The New York Mets Have Been Completely Remade This Offseason
It is officially a brand new era in Queens, and frankly, it’s starting to feel a little bit like a stranger’s house. On Monday, the New York Mets sent two-time All-Star Jeff McNeil to the Athletics. In return? They picked up a 17-year-old pitching lottery ticket named Yordan Rodriguez and sent a suitcase full of cash, roughly $6 million, to the Bay Area to cover part of McNeil’s paycheck.
If you’re keeping score at home, that sound you hear is the door slamming shut on the 2022 team that won 101 games. McNeil isn’t just another name on the transaction wire; he is the latest domino to fall in what can only be described as David Stearns’ aggressive demolition project.
The End Of the “Old Core”
Let’s be real for a second. Seeing McNeil in green and gold is going to look weird. This is the “Flying Squirrel” we’re talking about. The guy who won a batting title just two seasons ago by choking up on the bat handle and slapping hits where fielders weren’t. He was gritty, he was often visibly frustrated with himself, and he was undeniably a Met.
But the writing was on the wall. The Mets have already waved goodbye to Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Edwin Díaz this offseason. Stearns isn’t just trimming the fat; he’s performing major reconstructive surgery on the franchise’s identity.
For Mets fans, this is the emotional equivalent of coming home from college and realizing your parents turned your bedroom into a home gym. The memories are there, but the furniture is all wrong.
What Did the Mets Actually Get?
So, who is Rodriguez? If you haven’t heard of him, don’t worry—neither has almost anyone else outside of a deep scouting department. He’s a right-hander who hasn’t blown out 18 candles on his birthday cake yet.
Rodriguez posted a shiny 2.93 ERA in the Dominican Summer League, striking out 20 batters in just over 15 innings. That’s promising, but trading a former batting champ for a teenager is the ultimate “trust the process” move. It is a signal that the Mets are prioritizing long-term flexibility and farm system depth over holding onto aging veterans with declining metrics.
Looking Ahead For New York
The Mets infield is going to look unrecognizable in 2026. With Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien recently acquired, the middle infield is set, making McNeil the odd man out.
Is this painful? Absolutely. McNeil was a homegrown success story, a 12th-round pick who grinded his way to stardom. But after a tough 2025 where he hit .243 and battled injuries, the front office decided it was time to cut ties.
Stearns is betting big that a new mix of veterans and a replenished farm system will get the Mets back to the promised land. But for now, fans in Flushing are left watching their favorite players scatter across the league, hoping the new kids on the block are ready for the bright lights of New York.
