Setting some New Year's resolutions for the Mets

Taking a look at what certain personnel need to be focusing on with 2026 now here

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🎉 Happy New Year, from all of us at Just Mets! 🎉

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What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• RF Juan Soto revealed in an interview that he leaned on former Met Carlos Beltran for advice following his slow start in Queens (NY Post)

• Ahead of being inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame, Beltran reflected on how his relationship with Mets fans has changed over the years (MLB.com)

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Rumor Mill 💨

• The Angels are interested in trading for Cardinals 3B Nolan Arenado (The Athletic)

• The A’s are looking to hand out more long-term extensions to some of their core players (The Athletic)

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The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

ICYMI: Rich and Andrew said goodbye to 2025 by answering some questions from our lovely subscribers.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Taking a shot at some New Year’s Resolutions for the Mets ✍️

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful night celebrating, and we hope 2026 is kind and wonderful to you and your families.

Now that 2026 is officially here, we’re moving ever closer to the start of Spring Training. However, there are still lots of holes to be filled for the Mets, and yet the entire offseason has come to a halt. There is literally nothing going on right now. It’s almost as if the Hot Stove has packed up for the holidays.

So, with that in mind, combined with the fact that we as a team have covered pretty much every single need the Mets have to address this winter already, I want to do something a little bit different today. Something that’s a little fun and offers a reprieve from all the speculation over whether or not president of baseball operations David Stearns actually has a plan.

As you all know, resolutions and setting goals are part and parcel of welcoming in a New Year. It is just something we’ve probably all done at some point in our lives, even if we break those same resolutions or abandon those goals a couple of weeks into January.

In that spirit, I want to get into the minds of some Mets players and personnel and set some New Year’s resolutions on their behalf as we look ahead to the 2026 season…

Some Mets 2026 New Year’s Resolutions

Carlos Mendoza - Improve In-Game Management

What a difference a year can make. Carlos Mendoza was the toast of Queens after guiding the Mets to a magical run to the NLCS in his debut year in the dugout in 2024. However, 2025 was a different story entirely. The Mets fell off a complete cliff, and one of the driving forces behind the demise was Mendoza’s questionable in-game decisions. He committed a number of high-profile mistakes last year, including taking out starters early, making bad baserunning calls, and his management of the bullpen was horrific at times.

Furthermore, if all the reports about the Mets having a clubhouse problem are true, then that falls on Mendoza too. After all, with the sport now dominated by analytics, one of the main responsibilities of a manager should be ensuring team chemistry is solid and that everyone is pulling in the same direction. There are no excuses now for a modern-day manager not to have a handle on that.

With a brand-new coaching staff, there is no more hiding for Mendoza. And, if he wants to avoid losing his job, he needs to show significant improvement in how he manages a game. If he needs to delegate more to his staff in order to achieve that, then so be it. But, rebuilding or not, we don’t want to see Mendoza yanking starters too early, putting relievers in high-leverage spots where they don’t belong, and pinch-hitting for someone that shouldn’t be pinch-hit for. Those things can’t happen again in 2026.

David Stearns - Take A Big Swing

Does David Stearns actually have a plan? I think he does, but it is probably a plan we don’t want, and that’s to rebuild this team. Now we’re at the halfway point of the offseason, all signs point to Stearns tearing everything down and retooling this roster in a significant way.

However, given the fact that the Mets will still have a high payroll in 2026, not to mention that another bad year will greatly impact attendances, I don’t think this franchise can completely punt on 2026. They need to give this fanbase something to get excited about. Therefore, Stearns needs to wake up today and be prepared to move away from his risk-averse strategy. Even if he makes just one big swing, that could be enough to win back some trust with Mets fans.

This team has a lot of holes, and I don’t think you can fill them all with a combination of rookies and solid role players. Be it Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, or an ace like Tarik Skubal or Freddy Peralta, Stearns needs to swing for the fences at least once this offseason to start putting a new core in place, even if 2026 is going to be a transitional year.

Corey Sipkin - NY Post

David Peterson - Put It All Together

Okay, so I’m aware I’m stating the obvious with all of these fake resolutions. But the point stands. And David Peterson adding some real consistency to his game would really help the starting rotation in 2026. Of course, there is still a real chance that Peterson could be traded this offseason. But, for the purpose of this exercise, we will operate under the assumption that he’s going nowhere.

We all know the story with the lefty. He shows plenty of potential, but can never put it together for an entire season. Just look at last year. Peterson was one of the best pitchers in baseball during the first half of 2025, pitching to a 3.06 ERA and earning a trip to the All-Star Game. However, he then fell off a cliff after the break, posting an ugly 6.34 ERA. If Peterson is going to remain a Met, he really needs to figure out a way to pitch at even a solid level for the duration of the year. If he really wants to contribute for a playoff team, he can no longer perform his annual Jekyll and Hyde routine.

Francisco Alvarez - Stay Healthy

There is no point in setting lofty goals for Francisco Alvarez, because we did that last year and look what happened. Instead, Alvarez’s main New Year’s resolution should be staying healthy. He’s had an absurd run of bad luck on the injury front for his entire Major League career, and he played most of the 2025 season banged up. And it showed.

But when healthy, we’ve seen what Alvarez is capable of. And with the power of Pete Alonso now gone, someone needs to step up and look to replace some of that home run hitting prowess (Jorge Polanco can’t do it on his own). If Alvarez can tailor his entire offseason workout regimen to staying healthy - of course, you can’t plan for taking pitches to the hands or freak injuries - then maybe, just maybe, we will see the catcher finally realize his full potential in 2026.

Getty Images

Francisco Lindor - No More Slow Starts

Hello, Captain Obvious here again. But with Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil now all gone, Francisco Lindor really is the undisputed leader of this team now. And with a tough season likely in 2026 given the current makeup of this roster (we’ll recalibrate expectations once more moves are made), then it is more vital than ever for Lindor to avoid his yearly tradition of getting off to slow starts.

With the majority of the fanbase already unhappy, another sluggish start by Lindor won’t do anyone any good. In fact, it might just set the tone for things to come. Now, the shortstop did actually get off to a pretty good start at the plate in 2025, hitting .308/.372/.500/.872 with six homers and 16 RBIs in March and April. If he can get off to a similar start in 2026 and maintain it, then that might just help keep everyone afloat.

Juan Soto - Keep Running

I have no worries about Juan Soto going into 2026 and beyond. Zero. He’s settled into Queens now, and I don’t think we’ll see another slow start. Soto is a monster at the plate and he should be the least of everybody’s concerns. In fact, Soto’s only resolution should be to keep on running. He morphed into a beast on the basepaths in 2025, achieving a career-high in stolen bases (38) with an impressive 96% efficiency.

This roster, as currently constituted, needs a lot more spark. So if Soto can produce his usual Hall of Fame worthy numbers, while also continuing to be a threat on the bases, then that will give this lineup the added weapon it really needs.

Let’s see how many of these resolutions come true - you can hold my feet to the fire on this one.

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Around the League 🚩

• Former Mets prospect and OF Jarred Kelenic reportedly agreed to a non-roster invite deal with the White Sox (MLB.com)

• The Giants reportedly bolstered their rotation depth with the addition of free agent RHP Tyler Mahle on a one-year deal (MLB.com)

• The Blue Jays signed RHP Nic Enright to a two-year minor league deal, according to reports (ESPN)