Top 5 Mets offseasons in franchise history

3) 2004-2005 Mets offseason included two of the biggest free agent signings in franchise history

It’s rare for a team to add two future Hall of Fame players in a single offseason. Somehow, the 2004-2005 Mets offseason may have done so. The verdict hasn’t come down on one of these players. Given some time and consideration, maybe it does happen.

The Mets made a couple of good minor moves in this offseason but I don’t want to get into those. Roberto Hernandez was good for the team out of the bullpen. He hardly makes an offseason memorable or not.

Instead, let’s focus on the first big move the Mets made. In mid-December, Pedro Martinez came to town.

The Mets were in a big of a transitional phase at the time. David Wright and Jose Reyes were going to be the new young stars in Queens. They were going to need some help on the pitching side of things. An aging Al Leiter had already left the Mets. To make up for it, the team went out and got one of the generation’s best.

Martinez’s time with the Mets would include two All-Star appearances, a 32-23 record, and a lot of injuries. What he did was more symbolic. He made the team a lot more competitive and gave the fans what they seemed to lose in recent seasons: hope.

As if this wasn’t fantastic enough, the Mets had one more major move in them. In January, the team signed Carlos Beltran.

I don’t think it’s necessary to go into all of Beltran’s numbers. If you saw him, you know the kind of impact he had on the Mets. He would win multiple Gold Gloves, appear in All-Star Games, and win his way onto the top of the list as the best center fielder in club history.