The drama of the Mets and Juan Soto: a $340 million team eliminated by two that do not exceed $120 million

Cincinnati Reds - English David Stearns - English Francisco Lindor - English Juan Soto - English Miami Marlins - English MLB - English MLB Playoffs - English New York Mets - English Pete Alonso - English Sports Steve Cohen - English

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The New York Mets have definitively closed their Major League Baseball season. In the worst possible way, with a blow in South Florida against a team with a very small payroll, the multimillion-dollar franchise from Queens could not do its homework and was left out of the fight for the World Series, a title that has been elusive for the last 39 years and that, apparently, they must take a little longer to reconquer.

The weight of such a long drought hangs over the management led by Steve Cohen and David Stearns, whose management is under scrutiny. In the offseason, they believed that taking out their wallet could put together a competitive team, while at the trade deadline they weakened their base of prospects to strengthen themselves, but neither strategy translated into success on the diamond.

After this collapse, there are many unanswered questions from the organization’s executives, who will inevitably have to restructure a payroll loaded with heavy salaries. The worst part is that this process will involve more expenses in a turbulent market with high demands from agents and players.

In 2025, the Mets played with a payroll of more than $340 million, and 126 of that was committed to three players: Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, who are not to be blamed from an individual standpoint.

Soto led the National League in OBP, walks and stolen bases, broke his career high for home runs in a season and drove in more than 100 runs, as did Alonso, who became the Mets’ all-time home run leader. Lindor, meanwhile, had a 30-30 campaign and was an example of consistency as he missed only three games all year.

The Mets are only the ninth team this century with at least three players with 30+ home runs, 85+ RBIs, 85+ runs scored, 60+ extra-base hits and an OPS over .800. Of all of them, the Red Sox and Rockies in 2019, and the Blue Jays in 2021 missed the postseason, just as the New Yorkers have now.

This means that the Mets were an unbalanced team, with individual prominence, but with a very chaotic and unstable collective performance. There is no other way to describe their season, especially after the final blow against two much smaller market teams, who without great luxuries or disproportionate salaries managed to leave them out of the playoffs.

The Reds, who secured the last National League Wild Card spot, defeated the Mets four times in six games. In Cincinnati this year they spent less than $120 million on a modest roster, in which only one player (Nick Martinez) earned more than $10 million.

Meanwhile, the Marlins, who dealt the final blow to the New Yorkers in the last series of the year and won the head-to-head 7-5, barely reached $67.4 million in salaries in 2025, with only nine players exceeding $1 million. To put things in perspective, Miami’s entire roster earned slightly more than a single Mets player: Juan Soto ($61.8 million).

This is not a pleasant outlook for the Queens boys, who have multiple fronts open for 2025. Their starting pitching was a sieve and none of the experienced men on their staff seem ready to step up as a true ace. In this area, they will place all their trust in rookie Nolan McLean, who had a very effective first contact, although his sample size is still too small to ensure that he will be able to lead the pitching staff in the future.

On the other hand, it is almost certain that the Mets will have to look for a replacement for Pete Alonso, who will once again explore free agency in search of a contract commensurate with his level. Finding a player (or group of players) with more than 70 extra-base hits and more than 125 RBIs seems like an impossible mission.

The other big question is whether they will keep Carlos Mendoza as manager, after he failed to measure up in 2025. Looking at the bulls from the sidelines in the fall and with a long winter ahead, next spring seems too far away for an organization that has many urgencies and tasks to fulfill. The worst thing is that with every step they take in the coming months they will have that feeling of disappointment after a year to forget.

This news was originally published on this post .

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Cincinnati Reds - English David Stearns - English Francisco Lindor - English Juan Soto - English Miami Marlins - English MLB - English MLB Playoffs - English New York Mets - English Pete Alonso - English Steve Cohen - English

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