To start, he says that the Mets payroll is about $358M, and has $173M coming off the books.
Assuming Soto/Alonso (or some fallback options), McDaniel says that those five spots are (1) CF, (2) DH, (3) SP1, (4) SP 3 and (5) Bullpen arm.Let's assume in the rosiest situation the Mets bring back Alonso for $25 million per year and land the prize of the offseason in Juan Soto (and that Soto's CBT figure is the very round number of $50 million per year). The buzz is the Soto sweepstakes will primarily be between the two New York teams, and he fits the Mets' offseason needs almost perfectly.
Those two moves would put the 2025 payroll at roughly $255 million ($80 million less than the current payroll) with five spots left to fill
I would argue that CF could potentially be handled internally. Taylor is back, and both Drew Gilbert and Jett Williams can play CF. DH is similarly covered. Between Baty/Mauricio/Marte/Acuna, I think we have enough guys that could slot in at DH. If Baty is able to replicate his AAA success at the big league level, Vientos can always DH.
Which basically means we need pitching. I agree with McDaniel that we need two starting pitchers. But I think we need several relievers, and at least a few lefties and hope that someone pans out. I can't really picture Stearns spending a significant amount of money on relief pitching. And after this year, I have faith that he'll find some overlooked gems that will pan out (and discard the ones that don't). So basically we have enough money to sign any two starting pitchers we want.
Whether we choose to do so or not is another story. But what a great position to be in after years of suffering through the Wilpons.
