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First Base Is the Mets' Real Hole, and the Kodai Senga Question Won't Go Away
Stearns says first base and pitching come first, not second base. Here is what that means for Jared Young, Kodai Senga and the Mets lineup.
Everybody wants to talk about the ace the Mets might chase this winter. Fair enough. But the more interesting thing David Stearns said at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas is where he is pointing the checkbook first: first base and the pitching staff. Not second base. And that choice tells you a lot about how this front office is reading the 2026 wreckage.
Start with the corner nobody has solved. Jorge Polanco was brought in last year to play first, and between injuries and plain old ineffectiveness it never worked. Now the in-house name Stearns floated is Jared Young, who put up a .266/.330/.429 line over 342 plate appearances this season. That is a useful bat. It is not a bat you hand an everyday job to and feel great about, especially when those numbers got help from favorable matchups.
Stearns did not rule out a lefty at the position, and the names being tossed around are the usual winter suspects: Ty France, Alec Bohm and Ryan Mountcastle in free agency, with Jake Burger and Royce Lewis as speculative trade ideas. My take as a fan? Bohm is the one that makes sense to me. I want a hitter who can anchor the middle of a lineup, because right now the offense has Juan Soto in left field and a lot of question marks around him.
Second base is the part I am less comfortable with. Stearns says it is not a need, pointing to Marcus Semien, Brett Baty and a group of prospects. Semien hit .215/.280/.340 this year, his defense slipped, and he is still owed $25 million a season through 2028. Baty, to his credit, finished strong, hitting .279/.337/.488 from July 1 on. Jefferson Rojas, meanwhile, posted .274/.338/.505 across Double-A and Triple-A. I like the depth. I just do not love betting the middle of the infield on a bounce-back and a prospect. Call it a calculated gamble, and keep an eye on it in spring.
Now to Kodai Senga, the name that keeps popping up. Reporting via The Athletic says several clubs have checked in, likely hoping to buy low. It is easy to see why. After two good starts, he ran an 11.48 ERA over 26 2/3 innings, then looked sharp out of the bullpen late: a 3.78 ERA with 22 strikeouts against nine walks in 16 2/3 innings. He also holds a partial no-trade clause, and any deal would probably mean the Mets eating most of what he is still owed.
Stearns says the plan is for Senga to build back up as a starter when camp opens. I understand that, but think about the math. If you trade him, you pay for a pitcher to help somebody else. If you keep him, you get a free-roll arm who might be a rotation piece, a long man or a high-leverage reliever. Dumping him just to clean the books feels like the wrong kind of savings for a team that needs arms.
On the pitching side, Stearns told reporters, per MLB.com, "there's no question we're going to add to that group." Fine, but we have heard confident offseason talk before. What I want to see is specifics: a real top-of-the-rotation addition and a first baseman who changes the lineup, not a platoon patch.
So what should Mets fans watch? Three things. First, whether the front office actually acts on first base before the pitching market takes over the headlines. Second, whether any Senga trade talk turns into a real offer with the Mets absorbing salary, which I would push back on. Third, how much trust the club puts in Baty and Rojas at second. If those three break the right way, this winter looks smart. If not, we are talking about the same holes again next November.
