NY Mets roster additions: 1 player fans will love, 1 they’ll hate, 1 who’ll divide fans

David Stearns transformed the New York Mets roster this past offseason, and fans are still processing.

As we look ahead to 2026, it's tempting to believe that every new acquisition for the Mets will thrive, but that would simply be delusionally optimistic preseason talk.

Packing away projected production for now, it's fun to speculate on which of Stearns's imports will be a hit with Mets fans, and which new players will fall flat. This has a lot to do with their performance, of course, but it also has something to do with personality.

Without further ado, here are three Mets players who are probably going to experience three different receptions from Mets fandom in 2026.

Freddy Peralta, Devin Williams, and Bo Bichette will each receive very different degrees of love (or hate) from Mets fans

1 player Mets fans will love: Freddy Peralta

Peralta has the Hollywood smile and warm charisma that would endear him to fans even if he weren't a frontline starter. It's the same strength of personality that makes Peralta such a likable human wherever he goes.

Of course, Peralta also delivers on the mound with ace or No. 2-type production, as his No. 5 finish in National League Cy Young voting last season indicated.

Will Peralta be able to replicate his 2025 Milwaukee success in 2026 Queens? He doesn't necessarily have to meet or exceed such lofty expectations. If he gets somewhat close, he promises to be a fan-favorite.

1 player Mets fans will hate: Devin Williams

Williams is in the unfortunate position of being Edwin Diaz's replacement, which is a lose-lose situation that sets him up to disappoint fans, even if he's solid enough by his own standards.

The Williams signing looked splendid when it was assumed Diaz was returning, but a tad squeamish when it was discovered Diaz was headed to Los Angeles.

By the way, Williams's personality isn't a great fit in New York City -- we learned this last year during his disastrous first few months as a Yankee, which not surprisingly led to fan revolt.

Add in his habit of calling out fanbases directly through social media, and there's a decent chance that Williams generates plenty of disdain among Mets fans in 2026.

1 Mets player who'll divide fans: Bo Bichette

It's an offense/defense thing. Bichette's bat will surely make fans love watching him; the same can be said about his natural star power (similar to Peralta in this sense).

On the other hand, Bichette's nerve-wracking glovework at third base has the chance to drive New York sports radio -- and its listening fanbase -- crazy to the point of bashing Bichette.

It'll take Mets fans (and all baseball fans, for that matter) some time to process that Bichette is actually on the Mets. He felt like such an iconic Blue Jay, which might make it difficult for Mets fans to form a deep connection right away.

In the end, though, a couple of clutch hits from Bichette should make him a darling in Queens, and his defense likely won't descend to such levels to undo his positive plate offerings.