No one could have predicted how things turned out for the New York Mets last season, and no one will truly be able to predict how things will develop in 2025.
But one of the best things about baseball is thinking that we can play the part of Nostradamus — using the knowledge of what has come before as a starting point of what should be. Things rarely go to plan, though, between injuries, unforeseen slumps, and breakout stars.
Regardless of that, we attempted to look into our crystal ball once again before Opening Day. Here are five bold predictions for the Mets in 2025.
Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor finish top 5 in NL MVP voting
Soto finished third in the AL MVP voting last year and Lindor finished second in the NL voting behind Shohei Ohtani’s history-making 50/50 season. Put the two together at the top of the Mets’ lineup and watch the benefits roll in.
Soto has never recorded a 1.000 OPS season, but batting in between Lindor and Pete Alonso, he will make a serious challenge for it in 2025. Maybe his power numbers go down just a bit in the pitcher-friendly Citi Field, but a more expansive outfield should play nicely for a generational hitter who can shoot the ball to all fields.
Lindor will get the benefit of having Soto hitting behind him, meaning pitchers will have no choice but to go after him. That means more pitches in the zone to hit because the last thing the opposition wants to do is put a duck on the pond from the get-go with two huge bats looming.
Brett Baty keeps 2nd-base job
While the former top-third-base prospect thrived yet again in a spring training, the usual big question remained: Can he put it together in the regular season at the major-league level?
Finally, in 2025, we’ll be able to say yes.
He slashed .353/.441/.745 (1.186 OPS) with four home runs and 11 RBI in 51 spring training at-bats, and he did so against MLB-caliber pitching, as seen in his home run on Monday against the Yankees’ Marcus Stroman. Goaded by manager Carlos Mendoza’s veiled threat back in February that this could be his last chance to make it stick in Queens, Baty figures it all out and performs so well that Jeff McNeil returns from injury only to find that his starting job at second base has been taken by the 25-year-old.
Clay Holmes wins 13-plus games with sub-3.50 ERA
The former Yankees closer could not pass up on the opportunity to start in the big leagues, and the Mets’ pitching lab has provided an opportunity to do just that.
The 31-year-old arrived at camp ahead of schedule, which made the stretching of his workload all the more easy. He then expanded his arsenal from two or three pitches to six, including a changeup that has tracked especially well.
We have seen relievers make the jump to a permanent starting role and thrive. Another ex-Yankee, Michael King, did just that last year with the San Diego Padres. To a lesser extent, Seth Lugo was given a permanent starting role with the Kansas City Royals after being used first as a swingman, then as just a reliever throughout his seven-year career with the Mets. He finished second in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2024.
This is not to suggest that Holmes will be in the Cy Young conversation this season, but he will be a dependable arm in the middle of the rotation.
David Peterson becomes the starting rotation’s X-factor
The veteran left-hander is a bit of an afterthought when the Mets’ rotation is first brought up given the storylines surrounding everyone else. Senga is healthy and primed to regain ace status after pitching just 5.1 regular-season innings last year. Holmes’ transition to starter has been well-documented, Sean Manaea will look to build off his resurgent 2024 when he returns from injury, and Griffin Canning had a remarkable spring training to suggest New York’s pitching lab has uncovered another diamond in the rough.
Then there is Peterson, who came off a superb 2024 campaign in which he went 10-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 21 starts, then was an invaluable bullpen piece in the postseason.
In 2025, he becomes an invaluable piece in the starting rotation, as he takes another big step. He was superb in spring training, posting a 0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched, allowing just an earned run on seven hits with 12 strikeouts and seven walks.
Peterson has shown that he is not going to be a dominant strikeout pitcher. He pitches to contact, and his WHIP will once again hover between that 1.200 and 1.300 range.
It will work in front of a strong Mets defense. His 50.8% ground-ball rate ranked in MLB’s 85th percentile last season (per Baseball Savant), and if he can start getting weaker contact, his numbers are going to improve even more.
Mets run into Dodgers too early, lose in NLDS
Is this bold? On paper, the Mets have a top-four roster in the National League, even with the question marks surrounding their pitching staff. They should be in the mix for the NLCS every season for the next 10 years.
Everyone is chasing the Dodgers, who somehow got even better this winter and will be the heavy favorites to repeat as World Series champions. However, two of the Mets’ arch-NL-East rivals, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, also provide considerable opposition — especially if the Braves are able to stay healthy.
The Mets beat the Braves in the first game of the regular-season-ending double-header to clinch their spot in the postseason last year, and then they beat the Phillies in four games in the NLDS. This version of the Mets is deeper and more talented than last year’s club, and the only team outside of the Dodgers that should give them a run for their money are the Braves with Ronald Acuna Jr. back and ace Spencer Strider nearing his return.
I’m picking the Braves to win the division, given their edge in pitching, with the Mets getting the top Wild Card spot. It’s a bad break, considering the Dodgers will likely snag the No. 1 seed in the NL. That sets up an NLDS meeting between the two after the Mets get through the Wild Card Series. At this point in the year, no one is going to pick against the Dodgers.
