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Every year, teams are tasked with retooling their bullpens and the Mets are no different.

However, this offseason adds an extra wrinkle to the plans of president of baseball operations David Stearns. The free agency of Edwin Diaz.

The Mets closer opted out of his contract to test free agency, and after a dominant 2025, the right-hander is looking for a big payday. And while Diaz says he would "love to come back" to the Mets, he and the organization will need to undergo negotiations to make that happen.

"We love both Pete [Alonso] and Edwin. They've been great representatives of the organization," Stearns said of both free agents at Tuesday's GM Meetings in Las Vegas. "We'd love to have them both back. At this stage of the offseason, it’s really tough to predict any outcomes, but certainly, we would love to have both those guys back."

The last time Diaz approached free agency, he signed a five-year $102 million deal during the Mets' exclusive negotiating window in November 2022. He made $21.155 million in 2025 and will likely receive a raise after converting 28 saves and pitching to a minuscule 1.63 ERA across 62 appearances last season. 

But are Stearns and the Mets willing to offer a high-dollar contract to a closer like Diaz? Stearns remained coy but didn't rule out the possibility.

"We’re always evaluating each situation on the individual situation," he said. "I try not to draw lines in the sand. We understand the benefits and risks of investments in every segment of the player market; that’s part of the work that we do. We’re never going to rule out any type of player or go after any type of player."

Aside from Diaz, the Mets will also have to fill holes left by Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto, among others, so Stearns has work to do this offseason, but the executive was asked if there's an internal option to be a closer if Diaz were to sign elsewhere.

Stearns was non-committal but said the team will be involved in the reliever market.

"I’d imagine over the course of the offseason, we’re going to add to our bullpen," he said. "You never know how the back-end of your bullpen is going to take shape, but I imagine over the course of the offseason we’re going to add to our bullpen. We have plenty of vacancies and I think we have the opportunity to improve in that area." 

The MLB GM Meetings kicked off in Las Vegas on Tuesday with Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns speaking to reporters about the team's offseason so far and its plans going forward.

One of the main topics for New York heading into the 2026 season surrounds the starting rotation and how it can be improved after a disappointing 2025. Injuries and poor performance were the main issues last year, something Stearns acknowledged, especially with how the replacements after injuries did not perform well.

Kodai Senga, who missed nearly the entire 2024 season due to injury, was third on the team in starts with 22, behind only Clay Holmes (31) and David Peterson (30). He looked like an ace and his 2023 self during the first half of the season, but after suffering a hamstring injury in June, he never got back to form and found himself in the minor leagues in September. 

The right-hander's future in Queens is a bit murky and his name has been mentioned in trade rumors, but Stearns still sees him as part of the rotation and not the bullpen.

"I think right now we view Senga as part of our rotation," Stearns said. "He's proven at the major league level that he can have really good years. Clearly, the last two years, at times, have been struggles for him.

"The talent is there, the desire is certainly there to have a bounce-back year. We're going to give him every opportunity to do that."

On paper, the Mets' current starting rotation would then consist of Peterson, Holmes, Senga, Sean Manaea, and Nolan McLean. Of course, Stearns will also have to consider Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat in that mix as well, barring any major trades. 

David Stearns on if Kodai Senga could pitch in the bullpen next season:

"Right now we view Senga as part of our rotation. The talent is there, the desire is certainly there to have a bounce-back year. We're going to give him every opportunity to do that" pic.twitter.com/ho9JkCLmN4

— SNY (@SNYtv) November 11, 2025

Stearns was later asked about the team's "commitment to finding" a No. 1 starter this offseason, whether that be through a trade or free agency signing. The Tigers' Tarik Skubal and Marlins' Sandy Alcantara are among names being floated around as potential trade targets, while Stearns made it clear they will do all they can to find a top-of-the-line pitcher, including developing one within the organization.

"You'd always love to find a No. 1 type starter," Stearns said. "I don't know how many true No. 1 starters are out there right now. I don't know how many are actually going to be traded, I don't know how many are truly available in free agency. You'd always like to find that top of the rotation guy, certainly makes building out the rest of the rotation, rest of the pitching staff a lot easier. If one of those guys happens to be available, we'll be right there with them.

"I will also go back to what I've said many times, the way to ultimately have a true ace on your staff is to develop the ace on your staff. I think we're on our way to doing that. I think we will do that. We're going to continue to try to supplement that in any way we can."

