3 NY Mets players earning back some optimism in the final days of the 2026 season

Only 6 games left to go, the 2026 New York Mets season winds down in less than a week. A lot has been settled. Several fringe major league players who haven’t exactly put together the strongest season are making a last ditch effort to provide the front office and coaches with enough signs they’re worth saving a spot for next year.

At an even 9-9 in September, the Mets have seen some players trend down and others move up. These three are providing us with optimism that maybe they are indeed a good match for next year’s plan.

These three Mets players are ending the year with a sense of optimism

1) Brett Baty

Brett Baty didn’t let his minor knee injury slow him down. In fact, he has been the best Mets hitter all month. His 1.094 OPS in September has included 4 doubles, a pair of home runs, and 12 RBI in 15 games. He has 7 walks and 7 strikeouts which is one of the easy to overlook positives from the last three weeks. Both his walk and strikeout percentages are up and above the league average. For a guy who struck out 21 times before drawing his first walk this season, it’s a positive turn of events. 

Baty’s role is becoming more clear. He’s no starting third baseman. He is exactly what the Mets had planned for him in 2026: an affordable utility man you can plug into a variety of roles. He’s fine for what he is as long as you forget the enormous expectations he had only a few years ago.

2) Austin Warren

Austin Warren landed on the IL with a 4.63 ERA in July. Since his return, Warren has been pretty amazing. It’s now down to 4.13 on the year. If not for a major beatdown in the Mets’ 10-6 win over the San Francisco Giants, he would have had only one appearance with a run charged against him. He has quietly been on one impressive run.

Warren is one of those guys the Mets have been careful to keep around on the major league roster this season so as to not spoil his final minor league option. Although he started the year in the minors, it doesn’t appear he accumulated 20 days down in Syracuse to exhaust that flexibility for 2027. The Mets, if payroll ends up tight, will need guys like Warren around in some capacity and maybe a larger one too. Ending the year strong has him in the discussion for a role next year.

3) Tobias Myers

A 5.64 ERA on the year is tough to ignore. However, Tobias Myers has been really good for the Mets since getting recalled from Syracuse. Some blame should be put on the way the Mets handled him. The swingman never had much of a defined role. He was neither a mop-up guy or high-leverage multi-inning reliever. Myers was just kind of an arm the Mets would use however they pleased in the moment. It failed badly.

Myers has now allowed only 1 run in 6.2 innings since his recall in September. It’s a small doze, but a positive one. His last minor league option has already been used up. A non-tender candidate or a guy who’ll compete next preseason for a spot, this latest tease of being able to get outs at the major league level efficiently can be enough to keep him in a Mets uniform for a little while longer.

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