming Juan Soto might not be quite logical. He did his part more than enough in his first year in Queens. 43 home runs, driving in 105 runs, and will likely finish in the top five of MVP voting in the coming November. Soto has a slash line of .263/.396/.525 and the NL leading 38 stolen bases with 5.8 WAR this season.

Castellanos posted a .694 OPS with just 17 home runs and bad defense. He was even platooned late in the season. Yet, his team is preparing to host last year’s champion Los Angeles Dodgers, for Game 1 of the NLDS  at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Castellanos wasn’t the only one pointing out the Mets’ epic failure.

The loudest critiques came from inside

Just one day after their season ended, Owner Steve Cohen, who bankrolled the historic payroll, wrote, “Mets fans everywhere. I owe you an apology. You did your part by showing up and supporting the team. We didn’t do our part… The result was unacceptable.” President of Baseball Operations David Stearns held a press conference, too, later that day where he took full responsibility.

“We didn’t do a good enough job of fortifying our team when we had injuries midseason,” Stearns shared, referring to the July 31 trade deadline deals where the team acquired Cedric Mullins, Ryan Helsley, and Gregory Soto.

“Tremendously disappointing season. Not nearly good enough. I think we all know that.” He further added in his 31-minute press conference, “I’m the architect of the team; I’m responsible for it… We’ve got to be better.” With that, he also confirmed manager Carlos Mendoza’s job is safe. Then what about the changes?

The starting rotation is the first area that needs a complete overhaul, as multiple pitchers are heading for TJ. Key arms like Kodai Senga have struggled since returning from the injury and have spent most of their time recovering in the team’s final and most important month. So we can expect the Mets to be aggressive for at least one top-tier free agent starter like Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, and Framber Valdez.

SNY’s Andy Martino suggested the team should try to sign one of Sandy Alcantara or Paul Skenes for their next season.

The bullpen is another that must be rebuilt. Closer Edwin Diaz is expected to opt out of his contract, and several key setup men are also free agents. The Mets should build a new relief corps from scratch, but acquiring Diaz will certainly be their priority. But the biggest question mark is the future of first baseman Pete Alonso.

So what do you think the Mets should do this offseason? Share your thoughts with us.