{"id":202354,"date":"2026-03-23T12:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/202354\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T12:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:45:14","slug":"these-are-the-mets-x-factor-players-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/202354\/","title":{"rendered":"These are the Mets’ X-factor players in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet the new-look Mets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gone are Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz and Jeff McNeil after a second-half collapse<\/a> resulted in the Mets missing the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Here are Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta and numerous other fresh faces<\/a> after an offseason overhaul in which third-year president of baseball operations David Stearns reshaped the roster in his vision.<\/p>\n

Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto remain the core of this team, and big seasons from both will be necessary for the Mets to meet their potential.<\/p>\n

But the Mets need production from many beyond Lindor and Soto in order to improve on last year\u2019s 83-79 record and return to the postseason.<\/p>\n

Here are the X-factor players whose performances could determine how this season goes for the Mets:<\/p>\n

JORGE POLANCO<\/p>\n

Stearns\u2019 mission this offseason was to improve the Mets\u2019 run prevention, an amalgam encompassing both pitching and defense.<\/p>\n

In that vein, the Mets are counting on Polanco to provide a defensive upgrade at first base over Alonso, even though Polanco \u2014 a middle infielder throughout his career \u2014 has made only one MLB appearance at first.<\/p>\n

But Polanco\u2019s ability to transition to a new position<\/a> isn\u2019t the only reason he is an X-factor.<\/p>\n

The switch-hitting Polanco also carries a heavy burden on offense, potentially as the cleanup hitter behind Lindor, Soto and Bichette.<\/p>\n

While the Mets are not asking Polanco to replace Alonso\u2019s offensive output \u2014 that will need to be more of a team effort \u2014 a big season by the 32-year-old would prevent this lineup from being too top-heavy.<\/p>\n

Polanco hit 26 home runs with an .821 OPS for the Seattle Mariners last season, up from 16 homers and a .651 OPS in 2024.<\/p>\n

NOLAN MCLEAN<\/p>\n

The Mets\u2019 rotation can go from a weakness in the second half of last season to a major strength this year.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not only because of the addition of the ace Peralta, but because the Mets have sky-high hopes for what McLean can accomplish over a full season in the majors.<\/p>\n

Behind an elite spin rate, McLean dominated after his call-up last August, going 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 48 innings over eight starts.<\/p>\n

If McLean, still technically a rookie, can continue his ascent, he and Peralta would form an enviable one-two punch atop the Mets\u2019 rotation.<\/p>\n

As a bonus, that would take some pressure off of Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and others in the Mets\u2019 starting staff.<\/p>\n

DEVIN WILLIAMS<\/p>\n

The Mets are banking on a bounce-back season from Williams, who is set to replace Diaz<\/a> \u2014 now a Los Angeles Dodger \u2014 as their closer.<\/p>\n

Last season with the Yankees, Williams posted a career-worst 4.79 ERA and was twice removed from the closer role.<\/p>\n

But Williams believes he has now adjusted to New York, and the metrics suggest he was the victim of some bad luck last year, when his chase percentage, swing-and-miss percentage and strikeout rate all ranked within MLB\u2019s 97th percentile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He finished last year strong, with 13 consecutive appearances without an earned run, including the postseason.<\/p>\n

If Williams returns to being one of baseball\u2019s best relievers \u2014 as he was with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2020-24 \u2014 then his three-year, $51 million contract will be a bargain.<\/p>\n

But he has big shoes to fill in Diaz, who pitched to a 1.63 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 66.1 innings last year.<\/p>\n

CARSON BENGE<\/p>\n

Whether it happens on Opening Day or not, the rookie Benge appears poised to take over right field sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Benge, the Mets\u2019 No. 2 prospect, entered spring training<\/a> with a chance to win a starting job, and he has repeatedly flashed his upside.<\/p>\n

Through 12 spring games, Benge was hitting .412 (13-of-32) with a double, a triple and a .987 OPS.<\/p>\n

The Mets may decide Benge would benefit from more seasoning, as he appeared in only 24 games at Triple-A last year.<\/p>\n

But if Benge can live up to the hype as a power and speed threat, he would add another dynamic option to the Mets\u2019 lineup and bolster the bottom of their order.<\/p>\n

Either way, the Mets\u2019 outfield is set to look different this season, as Soto moved to left field (from right), while Luis Robert \u2014 another bounce-back candidate \u2014 was added to play center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meet the new-look Mets. Gone are Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz and Jeff McNeil after a second-half…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[63653,42162,71255,72567,76068,42159,3817,70677,171,173,172],"class_list":["post-202354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-carson-benge","tag-devin-williams","tag-francisco-lindor","tag-jorge-polanco","tag-juan-soto","tag-mets","tag-mlb","tag-nolan-mclean","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}