Starting Where?

By : Mike Rifkin

The New York Mets suffered another miserable collapse in 2025, just like they did in 2007 and 2008. David Stearns in his end of season press conference said two words a lot in that press conference, RUN PREVENTION. When talking about run prevention, you’re talking about pitching and defense. Defensively the Mets have a few positions to upgrade for sure, but I want to talk about the pitching. 

There was a time this season where the Mets actually led all of baseball in ERA, and then it all fell apart. So, why exactly did it fall apart? In my opinion it had to do with starters being unable to go more than five innings and relying heavily on the bullpen. It also fell apart when the top three guys all fell apart at the same time. Sean Manea had elbow problems he tried to pitch through, Kodai Senga never fully recovered from his injury and David Peterson ran into a wall. So David Stearns tried to build a dominate bullpen and that didn’t work, so now it’s back to the drawing board for the Mets this winter when it comes to pitching. Nolan Mclean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong gave the Mets life. But Tong definitely needs more time in triple A, Mclean I think has earned a spot and Sproat could compete for one.  

When you look at the four teams left in the playoffs what do they have that the Mets don’t? Well, a lot of things but they all have an ace or in the case of the Dodgers multiple aces.  Here are some free agent starters the Mets should look into.

Dylan Cease – Cease is a former CY Young award winner, but this season was a struggle for him as he was 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA. Cease does have five straight seasons of 200+ strikeouts. 

Michael King – King was awesome in 2024, but 2025 was plagued with injury for him. King has pitched in the New York spotlight before as a member of the Yankees, 

Framber Valdez – Of the names I will put on here Framber is the name I least would like to see the Mets go after. I don’t mean that in disrespect, but Framber has made 25 + starts in the last four years plus what he gave the Astros in the playoffs, there’s a lot of mileage on that left arm. Framber is going to be 32 so what will the term of the deal look like and as a sinker ball pitcher he gets a ton of ground balls and as mentioned above the Mets have to improve defensively. 

Zac Gallen – Gallen, like Cease is 30 years old an is coming off a really rough season, but still managed to win 13 games. Gallen has made close to 30 starts over the last four seasons, winning double digit games each season. 

Freddy Peralta – Peralta won 17 games for the Brewers this season and was top ten in ERA and strikeouts. Peralta has made 30+ starts each of the last three seasons. But Peralta also might be the most logical answer since he already has a connection to David Stearns. 

Dustin May/Alek Manoah – Put both of these guys in the reclamation project folder, which David Stearns loves so much. May’s issues have been injury related and Manoah’s have all come after one great season. While neither one will cost much, I do believe that one of these two guys could fit the Mets backend of the rotation. 

The Mets could also venture into the trade market for a starter like Sandy Alcantara or dare I say Tarik Skubal, but that will not only cost the Mets in terms of prospects, but money as well as both are in the final years of their respective contracts. 

The Mets have a lot of glaring needs and Stearns has a lot of work to do, but a top priority must be the rotation and getting someone reliable for the top of the rotation.