6 things the NY Mets need to do this offseason if run prevention is the focus

5) Plan for Luis Torrens to catch regularly with Francisco Alvarez at-bats in the DH rotation

Still on the DH topic, it might not hurt to have a third catcher readily available in an instance where maybe Francisco Alvarez is hitting out of his mind and not showing he should be an everyday catcher. We’ve seen it before from him. His demotion in 2025 was equally about getting him to hit more as it was for him to become a steadier defender.

Luis Torrens experienced the opposite. Hot at times at the plate, he wasn’t the most consistent hitter. The Mets couldn’t accept the offensive output as a regular in their lineup with the way several others were underperforming, center field becoming a larger vacancy from an offensive standpoint.

Regular DH games for Alvarez comes with a minor risk of being forced to lose the designated hitter in case of injury. If it becomes more frequent, the Mets might benefit from bolstering their minor league depth. They tried with Jakson Reetz and Chris Williams last offseason. They should explore it again.

6) Stack the bullpen with more quality arms than you’re comfortable with

This is pretty easy to put out there because every team should be putting together the best bullpen they can. For the Mets, they need to go beyond what they’re comfortable with. This means not only re-signing Edwin Diaz but ensuring they have the best possible right-handed setup man for the innings in front of him.

The Mets will face multiple challenges with their pitching staff, in particular if they have Kodai Senga back and the more regular need for a sixth starter remains in play. They need a good mix of optional relievers but also quality experienced big league arms.

Injuries are inevitable with pitchers of all kinds. To their credit, the Mets have done a pretty good job of having more pitchers than we can reasonably imagine on the roster. Their shortcoming has been how thin the talent was. Let it be more than a Paul Blackburn planned for a hybrid starter/relief role.