The Mets would probably like to erase 2025 from their memories. Remember how they entered the year with huge contracts and a star-packed roster, and still missed the postseason? It felt like one of the team’s toughest collapses, but now the focus has shifted to 2026. The Mets have finally begun making moves, and in classic Mets fashion, they’re already stealing the spotlight.

“Hearing some early chatter… Mets could be exploring numbers around 4 years / $88M for Edwin Díaz and roughly 3 years / $102M being floated for Pete Alonso,” MetCast shared.

The Mets might be readying qualifying offers for both Diaz and Alonso. Well, Diaz never really crossed the Mets off his list. In fact, he recently said there’s a 50–50 chance he returns. The 31-year-old opted out of the final two years and $37 million on his deal back on November 3, but the Mets still have every reason to want him back.

He’s coming off a stellar 2025 season, posting 28 saves in 62 games with a 1.63 ERA, 98 SOs, and just 21 walks over 66.1 innings, earning his third All-Star selection.

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, Diaz is looking for a contract similar to the five-year, $102 million deal he signed in 2022. So if the Mets are offering four years and $88 million, that’s essentially one fewer year but with a higher AAV, a pretty solid offer. And that figure isn’t random. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden projected the exact same number back in October, even calling the Yankees a clean fit for Díaz if he were to hit the market.

Meanwhile, Pete Alonso is also on the free-agent market after hitting .272 with 38 homers and 126 RBIs while playing all 162 games.

As per Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer, he could land a six-year, $150 million deal. So the Mets reportedly offering three years and $102 million again means shorter term, but a high AAV.

Industry projections keep pushing his number up. Just Baseball’s Ryan Finkelstein even predicted a five-year, $150 million deal for Alonso, arguing that replacing his production would be nearly impossible for the Mets.

Now, with other teams looming like the Yankees chasing Diaz and the Red Sox eyeing Alonso, the Mets might have taken the best call at the right time. The Yankees’ interest in both players has been one of the offseason’s most persistent threads, especially after their failed closer experiments with Devin Williams early in 2025 and the midseason pivot to David Bednar. Díaz, being the most reliable late-inning arm on the market, naturally sits right in their line of sight.

Whether it’s perfect timing or just innovative business, locking up both stars would put the Mets right back on a World Series track.

The Mets have more work to do on their pitching side

Even if the Mets manage to bring back both Diaz and Alonso, their starting rotation still needs upgrades. As team president, David Stearns put it, “If a front-line, top-of-the-rotation pitcher is available, we’re going to be in those discussions.”

Here’s one name already linked to the Mets: Twins starter Joe Ryan. He’s coming off the best year of his career, posting a 3.42 ERA and 10.2 strikeouts per nine over a career-high 171 innings.

He’s always been a strong swing-and-miss pitcher, and his four-seam fastball has rated among the best in the league for four straight seasons.

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But the question is whether Minnesota would even deal him. Notably, Ryan still has two arbitration years left and made just $3 million in 2025, which makes him a bargain. But with the Mets willing to spend big, it’s not impossible!!!

And of course, there’s Tarik Skubal…

With expectations that he’ll want to test free agency after next season, Detroit has a real incentive to consider trading him now while his value is sky-high rather than risk losing him for nothing. And if he becomes available, the Mets would absolutely want one of the best arms in baseball.

There’s also a growing belief league-wide that Detroit, after already offering Alex Bregman a monster six-year, $171.5 million deal last winter, won’t shy away from aggressive moves. That willingness could spill into the trade market too, which only makes the Mets’ competition even steeper if Skubal talks open up.

Nevertheless, the Mets’ offseason has already started with a splash. Now it’s just a matter of seeing how big it gets and where it ultimately leads.