4 contracts that could hold the NY Mets back in 2026 and beyond

The New York Mets aren't like most teams. The benefit from Steve Cohen's deep pockets, and they really are in a class with only the Los Angeles Dodgers in terms of spending power. But even seemingly endless piles of money have a limit, if not financial, then due to the nature of the limited roster spots allotted to each big league team.

So while yes, the Mets can outspend a mistake more than a small market team, that doesn't mean that they can throw caution to the wind with their expenditures. It also means the mistakes of the past can still be anchors, even if they have more of a buffer than most. When it comes to those past mistakes, four players and their contracts stand out as hindrances to progress in 2026, as well as the years to come.

Note: Contracts can have variable salaries from year to year. The average annual value is what is used to calculate the impact on the luxury tax, so for remaining contract numbers, the AAV per season will be listed alongside the total value remaining on the deal.

The eight-year, $162 million deal the Mets gave Brandon Nimmo is likely one they'd like to have back

Remaining: five-years, $102.5 million, $20.25 million AAV

Once contracts start getting into six, seven, and eight-year territory or above, you know that they're going to eventually age poorly. That's the cost of doing business sometimes, but you'd like to get past the halfway point before things start to go off the rails.

Brandon Nimmo might not be at the point where his contract is an albatross yet, but it's hard to say that he's far off.

When he signed the deal in December of 2022, he was sort of a unique player. An on-base machine, with some contact skills, the ability to pop a few homers, and the athleticism and defensive chops to play a competent center field, Nimmo didn't fit the traditional player archetypes, but that didn't matter; the Mets believed in him. And at the time, it made sense. He'd just posted a 132 wRC+, which was actually a step down from his 135 mark in 2021 and 149 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

A then-career-high 24 homers followed in 2023, but in 2024, things started to fall off. Nimmo. He still continued with his newfound power stroke, but his average and on-base percentage were declining at its expense, while his defense began to fall off.

This year saw Nimmo post his worst walk rate since 2016's cup of coffee, coming in at 7.7%. Now locked into left field, Nimmo's declining glove work combined with Juan Soto's defensive deficiencies handcuff what the Mets can do in center field.

At the end of the day, it's a very large contract for a guy who has never been selected to the All-Star game, and if his current trend continues, likely never will. More importantly, an average contact threat with average on-base skills and average power, who holds back the outfield flexibility, is not an ideal player to have under contract long-term, but the Mets will have to stomach this for five more years.