What New York Mets learned in 2026 - ESPN

The New York Mets have 11 games remaining in another disappointing season that began with World Series aspirations and ended with them playing the role of pesky spoiler against several postseason contenders down the stretch.

And that is the duality of the Mets' season: a colossal letdown from a roster with the second-highest payroll in the majors, but enough silver lining for optimists to generate excitement for 2027. The Mets are 21-16 since trading eight big leaguers in the weeks leading into the Aug. 3 deadline. They've played 13 teams during that stretch, eight of them currently sitting in a playoff spot and two others just four games under .500 combined. They've been a good baseball team for six weeks.

«It just shows what guys can do collectively together when they're on the field, when they're healthy,» Mets interim manager Andy Green said. «It gives us a glimpse of what we're capable of, living up to that throughout the course of the season. It doesn't put us starting the season next year 5-0 or anything like that. It does no good in that regard. But it does breed confidence and breathe life into a group that believes in themselves.»

That belief extends to a front office led by president of baseball operations David Stearns and into owner Steve Cohen's suite. The Mets expect to contend in 2027. The pressure is on from a frustrated fanbase that expressed its feelings loud and clear Monday and Tuesday with chants calling for Stearns' firing while celebrating Pete Alonso's return to Queens with the Baltimore Orioles.

The awkwardness of this week's events aside — fans at Citi Field openly rooted for Alonso, giving him a curtain call after he clubbed his 300th career home run against their team, which bothered Mets