3 New York Mets Who Won't Be Back in 2025

The New York Mets 2024 season went about as well as even the most diehard Mets fans could have hoped coming in. They made it all the way to the NLCS and gave the LA Dodgers a run for their money.

But now the reality sinks in. The offseason is here, and the Mets have a huge free agent on their roster to worry about in Pete Alonso. And one across town, Juan Soto, that they'd also love to reel in from the rival NY Yankees. With those two big fish being their focus, the smaller minnows on the roster will have to take a back seat, and likely move on.

With that in mind, we look at 3 Mets who likely won't be returning in 2025.

JD Martinez

On Monday, the veteran slugger came out and insisted he wants to come back for his 15th MLB season at the age of 37. It just won't be with the Mets.

J.D. Martinez, 37, also "1,000 percent" intends to keep playing... assuming the game will have him. He was encouraged by his expected batting stats.

"I'm not going to come back because I'm begging to come back," Martinez said. "I'm going to come back because it makes sense."
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 21, 2024

"I'm not going to come back because I'm begging to come back," Martinez said. "I'm going to come back because it makes sense."

It just doesn't make sense for the Mets. Whatever money they would be putting aside to try to re-sign Martinez should certainly be going towards Alonso or Soto.

Martinez had a disappointing season at the plate, hitting just 16 homers for the second time in the last three years, his standout season with the Dodgers in 2023 seemingly an outlier at this late stage of his career. His .725 OPS was his lowest in a full season in 12 years.

Jose Quintana

Sticking with the "wrong side of 35" equation, Jose Quintana should be another player the Mets move on from this winter. He's a free agent, and even though he had a surprisingly stunning 5-start stretch at the end of August and September, his overall season showed the wear and tear of a soon-to-be 36-year-old pitcher. He had a 4.57 ERA during the main bulk of the season before that late run, and it seems the Mets would be better off saving the $13 million or so (his average salary over the past two years) to put towards Alonso/Soto/Younger-more-promising-pitching.

Jesse Winker

Here's a player who's priced himself out of a Mets return. Sure, Winker had some big moments in the playoffs, but as a platoon player, is it really worth the $7-10 million or so that he'll try commanding on the free agent market? In his 44 games after coming over from the Washington Nationals in a deadline deal, Winker batted .243 with a 95 OPS+. Again, despite the playoff heroics, is he worth spending free agent money on? If they can get him back for the $2 million he was playing on this year, perhaps it makes sense.