3 New York Mets free agents who won't be back in 2025

The New York Mets have 13 players set to hit free agency this winter. Their big free agent is Pete Alonso, who will be one of the front office's biggest priorities in the next few months.

In addition to Alonso, there are rumors that the Mets are also aggressively pursuing superstar outfielder Juan Soto, who could receive a contract worth over $550 million. With the Mets pursuing both Alonso and Soto, their offseason could get very expensive very quickly if they manage to acquire one or both of these two stars.

Since they're trying to throw so much money at the big names, they won't have as much money to spend on the middle players on their roster. Among the 13 upcoming free agents, several names stand out as players who won't be brought back in 2025.

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Right-hander Ryne Stanek is expected to become a free agent this offseason. Unfortunately for him, that likely means his time with the Mets will end when the Mets' season ends.

Stanek wasn't particularly good during the regular season, especially after landing with the Mets. During his time with New York, Stanek posted a 6.06 batting average in 16.1 innings. He wasn't particularly good with the Mariners either. In fact, Stanek hasn't had a sub-4.00 ERA season with the Astros since 2022.

He cracked New York's postseason roster and threw well in a limited sample this October. He has allowed just one earned run on two hits in 4.1 innings. Not a large sample size, but he was effective when his number was called.

But as he heads toward unrestricted free agency, he won't be high on the Mets' list of priorities to bring back. That will be a theme on this player list. The reality is that the Mets are going to pay some top free agents a lot of money. Another team will prioritize a guy like Stanek in free agency, while the Mets will look for the best budget options for their team when it comes to building the middle of their bullpen.

Jesse Winker has completely outplayed his current market value. He only makes $2 million a year and is paid by both the Nationals and Mets, but he has played more like a $10 million or $15 million player.

This year, he hit .253/.360/.405 between his time with the Nationals and the Mets. He was also a positive net player for the Mets in the postseason. He has a few extra base hits and is getting on base better than his batting average suggests thanks to some walks he drew.

Winker brought the energy and passion to the Mets and ignited them all during his time with the team. He'll likely get paid this offseason for what he's done well this year, but the Mets have bigger problems than trying to bring back a platoon outfielder.

For the Mets, they need to prioritize their starting rotation and the two big free agents they want to acquire: Pete Alonso and Juan Soto. Expanding the pitching rotation will also be expensive.

Money isn't usually an issue for the Mets and Steve Cohen, but as he looks to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at the top free agents in his class, there won't be that much money for a guy like Winker. In the end, Winker will likely sign a one- or two-year deal worth $15 million to $25 million.

Sean Manaea has a $13.5 million player option with the Mets for 2025. If you had asked executives about this play before the season, I bet many would have expected Manaea to opt out at the end of the season year would choose this option. But Manaea played well above his salary in the 2024 season. He has signed a contract with agent Scott Boras, who is known for getting as much money as possible for his clients. With Boras as his agent and such a successful season, I would fully expect Manaea to decline his option and hit the open market.

This year, Manaea posted career highs in innings pitched (181.2), ERA (3.47), H/9 (6.6) and HR/9 (1.0). He was truly a different pitcher than he has been in the past, and the southpaw carried that over into the Mets' postseason.

After pitching horribly in his first 7.2 postseason innings with the Athletics and Padres, Manaea gave the Mets starts of five two-run innings in baseball and seven one-run innings in baseball.

With such a successful season, Manaea likely played straight out of the Big Apple. Boras won't be interested in giving discounts to stay with the Mets. With New York pursuing Alonso and Soto, among others, I can imagine Manaea wearing a new jersey in 2025.