With the Mets 100 games into the 2025 season and with just over a week to go until the trade deadline, there are two things that are in focus.
First, the Mets -- whether it's by winning the NL East or securing one of the three Wild Card spots -- have a very good chance to return to the postseason, which would mark the first time in the history of the franchise that they've made the playoffs three times in four years.
Second, the Mets -- while having serious upside with their current personnel -- have real issues they must address via trade over the next 10 days if they want to cement their status as legitimate World Series contenders.
We've seen the best of the Mets (their 45-24 start) and the worst of the Mets (their 3-14 stretch), and their swoon over the last month was due in large part to rotation issues that led them to have a whole bunch of bullpen games.
While the rotation has stabilized, there are a handful of reasons why it will be one of four areas of need ranked on this list.
Here it goes...
4. Third base
With Eugenio Suarez possibly out there for the taking, the Mets have to at least explore what it would take to acquire a guy who's been one of the best power hitters in baseball this season.
Adding Suarez would transform and lengthen the lineup, giving New York another imposing bat to add to the "Fab Four" of Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso.
But the competition for him could be fierce, with the Yankees among the teams with a much bigger need at the hot corner than the Mets.
While the Mets don't have any perfect options at third base right now, they have three players who have a chance to get hot and run with the starting job -- Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, and Ronny Mauricio.
Vientos, though his defense at third base isn't great, showed last season that he can help carry a team with his bat.
Baty, a slick fielder, is starting to look more comfortable at the plate. In 69 plate appearances over his last 22 games dating back to June 23, he is slashing .311/.377/.475.
Then there's Mauricio, who has tantalizing power and tools. But he still has a ton of chase in his game.
Odds are the Mets will stand pat here, and hope one of their young players steps up.
3. The starting rotation
On the surface, things look stabilized.
After treading water for a while due to injuries, the rotation is whole again with Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, and Frankie Montas forming a strong staff.
But there are some real concerns, including Manaea's elbow (he's pitching with a loose body in it), Senga's ability to stay on the field, and -- most importantly -- Holmes' potential innings limit.
In his first year since transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation, Holmes has already thrown 108.2 innings. That is by far the highest innings total of his career, and nearly twice as many as he tossed last season (63.0).
Holmes said shortly after signing with the Mets that his goal was to throw "at least" 160.0 innings this season. If that is somewhat of a cap, it means he perhaps has just over 50.0 innings left in his arm this year. Assuming he goes around 5.0 innings per start, that could mean he has nine or 10 starts left.
But even if Holmes makes it that far, the Mets should be concerned about the lack of length they're getting. Holmes hasn't gone more than 5.1 innings since June 7, after going 6.0 innings or more in seven of his first 13 starts.
If the Mets don't address the rotation, they would be playing with fire a bit.
Perhaps they're ready to turn to Brandon Sproat and/or Nolan McLean, and would promote one of them if a need arises. But they should be proactive, which could mean targeting a pending free agent via trade like Merrill Kelly, Seth Lugo, or Zac Gallen, and sliding Holmes to the bullpen for the remainder of the season.
2. Center field
This is a glaring need, and it will be surprising if it isn't addressed via trade.
The nearly season-long injury to Jose Siri has led to New York using mainly Tyrone Taylor and Jeff McNeil in center.
In the case of McNeil, while he hasn't hurt the Mets defensively in center, he belongs at second base.
In the case of Taylor, who was very good for New York last season in a more limited role, his struggles at the plate have become too deep to ignore. He is hitting just .211/.264/.309 with two home runs in 280 plate appearances over 88 games.
While Taylor is elite defensively, his bat is one of the main reasons why New York's bottom of the lineup has struggled so much.
As the Mets look for an upgrade, the two most sensible targets are Cedric Mullins of the Orioles and Luis Robert, Jr. of the White Sox.
Mullins, a pending free agent, has slowed down since a hot start. But he has 13 homers, 14 doubles, and 14 stolen bases, and is coming off four straight seasons where his offensive performance was above average. He is also a really good defender.
Robert would bring a much higher upside, but also comes with serious risk.
He had a .657 OPS last season and it's down to .631 this season. But the aforementioned upside is enormous -- Robert had an .857 OPS over 145 games in 2023. And he's been heating up lately, with a 1.057 OPS over his last 11 games.
Robert isn't a free agent after the year, since he has club options for the next two seasons ($20 million in both 2026 and 2027). But an acquiring team could simply buy him out after the year for $2 million.
1. The bullpen
If center field is a glaring need, the bullpen is a flashing red siren making an ear-splitting noise.
Edwin Diaz is having a phenomenal season, but there is no true bridge to him.
The return of Brooks Raley will help in the late innings, and Jose Butto being back soon should help stabilize things in the middle innings. But the ups and downs of Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek have made acquiring a late-inning reliever a necessity.
As far as who the targets should be, it's fair to argue that Pirates closer David Bednar should be the top one.
After a down season in 2024 and trip to the minors earlier this year, Bednar is back in top form. He has a 2.45 ERA (2.06 FIP) and 1.09 WHIP with 45 strikeouts in 33.0 innings -- a career-best 12.3 K's per nine.
Bednar is also under team control through 2026, which would give the Mets a potential replacement for Diaz if he opts out after the season and leaves via free agency, but could also make the cost to acquire him very high.
If not Bednar, one of the Orioles' pending free agents such as Gregory Soto or Seranthony Dominguez could make sense.
