5 NY Mets offseason twists we shouldn’t completely rule out

Who doesn’t like a good twist ending? Before the MLB offseason is over with, we should anticipate at least one more surprise move for the New York Mets.

A part of the fans’ frustration at the moment is how much remains unknown with this club. They’ve subtracted familiar faces, done little to replace them, and haven’t really shown a strong indication they’ll go after the biggest fish out there.

While the chances of any of these offseason twists remain a bit remote, we shouldn’t rule out at least one of them from happening. Excluded is the idea of signing Kyle Tucker to a short-term contract because that's not so much a twist as it is an increasingly strong possibility for some team.

1) The Mets trade for Ketel Marte

Remember those late December Mets rumors about a Ketel Marte trade? Regularly named as a match for the Mets in recent years, they’re in a much different position now with Marcus Semien on the roster. Marte is too good of a defender to trade for and place out of position, but for the sake of an offensive improvement and to add some versatility, it’s not the most ridiculously impossible event.

Marte has grown into becoming one of the league’s best hitters. The third-place MVP finisher in 2024 behind only Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor, the idea of trading for Marte would be a plan to fill left field or maybe center field. Marte played the latter regularly in the past, most recently in 2021 when he didn’t rate so well there.

It’s the poor defense in center field back in 2021 that had the Arizona Diamondbacks moving him back to second base. For the Mets, he could always be a match in left field.

Because there are some different options for Marte, we can’t completely rule it out. The Mets need to do something bold to bolster the lineup. An exceptionally good offensive player who’ll hit for power and average, he is a strong switch-hitting option still in his prime and extremely affordable with no salary exceeding $22 million in any of his remaining years and only $15 million for the coming season.