]\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nWithout a doubt, the Mets will enter 2026 as a different version of themselves, but is this team actually better than the group that just underachieved itself into oblivion? Do these moves really fit with Stearns\u2019 stated goal of improving the club\u2019s pitching and defense?<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s complicated, but mostly yes.<\/p>\n
Peralta\u2019s arrival is the most straightforward and the easiest to evaluate, so let\u2019s start there. The 29-year-old is probably one of the top 10 pitchers in the world, top 20 at worst. A free agent at season\u2019s end, Peralta will lead New York\u2019s staff in 2026. He\u2019s now the favorite to start on Opening Day and get the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series. The Mets paid a pretty prospect penny to gain his services \u2014 infielder Jett Williams and pitcher Brandon Sproat are both consensus top-100 types \u2014 but Peralta is a phenomenal addition to a rotation that desperately needed an ace. He\u2019ll push someone (David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea or Clay Holmes) to the bullpen or the trade block, but that\u2019s a first-world problem.<\/p>\n
The additions of Semien and Robert, two players with sensational defensive track records, might be even more impactful. Neither represents a significant offensive upgrade \u2014 though that could change if Robert rediscovers his 2023 form \u2014 but that\u2019s clearly not priority No. 1 for the Mets.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe really like what our defense looks like up the middle right now,\u201d Stearns said during a media session Thursday. \u201cI think we\u2019re clearly better in some key defensive positions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The jump to Semien, a 2025 Gold Glover, from a Luisangel Acu\u00f1a-Jeff McNeil combo at second base is particularly big.<\/p>\n
Bichette and Polanco, however, create an interesting dynamic, as both seem primed to start on Opening Day at positions they\u2019ve never played in the big leagues. Bichette, before this past World Series, had only ever started at shortstop in the Show and moved to second for the Fall Classic only because of a leg injury; he\u2019s expected to slide to third in Queens. Polanco spent most of his 20s as a shortstop as well but has played mostly second base since 2022; he\u2019ll man first base with New York.<\/p>\n
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The Mets are trusting that athletic intelligence, tailored drill work and good coaching can help this duo overcome their unfamiliarity. Crucially, Bichette\u2019s and Polanco\u2019s experience at up-the-middle positions should allow them to work downhill, so to speak. Third base is an easier position to handle than shortstop; the same is true with second and first. Certain aspects of their new roles might require an adjustment period \u2014 particularly when it comes to positioning and in-play responsibilities \u2014 but when speaking to media on Thursday, Stearns was certain the two would figure it out in the long run.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no question we\u2019re asking two guys to learn some new positions. We\u2019re also asking two guys with very high baseball aptitude who are good athletes, who have spent the majority of their careers at the shortstop position, to learn new positions on the dirt,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be learning curves. We\u2019re going to make mistakes. I also have a high degree of confidence that both of those players are going to figure it out and play their positions at a very high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thankfully for Bichette and Polanco, the defensive bar is pretty low. Brett Baty was an average defender at the hot corner last year, while Mark Vientos, with whom he split time, was abysmal. So, too, was Pete Alonso across the diamond.<\/p>\n
Offensively, this team still has some questions, chief among them how to replace Alonso\u2019s consistent production. How youngsters such as Baty, Vientos, Francisco Alvarez and Carson Benge perform will dictate whether this lineup is good or great. And of course, employing Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto \u2014 as Stearns pointed out Thursday \u2014 is a pretty good place to start.<\/p>\n
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But what\u2019s certain at this point in the offseason is that, unorthodox as their path to that endpoint might have been, the Mets have indeed accomplished their stated goal of upgrading their run prevention unit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During his postmortem news conference at Citi Field in September, New York Mets president of baseball operations David…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":535896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,40934,7599,98412,31974,1274,20404,8336,62486,5914,31972,3689,20395,31301,3690,98414,40618,3693,27641,13247,5919,3378,33900,380,4247,405,403,1305,5226,5225,5228,5227,3687,26096,2086,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,2386],"class_list":{"0":"post-535895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bo-bichette","10":"tag-brandon-nimmo","11":"tag-brandon-sproat","12":"tag-brett-baty","13":"tag-chicago-white-sox","14":"tag-clay-holmes","15":"tag-david-peterson","16":"tag-david-stearns","17":"tag-devin-williams","18":"tag-edwin-diaz","19":"tag-francisco-lindor","20":"tag-freddy-peralta","21":"tag-free-agent","22":"tag-jeff-mcneil","23":"tag-jett-williams","24":"tag-jorge-polanco","25":"tag-juan-soto","26":"tag-kodai-senga","27":"tag-luis-robert-jr","28":"tag-luke-weaver","29":"tag-marcus-semien","30":"tag-mark-vientos","31":"tag-miami","32":"tag-milwaukee-brewers","33":"tag-new-york","34":"tag-new-york-city","35":"tag-new-york-mets","36":"tag-newyork","37":"tag-newyorkcity","38":"tag-ny","39":"tag-nyc","40":"tag-pete-alonso","41":"tag-sean-manaea","42":"tag-seattle","43":"tag-united-states","44":"tag-united-states-of-america","45":"tag-unitedstates","46":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","47":"tag-us","48":"tag-usa","49":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}