With their 7-6 loss to the Washington Nationals on Friday, the New York Mets clinched last place in the National League East.
A 73-87 record — which can be 75-87 at best and 73-89 at worst with two games remaining in the regular season — was not what the Mets, their fans and the media covering them expected from the second-highest player payroll in Major League Baseball.
The Mets carried a $357 million payroll for that last-place finish this season, according to FanGraphs. Presuming they finish with 73 wins, that’s nearly $5 million per victory. Compare that to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ MLB-high $408 million and their 97 victories going into Friday night. They’re paying $4.2 million per win.
Not since 2003 had the Mets finished last in the NL East. While they weren’t nearly as successful as the team and its fans would have liked during the ensuing 23 years, they did advance to three NL Championship Series and play in one World Series. The Mets won 101 games just five seasons ago.
The 2026 season went sour from the start as the Mets went 7-19 in April. Before May 1, they were 11.5 games out of first place in the NL East. One month later, the Mets were 14 games back. From there, they never got closer than within 13 games of the top of the division. By the end of June, the Mets were 34-47 and manager Carlos Mendoza was fired.
During the second half of the season, the best entertainment for Mets fans may have been reporter Steve Gelbs rating MLB ballpark hot dogs for his “Let’s Be Frank” segment on the SNY broadcasts.
What did $357 million buy?
Last season, the Mets finished second in the division with an 83-79 mark. With team owner Steve Cohen bankrolling a massive budget and president of baseball operations David Stearns once considered among the brightest executives in MLB, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that first place was attainable.
The bullpen was bolstered with the signings of Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. were added to the lineup. Freddy Peralta provided a top-three starter to the rotation.
But other than Weaver, none of those signings paid off. And a middle reliever — even one with an 1.84 ERA before Weaver was dealt to the PIttsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline — isn’t likely to be the difference between second place and first.
With two games remaining, Bichette has a .259/.310/.386 slash line. Semien is batting .216 with a .624 OPS. Polanco only played in 37 games due to Achilles, ankle and wrist injuries. Williams has a 4.54 ERA, while Peralta carried a 4.99 ERA before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pete Alonso reminded Mets fans of the team’s failings
Meanwhile, the Mets’ failings this season and misguided decisions by the front office were embodied by former first baseman Pete Alonso. A fan favorite and face of the franchise type that teams yearn for, Alonso saw the Baltimore Orioles show him love with a five-year, $130 million contract, signed with them and led the AL in RBI.
Alonso provided Mets fans with a bittersweet reminder of his success in Queens by returning late in the season with the Orioles and getting a standing ovation from the Citi Field crowd.
One night later, he hit his 300th career home run in his former home ballpark, drawing such a positive reaction from fans that current Mets players like Sean Manaea expressed disbelief and resentment.
Mets have some bright spots going into 2027
While Stearns will have to do a far better job in evaluating talent and utilizing the exorbitant resources provided to him by Cohen, the Mets have some young talent that make next season potentially exciting.
Outfielder Carson Benge became the first Mets rookie to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in team history. Nolan McLean is one of the top young starting pitchers in MLB, compiling a 3.16 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 179 2/3 innings.
Despite missing 48 games with two separate calf injuries, Juan Soto still hit 27 home runs with a .274/.393/.522 slash line. AJ Ewing provided excellent defense in center field, according to advanced metrics, with 5 Defensive Runs Saved and 3 Outs Above Average. Left-hander Zac Thornton appears to have a future in the starting rotation with a 3.42 ERA in 15 appearances.
Mets fans said goodbye to radio announcer Howie Rose, who called his final radio broadcast for the team after more than 30 years in the booth. On the TV side, even when the team is playing badly, Mets fans have a winner with SNY broadcasters Gary Cohen. Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez, ranked as one of the best by Awful Announcing readers.
But the best reason for the Mets and their fans to be hopeful might be as simple as next season can’t possibly be worse than this one was. Right?
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