The New York Mets spent the first half of last season looking like a team built on pitching. For a while, that staff carried them—until everything unraveled by mid-June. Kodai Senga’s hamstring strain was the first domino to fall. Tylor Megill soon followed with an elbow injury. The rookies weren’t ready, and suddenly, what had been a strength turned into a glaring weakness.
By the trade deadline, the Mets still hadn’t found reinforcements. The rotation stumbled down the stretch, with David Peterson and Sean Manaea struggling to find consistency and the bullpen left to pick up the slack. For a team that entered the year with October dreams, it was a harsh reminder that depth matters as much as star power.
Stearns Faces a Critical Offseason Test
Now, the focus shifts to fixing it. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns faces perhaps his most important task of the offseason: rebuilding a rotation that simply couldn’t hold together. One name that makes perfect sense? Ranger Suárez.
Mathias Altman-Kurosaki of MetsMerized Online pointed out that Suárez would be an “obvious fit” for New York—and it’s hard to argue. “After the 2019 season, the Mets saw Zack Wheeler sign with the Phillies. Now, the Mets have a chance to enact some revenge,” he wrote. “Suárez would fit in well at the front of the rotation alongside Nolan McLean and take some of the pressure off the budding ace who’s entering his first full season in the majors.”
A Proven Lefty With Poise and Precision
Revenge aside, Suárez is exactly the kind of reliable, battle-tested arm the Mets need. The left-hander doesn’t light up radar guns, but his results speak louder than his velocity. Through 762 career innings, he owns a 3.38 ERA—a model of consistency.
More importantly, Suárez thrives when it matters most. His 1.48 ERA across 42.2 postseason innings paints the picture of a pitcher who doesn’t blink when the stakes rise. He’s calm, composed, and unshaken—like a veteran card player who never tips his hand.
Solving the Mets’ Innings Problem
For the Mets, that composure would be invaluable. Their 2025 rotation lacked both health and endurance. Outside of McLean, no starter averaged six innings per outing, and McLean himself only made eight starts. As Altman-Kurosaki noted, Suárez “would have ranked third on the team in innings pitched despite missing the first month of the season.” That kind of dependability is what separates playoff teams from pretenders.
Turning the Tables on a Division Rival
Poaching Suárez from a division rival would make the deal even sweeter. The Mets watched Zack Wheeler leave years ago and blossom into one of the league’s best arms in Philadelphia. Adding Suárez would be a symbolic counterpunch—a chance to flip the script while filling a critical need.
Ranger Suárez might not fit the textbook definition of an ace, but he’s the kind of pitcher every contender needs. He competes, he delivers, and he keeps his team in games. For a Mets club desperate to stabilize its rotation, that’s more valuable than any radar reading.