Cardinals offseason is proof of how good NY Mets fans have it right now

The funniest part about the New York Mets currently is how quickly fans can forget what “real” roster pain looks like.

If you want a reminder, look at what the St. Louis Cardinals just did to themselves this offseason — not because they’re clueless, but because they finally admitted the truth: this version wasn’t good enough, and the only way out was through. St. Louis completely detonated the middle of their roster. Willson Contreras? Gone to Boston. Nolan Arenado? Shipped to Arizona. Brendan Donovan? Flipped in a three-team deal that sent him to Seattle. And Sonny Gray? In Boston with Contreras.

That’s what a reset actually looks like. It’s not “we’re retooling” marketing copy. It’s a front office telling its fanbase, “You’re going to have to sit in this discomfort for a while, and you might not like what it looks like in the standings.” Even when the prospects are legitimately interesting, it’s still a tax. You don’t get to enjoy the present. You’re buying a lottery ticket and praying it cashes in before everyone gets tired of waiting.

Mets’ offseason tells a loud story once you reach the Freddy Peralta ending

Pan the camera back to Queens, where Mets fans are living in the opposite universe.

The Mets also turned the roster over. They lost pillars and swapped out familiar faces. But they did it without sending the whole thing into a multi-year ice age. They pivoted from a painful 83–79 faceplant into an offseason that screamed, “we’re not doing the rebuilding thing.” 

David Stearns basically pulled off the front-office version of changing a tire while going 70 on the highway.

He didn’t rebuild the roster with cute ideas. It got built with grown-up solutions: Bo Bichette on a three-year deal, plus Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien to raise the floor of the lineup, and a true center-field swing with Luis Robert Jr. Even the bullpen got teeth — Devin Williams changes the late innings, and Luke Weaver adds the kind of stability the Mets usually learn they need the hard way. And when it felt like they’d already checked every box, they saved the loudest statement for last: Freddy Peralta to headline the rotation.

Is it perfect? No. It’s the Mets — chaos is part of the brand experience. But compared to what St. Louis is asking its fans to endure, the Mets have it ridiculously good right now.

Cardinals fans are being told, “Suffer now so you can maybe win later.”

Mets fans are being told, “We heard you. We’re staying in the fight.”

And in 2026, that difference is basically everything.