No team has aged as quickly as the 2022 NY Mets after winning 101 games

The 2022 New York Mets were one of the best teams in the franchise’s history. Well-equipped in all facets, their achievement of winning 101 games has them ranked as the second-best in franchise history. Only the spectacular 1986 Mets who won the World Series with 108 regular season victories earned more.

Only two full seasons removed, some of the biggest contributors from that remarkable season remain big leaguers. This offseason, in particular, included many of those vital pieces signing minor league contracts or taking a step into retirement.

The 2022 Mets won 101 games then aged really fast after

Tomas Nido, Mark Canha, Luis Guillorme, Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, Adam Ottavino, Carlos Carrasco, and even a few more regulars from the 2022 season were forced into signing a minor league contract this offseason. This doesn’t include Taijuan Walker on one of the league’s worst contracts with the Philadelphia Phillies. Easily forgotten, Walker was second on the 2022 Mets to only Chris Bassitt in innings pitched. Carrasco was third.

These players are only a small number of the regulars who’ve reached the downward part of their career. Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf are both out of baseball. Eduardo Escobar, while not officially retired, hasn’t had a major league at-bat since 2023.

Leftover and still on the Mets roster, a majority of fans are ready to move on from Jeff McNeil. Outfielder Starling Marte was the subject of actual trade rumors as the team had hopes of sending him elsewhere for the final year of his deal. 

Digging deeper, the careers of several other important members of the 2022 Mets have taken a turn for the worst. Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom have health questions coming into this year (the former already on the IL) after missing a lot of time since leaving New York. Chris Bassitt has aged quickly after one good year for the Toronto Blue Jays where he’ll team up with Scherzer in 2025, at least in theory.

There are some winners from the 2022 season. David Peterson had a breakout year in 2024 as a mainstay in the Mets rotation. Seth Lugo, who departed the Mets after 2022, has become one of the best starters in baseball after being held in a relief role during his stay in New York. Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and a returning Pete Alonso all have All-Star expectations for 2025.

It’s reasonable to take notice of how much has changed since the 2015 Mets season as the ten-year anniversary is upon us. Many of those players have retired. For the careers of so many members of the 2022 Mets to have changed so drastically when it feels far fresher hits with a different kind of impact. Likely, you’ve had your car inspected just once since the season ended and yet so many of those major players from the 101-win season are clinging to jobs in MLB if they haven’t already hung up their cleats.