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Thursday, February 19, 2026

After $310M Offseason, The New York Mets Are Leading MLB

  • The Mets’ $258.3 million payroll is the second-highest in MLB.
  • Even without Jacob deGrom, they lead the league among starters for ERA (2.16), WHIP (0.85), and AVG (.178).
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

They aren’t quite “sleepers” given how much they’ve spent, but the Mets are off to their best start since 2015 — when they last made the World Series.

New York has the best record (14-5) in baseball, and with Tuesday’s 3-0 win against the Cardinals, set franchise history by winning each of the season’s first six series.

Second-year owner Steve Cohen has shown a willingness to spend whatever it takes to win, helping build what’s shaped out to be a well-rounded team led by the best pitching staff in baseball.

  • The Mets’ spent $309.8M this offseason (4th in MLB) and their $258.3 million payroll is the second-highest in MLB.
  • They’re 4-0 in games Max Scherzer starts; he signed a three-year, $130M contract this offseason ($43.3M AAV is the highest in league history).
  • New York leads the league among starters for ERA (2.16), WHIP (0.85), and AVG (.178).
  • The offense leads MLB in hits (163), is second in OBP (.342), and the team has the third-best run differential (+38).

It’s only April, but there’s one main reason to believe they can get back to the Fall Classic: They’ve dominated without a two-time Cy Young Award winner. 

It’ll only get tougher for opposing hitters when you insert Jacob deGrom into a scorching hot rotation with Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Tylor Megill, and Carlos Carrasco.  

As for deGrom, the team announced that his shoulder is progressively “healing” after MRI and CT scans this past Monday. They have the third-best odds to win it all (+850).

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