Inside The Mets

This Mets 'regret' could haunt team in 2025

This offseason decision could come back to bite the New York Mets.

Grant Young

Mar 3, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga (34) pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Mar 3, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga (34) pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets had three major holes to fill in their starting rotation after the 2024 season ended. These three holes were Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana, who combined for 534 innings pitched during the 2024 regular season.

One of these holes was filled by the Mets re-signing Manaea. However, with Severino and Quintana departing for other teams in free agency, the Mets came to terms with Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes in their stead, cementing their 2025 starting rotation.

Many believed the Mets would be in play to sign one of the top available aces in free agency this past offseason. However, New York's front office instead allocated most of their free agency money to signing Juan Soto and bringing Pete Alonso back.

While the Mets offense is much better off because of it, their rotation now has some significant question marks; especially after Manaea and Montas went down with injuries during spring training.

This is what Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly alluded to when discussing each MLB team's "Biggest Regret" from the 2024-25 offseason in a March 20 article.

"New York Mets: Not adding another workhorse starter," Kelly wrote for the Mets' biggest regret.

He then added, "Clay Holmes, a converted reliever, is going to be the Opening Day starter. Sean Manaea won't be ready for the start as he works back from a right oblique injury.

"Kodai Senga is coming off of a season in which he made just one regular-season start. Frankie Montas has a lat strain that may sideline him until after the All-Star break. David Peterson had an impressive season a year ago, posting a 2.90 ERA over 21 starts, so he could well be someone who takes down 150-plus innings this year," Kelly continued.

"For all the spending that the Mets have done, though, they feel short in terms of having a frontline starter capable of pitching 180-plus innings. Manaea may well return from the IL and pitch as well as he did a year ago."

Kelly concluded by saying, "But how much better would we feel about the Mets if president of baseball operations David Stearns had reunited with Corbin Burnes this winter in free agency?"

The Mets rotation has an opportunity to make Kelly's take age like milk. But things would also go in the opposite direction, with fans wondering what could have been.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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