McLean showed he has what it takes to become the No. 1 starter Stearns is referring to after an impressive eight starts at the end of the season. Although other young players could be moved to land a top pitcher, something Stearns made clear the Mets are willing to do.

"I think we have numbers in the starting pitching staff," Stearns said. "I remain very optimistic about the younger starters that we have, about the guys we have coming even behind the group we saw get its feet wet at the major league level.

"We're also certainly not going to turn away from any opportunities that we think makes ourselves better at the major league level. We'll be looking at starting pitching in both free agency and trades. Very early for me to predict how active or what discussions are actually going to take place, but we're certainly going to be involved in that market."

Stearns reiterated that the Mets will have their hat in the ring for any top starting pitcher this offseason, and believes they've built up the farm system to properly execute a big trade.

"I think if a front-line pitcher, top-of-the-rotation pitcher is available, we're going to be involved in those discussions. There are limits to what we would do, as there would be for any player. But we do have the depth and quality of farm system at this point that we can both have those players impact our major league team in a real way and potentially trade some of them to get some really near-term help if that's available."

Almost everyone in baseball, it seems, is waiting to see how aggressive the Dodgers will be this offseason.

For now, that appears to include the two-time defending champions themselves.

As the club’s front office arrived at The Cosmopolitan Hotel for MLB’s annual general managers' meetings this week, the team’s plans for this winter remained in a formative stage.

The Dodgers should have plenty of financial flexibility to play with in the coming months, with more than $60 million in salary from last season set to come off the books (resulting from Clayton Kershaw’s retirement, the expiration of contracts for Michael Conforto, Kirby Yates, Michael Kopech and others, and the team’s decision to designate Tony Gonsolin for assignment last week).

Read more:'Work to do': Four questions the World Series champion Dodgers face this offseason

They could also use upgrades at some of the deepest positions in this year’s free agent class, namely a corner outfielder (where Kyle Tucker beckons as the biggest name available) and another top relief arm at the back end of the bullpen (where Edwin Díaz, Devin Williams, Robert Suarez and Pete Fairbanks will all be on the open market).

Add in a farm system that MLB Pipeline ranked as the best in the majors this year — giving the Dodgers plenty of chips to use in a potential trade as well — and the team could be poised for another splashy offseason of big-name acquisitions.

Or … they could stand relatively pat.

After all, there is no blockbuster move the Dodgers feel like they need to make this winter. Having virtually all of their star-studded core intact means, even compared to last winter, their urgency for another offseason of star additions could very well be less pressing now.

That was the tone general manager Brandon Gomes struck on Tuesday while discussing the team’s winter plans — acknowledging the outfield and bullpen as areas the Dodgers will explore this winter, but stopping short of describing either as outright “needs.”

“By being aggressive over the last couple offseasons, we do have a very, very good core in place,” Gomes said. “So it’s continuing to fine-tune and look at what the weaknesses on the roster are and try to address those … It’s being very targeted in who we go out and look to acquire. I think that holds true across the board, without many glaring holes.”

As a reminder, here’s where the Dodgers’ 2026 roster stands.

The starting rotation? Stacked, with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and a host of other young pitchers all slated to be back (including Gavin Stone and River Ryan, breakout rookies in 2024 expected to have normal offseasons after missing last year with surgeries).

The lineup? Relatively unchanged, with Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas representing the only out-of-contract players who played important roles in the postseason (and they, of course, remain options to be re-signed, too).

The bullpen? That group could certainly use some more help, after Tanner Scott struggled in the closer role last year. But even there, the Dodgers still possess plenty of depth in Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Jack Dreyer, Blake Treinen, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Brock Stewart, Edgardo Henriquez and a number of other young pitchers who could step into big-league roles (plus the returns of Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips from injury).

Read more:How Dodgers' Will Smith turned into a Game 7 World Series hero

And on the whole, Gomes described the Dodgers’ expected 2026 pitching staff as being “as good as we’ve ever had.”

That’s why, at least at this juncture, the Dodgers’ aggressiveness this winter remains unclear.

They are in their preferred place as an organization — able to see how the market develops, without facing an overwhelming need at any one spot.

“I think the mindset is still to approach the offseason and not have to go out and make big splashy trades at the deadline,” Gomes said. “But what that all looks like? Thankfully, we haven’t had a ton of time to dive in, but we’re gonna look to do that here over this week and the coming weeks.”

The team’s pursuit of Tucker could provide the first big tell of the offseason.

