The New York Mets have an endless list of questions to answer after their remarkable collapse this season.
Some of those questions are conceptual, like what went wrong and what the Mets need to change from a cultural standpoint. But there are also questions every other team is answering too, like which names will fill out the lineup card on opening day next March.
The first agenda item for the Mets is clearly whether to re-sign first baseman Pete Alonso, who announced his intention to re-enter free agency on Sunday evening. But after the offense swooned in the second half, there’s also the matter of adding some thump to back Alonso up if he stays.
To that end, one baseball writer thinks the Mets will go after a division rival’s slugger following a down year.
On Sunday, Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly predicted that Alonso would be back in a Mets uniform next season, but also that New York would sign current Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who saw a major decrease in production after back-to-back stellar campaigns in 2023 and last year.
“Not only are we projecting that the Mets will re-sign Alonso, but we are also adding two-time Silver Slugger Award winner Marcell Ozuna on a one-year deal at DH,” Kelly wrote. “It wouldn’t be that dissimilar to signing J.D. Martinez a couple of offseasons ago. Ozuna posted a .761 OPS in 2025, but a .916 OPS between 2023 and 2024. Even at age 35, Ozuna would be an interesting gamble for a season.”
Ozuna is limited to DH duties only, so any thoughts of the Mets playing Alonso less at first base if they re-signed him would be off the table for at least a year. If Ozuna put together anything resembling his campaign from a year ago (fourth-place Most Valuable Player finish, .925 OPS), that sacrifice would be worthwhile.
Of course, both players’ markets have yet to develop, but it’s an interesting thought exercise to imagine the Mets going all-in on right-handed power.
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