The moment New York Mets fans had dread over the last week became a reality on Sunday afternoon. After being one of the best teams in the league during the first half, they went 38-55 over their last 93 games to complete one of the most shocking collapses in MLB history. The franchise with a payroll of $341 million in 2025 will have the next bunch of months to wonder about what went wrong and how to fix this mess.
Part of the change will be to add better talent in key areas, but they also need to identify the players and coaches who helped aid their epic collapse. With that in mind, here are eight players and coaches the New York Mets need to jettison as soon as possible.
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Veteran Jeff McNeil has been viewed as very hard to trade due to his contract. However, now with only one year and $15 million left, moving him should be a top priority. He is far removed from the player he was when he won a battle title in 2022. And while he is versatile, he is not great at the various positions he plays. Nevertheless, he is still a rock-solid veteran bat who could fill a need for another team.
If the Mets can get a team to pick up the rest of his money, they can trade him for a bag of balls because they have players to fill his spot.
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The Mets' ability to come back late in games last year hid an obvious problem with their hitting. They had to come back late because they didn't do much in the first seven innings of games. However, when that unique intangible disappeared in 2025, it showed the strategic flaws in the team's approach to hitting. That falls on hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes.
With the talent in the batting order, this should be an elite lineup. Yet they often underwhelmed this year, especially with runners in scoring position. Someone has to take the fall for those failings, and it needs to be Barnes and Chavez.
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At one point this season, Juan Soto suggested Starling Marte was the true captain of their team. In situations like this epic collapse, questions about leadership come up. Manager Carlos Mendoza will take a lot of heat for this season and may lose his job. But there also needs to be locker room leaders. Francisco Lindor is going nowhere and still had a good season. If Marte were a true difference maker and leader, the Mets would be in the playoffs. He is a free agent this winter, and he doesn't need to be brought back.
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Boy, the difference a year makes when it comes to Mark Vientos. Last fall, he seemed like a budding star after an amazing second half and run in the playoffs. However, he took a huge leap back in 2025. If Pete Alonso is brought back, the Mets should put Vientos on the trade block. Sure, he had a down year, but there is enough value there to get solid prospects back, and the team has internal options to take his spot.
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When Kodai Senga is healthy, he is a top-of-the-rotation talent. However, he has issues staying healthy. And one has to wonder if his late-season swoon was related to the wear and tear from a long MLB campaign. The Mets will find it difficult to trade starters like Frankie Montas (impossible) and Sean Manaea this offseason. However, Senga is a one-time All-Star and is making a very reasonable $15 million a year over the next three seasons. Considering his success in the big leagues, New York can move him for a solid return and open up a 2026 spot for Brandon Sproat , Jonah Tong , or Christian Scott .
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Francisco Alvarez was supposed to be a perennial All-Star. Maybe he still can, but it might need to happen somewhere else. The organization has given him many chances, and while he's shown signs of his immense potential, it is either followed by injuries or a deep slump. There is still a ton of talent in the 23-year-old. If that can be used to get a veteran catcher like Adley Rutschman in a trade, it's something New York needs to seriously consider.
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While Mets President David Stearns has made some really good moves during his two seasons in New York, giving Frankie Montas a two-year deal worth $34 million is his biggest failure so far. Montas was a disaster for New York in 2025 and needs to go. Unfortunately, recent Tommy John surgery makes him impossible to move. Nevertheless, cutting him and eating the money and admitting the failure would be a good show of realizing mistakes and quickly moving on from them.
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