A season full of OMGs and Grimace memes came to an end this weekend as the Dodgers toppled the Mets in a 10-5 win that propelled LA into a World Series showdown and had the Mets looking ahead to the 2025 season. The Roster New York is teeming with veteran free agents, and president of baseball operations David Stearns and his staff will have their work cut out for them this season as they reshape the roster. Several departing Mets free agents made it clear they would be interested in returning, including several aging vets entering the final stages of their careers.

Designated hitter JD Martinez joked “pickleball” when asked what the future held for him (video link via SNY). The 37-year-old slugger said primarily that his future involves going home to be with his new daughter, who he has barely seen since she was born in September. In addition to family time, Martinez made it clear that he hopes to continue his playing career, but only if teams take the initiative. “I’m not going to come back just because I’m begging to come back,” Martinez said. “I come back because it makes sense. Ultimately, time is the most valuable thing there is.”

Presumably, this means there’s a price point where Martinez won’t feel compelled to commit to more time away from his growing young family. But the slugger also recently appeared on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast and told host Rob Bradford that frustration over a general lack of interest last season led him to think about retirement.

“I felt like it was just an awkward year,” Martinez said (video link). “Here I am, the team breaks up in five days, and I don’t even have a team yet. Your brain goes into this weird mode where you think, ‘Am I playing? Am I not? Do I play? Am I not? Is this it? Am I retired? … We didn’t ask for anything that I didn’t think other players had gotten at the time.

Martinez went on to say that he had been waiting all offseason for offers to come in and was “100%” considering retirement, even telling his best friend, “I think this is it. I stay home. This is stupid. I beg for a job, and last year I had an OPS of .900.”

Heading into the 2024-2025 offseason, Martinez won’t have the same kind of campaign he had with the Dodgers in 2023. During his lone year in LA, he hit 33 home runs and hit .271/.321/.572 in 479 plate appearances. Martinez was still a clearly above-average hitter this past season, but a slow start after a late signing (March 23) and a dismal end to the season left him with a .235/.320/.406 batting line. That was about eight percent better than average, measured by wRC+ (108).

An optimist might throw away a slow two weeks to start the season and overlook that finish to see that Martinez hit .251/.336/.459 with 16 home runs in 387 at-bats from mid-May to late August, but the teams won. I can’t be so charitable as to just write those issues off and just focus on his peak production in the season. Martinez did note that he is encouraged by his batted ball data, even if the final production was not in line with his best work, and to his credit he maintained excellent marks in exit velocity, walk velocity and number of hard hits. He also lowered a career-worst strikeout rate in 2023 and improved his walk rate to the highest level since 2019.

Teammate Jose Quintana was more direct and simple in his intention to return next year. The 35-year-old southpaw told reporters (link via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers): “I’m healthy. I feel good. I want to try to win another championship. This was the closest I’ve been in my career. One day I will get that chance.”

Quintana, 36 in January, pitched 170 1/3 innings of 3.75 ERA ball for the Mets in 2024 — the second season of a two-year, $26 million free agent deal. His 18.8% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate don’t necessarily support that level of success, but Quintana was a reliable source of innings and has a long track record of quality rotation work in the majors. Rookie pitchers are always in high demand, and he has a good chance of landing another eight-figure salary on a one-year deal — if not the potential to find a similar two-year deal if the contract he just completed.

Age considerations are not as prominent among 32-year-olds Sean Manaeawho is anything but a lock to decline a $13.5 million player option in search of a multi-year deal in free agency. Manaea has signed back-to-back “prove it” deals, so to speak, signing consecutive two-year deals with opt-out options. He opted out of his deal with the Giants after the 2023 season, will opt out of his Mets deal next month and is now finally in a position to command the kind of longer multi-year deal that has eluded him in free agency thus far. The Mets will most likely make him a qualifying offer, but even with draft compensation attached to his name, Manaea could command a three-year pact this time around.

The left-hander threw 181 2/3 innings in his career, plus another 19 in the postseason. His regular season ended with a 3.47 ERA, a 24.9% strikeout rate and an 8.5% walk rate. He was hit hard in his last start — the one that ended the Mets’ season — but held opponents to five runs in 17 innings in his first three postseason starts (2.65 ERA).

Time will tell if Manaea is back in New York, but the southpaw emphasized how much he loved his time with the organization, calling the 2024 campaign the best season of his career (link via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com). “I’m enjoying my time here,” Manaea said. “I love New York. I like the organization. I love all the people here. Definitely give it a few days, let the body rest and then we’ll move on.”

In addition to the trio of Martinez, Manaea and Quintana, the Mets will also be featured Pete Alonso, Luis Severino, Harrison Bader, Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, Jesse Winker, Jose Iglesias, Drew Smith And Ryne Stanek they all become free agents after the World Series.