Mets eliminated, will miss the playoffs after a disastrous 2025 season
The Mets and their $340 million payroll in 2025 will be absent from the postseason
The collapse is complete, and the nail is in the coffin.
The last 3 1/2 months have been a slow bleed-out for the Mets, and on Sunday, a culmination of bad pitching, poor defense, an off-and-on offense, and a myriad of mysterious decisions came to a head when the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention following their 4-0 loss to the Marlins in Miami, the eighth time they were shutout this season.
The Mets had no answer to Edward Cabrera and the Marlins bullpen, mounting only one real threat with the club already down by four in the fifth inning. The Mets loaded the bases with two outs, and Pete Alonso hit a 116 mph line out to left field which, if just a few inches further in the gap, would’ve cleared the bases for the Mets and changed the complexion of the game.
Meanwhile, in the fourth inning, the Marlins put up a four-spot against Ryne Stanek and Tyler Rogers, who were pitching in relief of Brooks Raley, who relieved starter Sean Manaea after 1.2 IP, a questionably constructed bullpen game by Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and the coaching staff. The Mets bullpen was able to silence the Marlins offense but in the end went down quietly and often uncompetitively against Miami, mustering only five hits on the day against the Marlins.
The Mets began their season 45-24 and were in first place as late as August 2. But since June 13, the Mets had gone 38-55 and were among the worst teams in the sport during that span. Their pitching staff posted a 4.95 ERA over their final 93 games, the fourth-worst in baseball.
Meanwhile, the Mets needed to merely win against the Marlins to get to the postseason, as the Reds were only able to secure two wins against the Brewers in their final regular season series after losing to Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon. But because the Reds owned the tiebreaker against the Mets, finishing in a tie with them resulted in Cincinnati punching a ticket to the Wild Card Series, and the Mets going home for the winter.
The Mets spent $340 million on an 83-79 team in 2025, or about $4.1 million per win. Their absence from the postseason this season marks the completion of one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, and their collapse over the last 93 games leaves another dirty stain on the franchise, much like the ones left from the collapses in 2007 and 2008, which found the Mets on the outside looking in after holding significant leads in those playoff races down the stretch of the season.
David Stearns and the Mets front office gambled on the construction of their starting rotation heading into the year, believing that a strength in numbers among flawed pitchers and the return of a healthy Kodai Senga and a resurrected Sean Manaea could get them through. But by the end of the season, the bullpen was overworked, Senga was in the minor leagues, Manaea wasn’t in the rotation, David Peterson had faltered in the second half, Frankie Montas was ineffective and ended up needing Tommy John surgery, and a myriad of other injuries and underperformances resulted in the Mets asking for starts from Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong, their three best pitching prospects.
In the end, the strategy blew up in the Mets’ faces.
The Mets face a boatload of uncertainty heading into their early off-season. After what can only be considered a disastrous 2025 season, time will tell how the Mets handle their dugout staff, and they have to figure out how they’re going to press forward and put a bitter season in the past. They also need to decide how to reconstruct their starting rotation, bullpen, and several positions on the field, including a big decision with Edwin Díaz and Pete Alonso, both of whom seem likely to opt out of their contracts after the World Series.
Truthfully, there are no silver linings despite the seasons Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Juan Soto posted offensively for the club. The Mets controlled a playoff spot every day from April 5 until late September. Their sloppy play and poor pitching have served as the trademark of their club in 2025, and it forced them into a situation where they were on the outside looking in after their 160th game and needing help just to survive.
In the end, the Mets got the help but couldn’t help themselves.
The Mets went an astounding 0-70 in 2025 when trailing after eight innings. Imagine what just one ninth inning comeback would have meant for this franchise this season.
The Mets open the 2026 regular season against the Pirates at Citi Field on March 26.
Don't go for the lack of fire, lack of spirit, overpaid selfish prima donnas, all the emotional stuff. I think that's filler material for sportswriters and feeds the frustrated fans. They just didn't perform. I don't go for the "smug Stearns" and the "preening Soto" slurs either. All of Stearns's trade deadline moves were thought of as pretty good at the time by pundits, given the "all in" credo. Not one turned out well. No one could have predicted or prevented the miserable performances of Manea and Senga and the second half collapse by Peterson. The most ridiculous scapegoating is directed towards Soto, only third in the majors with 120 runs scored and obp of .396.
I’ll keep saying it: it was the hitting, not the pitching, that sank the Mets. Today’s game summed up the season in microcosm. So what if the pitching staff wasn’t perfect? You still have to keep pressure on the other team and tack on runs—and this lineup failed at that all year.
Even Soto went cold today. And how many times did we watch grounders to second and rally-killing double plays? McNeil was dreadful down the stretch, Mullins never reliable, Nimmo overrated, and even Alonso—supposedly the best of the bunch—hit into far too many double plays.
Add in Mendoza’s allergy to small ball—no bunting, no slap hits, no situational play—and what you’ve got is a perfect blueprint for mediocrity.
So here we are. Wait until next year.