Inside The Mets

National outlet has surprising rank for New York Mets in latest power rankings

Newly released power rankings show the depth of both the National League and the East division.

Lindsay Crosby

New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) flies out in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park.
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) flies out in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets have assembled one of their most talented rosters in years, but it does not mean they are guaranteed a World Series championship this season.

The Mets, who narrowly lost last year's National League Championship Series to the World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers, returned most of their roster intact and supplemented it with generational slugger Juan Soto on MLB's largest-ever free agent contract.

But while the Mets have improved, so have several other teams both in the National League and their own division, the NL East. That is why newly released power rankings from The Athletic have the Mets at 5th overall but behind four other National League rivals.

It is a sobering reality for a team that "spent big in free agency", as The Athletic summarized the team's offseason.

In front of New York are some expected teams, like the defending champion Dodgers, but also some new teams that were not expected to be rated so highly.

Putting the Dodgers at number one makes sense: the core of their championship roster is returning and was further supplemented with two of the offseason's most desired free agent pitchers, those being multi-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and international free agent Roki Sasaki. Three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani should be returning to the mound this season as well.

Division rivals in the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are ahead of New York, which makes sense as well. Those two teams have combined for the last seven divisional titles, with Atlanta's six-season streak being snapped by Philadelphia last season amidst a torrent of Braves injuries. Both of those teams have additionally made deep playoff runs in the last few seasons, with Atlanta winning the 2021 World Series and Philadelphia losing in the World Series (2022) and National League Championship Series (2023). With both rivals returning the bulk of their star-laden rosters intact, it is at least defensible that both teams come in ahead of the Mets.

Read more: NL East News: Phillies interested in Dylan Cease trade, per sources

But the Arizona Diamondbacks being at number three, ahead of even Philadelphia, is the biggest surprise of the preseason rankings.

The Diamondbacks missed the postseason after finishing third in the NL West, and then lost two key members of their lineup in first baseman Christian Walker and designated hitter Joc Pederson this winter. Those two sluggers combined for 49 home runs and 148 runs batted in as two of the better stat accumulators on the roster, but the writers over at The Athletic must be convinced that replacements Josh Naylor (first base) and Pavin Smith (designated hitter) can replace that production.

Arizona did also bring in a marquee free agent this offseason, signing former Cy Young-winning starter Corbin Burnes to reinforce a pitching staff that had the 4th-worst ERA in all of baseball last season at 4.62.

Despite the additions, it is a selection that is at odds with most of the baseball world, who see the Mets as a much more legitimate World Series contender than the Diamondbacks.

But that is why you play the games. New York has their first opportunity to prove these rankings wrong when they take on the Diamondbacks at home on April 29th.

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Lindsay Crosby
LINDSAY CROSBY

Lindsay is a contributor for Mets On SI. He is an IBWAA award-winning baseball writer and podcaster living in the Southeast, covering Auburn University baseball since 2021 and the Atlanta Braves since 2022. He can most commonly be found in a baseball press box and you can follow him on Twitter/X at @CrosbyBaseball."

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