As far back as the summer, the Dodgers were seen around the industry as a likely front-runner for the four-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger. As a left-handed bat who would fit perfectly into the middle of their lineup, and someone who will be only 29 by the start of next year, Tucker represented the kind of still-in-his-prime, star-caliber player whom the Dodgers always want to be in position to go after when available.

However, Tucker will not come cheaply. He is likely to field offers of 10-plus years. He could drive a bidding war upwards of $400 million to $500 million.

For all the Dodgers’ short-term financial flexibility, it is fair to wonder how many more lucrative, long-term deals they want to add to what is already an aging core.

Thus, the higher the price for Tucker becomes, the less likely it could be he winds up in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, Gomes spent more of his time touting the internal outfield options the Dodgers already boast — from deadline addition Alex Call, to utilitymen Hyeseong Kim and Tommy Edman (who will undergo surgery next week on his nagging ankle injury, but is hoped to be ready for spring training), to triple-A MVP Ryan Ward, who was added to the 40-man roster last week and is expected to “get a bunch of opportunities at some point this year,” Gomes said. The door also remains open to backup catcher Dalton Rushing potentially getting some time in the outfield again, after he struggled with limited playing time behind Will Smith.

Read more:Dodgers pick up club options on Max Muncy and Alex Vesia; Tony Gonsolin and Justin Dean DFA'd

Gomes was similarly complimentary of the Dodgers’ current relief corps, even maintaining belief in Scott to “come back and have a great year for us next year, and be right there in the mix to pitch at the back end of games.”

It would still be a surprise if the Dodgers don’t swing some notable addition to the bullpen. The depth of options on the free-agent market (especially in players such as Williams and Fairbanks, who have been trade targets of the team the past couple years) should make finding an acquisition there a more likely endeavor.

Yet, Gomes insisted that a top reliever is less of a need and more of a “nice-to-have.”

Really, that figures to be the theme of the Dodgers’ entire offseason: Searching for upgrades on terms they like, without feeling pressured to make another wave of top-dollar acquisitions.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Just like a year ago, Pete Alonso's free agency is the talk of the Mets offseason. 

The franchise leader in home runs and Edwin Diaz declined their player options to explore free agency ahead of the 2026 season. Both players are the biggest names potentially leaving the organization and president of baseball operations David Stearns was asked about both when he met with the media on Tuesday night at the MLB GM Meetings in Las Vegas.   

"We love both Pete and Edwin. They've been great representatives of the organization," Stearns said. "We'd love to have them both back. At this stage of the offseason, it’s really tough to predict any outcomes, but certainly, we would love to have both those guys back."

For Alonso in particular, he and the Mets did this dance before, when it took until the end of February for both sides to agree on a new deal ahead of the 2025 season. The Mets made minor moves, like the re-signing of Jesse Winker, to get their offseason moves started as negotiations between the first baseman and the team continued.

Stearns is in a similar position after a disappointing 2025. There are holes to fill on the roster and, for now, first base is one of them. But Stearns says patience is needed during this time.

"You’d always love clarity early in the process. Sometimes that’s not realistic," Stearns said of his timeline. "Offseasons are really long and can be tough at times in November when we’re all really excited to get going and standing here in the GM Meetings….but a lot of signings occur in January, February, and March. Offseasons now go into spring training and we have to recognize that, be patient and let the offseason play out."

At his end-of-season presser, Stearns emphasized run prevention and defense as areas the Mets needed to improve on. He was asked if Alonso's defense would be a part of his evaluation of the slugger. 

"All parts of player contribution inform how we view the player," he said. "For a position player, that’s certainly going to include offense and what they do in the box and what they do defensively. It also includes what they mean to us off the field, what they meant to us in the clubhouse and in the community. All that gets factored in with every player and Pete's no different."

Stearns said all of the returning Mets players need to improve defensively and that it will be an emphasis in the offseason, spring training and as the season rolls on. 

"The brand of baseball, the brand of defense that we played over the last two months of the season, was not close to good enough," Stearns said. "It has to get better."

Stearns was asked if he believes Alonso can improve his defense at first, and the second-year Met executive said he does because Alonso has shown it in the past and that he's a "motivated, dedicated player." 

But what if Alono doesn't return? What will be Stearns and the Mets' plan for first base?

Stearns was confident that the Mets would be able to pivot, but reiterated how early in the offseason it is.

"We have internal options. We have younger players who deserve some more opportunity," Stearns said. "We have players that we can move around positionally and also explore outside [the organization] there, but all that is premature. We’ll see how the offseason progresses and go from there."