NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 decisions that’ll make or break the team in 2026

3) Keeping essentially the same rotation

We’re all excited about a full year of Nolan McLean. Freddy Peralta is going to thrill us, too. Those two are the unquestioned number one and two in the rotation. Beyond them, there are a whole lot of questions that can make or break this ball club.

We should gladly welcome back Clay Holmes in a starter’s role yet again. The debate comes in as to whether or not they should have traded away one of the other three. Kodai Senga was thought of as a “buy low” option for other teams. David Peterson might not have had the kind of value the Mets desired. Sean Manaea’s only shot of getting traded would have been a salary dump or bad contract swap. The Mets are, instead, hoping he rebounds.

Adding Peralta is worth a compliment for the Mets as it has given them six-deep heading into spring training action. They’ll be safer with the inevitable injury with the expectation of Tobias Myers being the next man up.

Something we can expect out of the Mets this year is for the rotation to look 50% different by the end. Season-ending injuries, someone shifting to the bullpen, and a chance at a trade even while buying at the deadline will all pave the way for some changes. Jonah Tong is certainly not spending all of 2026 in the minors.

One more significant change would have had us all feeling a little better about the state of the rotation. Due to several factors, the most notable probably being an inability to feel they were getting the right return in a trade, we’re getting a rerun with a special guest appearance from Peralta.