Record 87–75 (.537) Owner(s) Fred Wilpon Manager(s) Terry Collins | Divisional place 2nd General manager(s) Sandy Alderson | |
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Local television SportsNet New York
WPIX (CW affiliate)
(Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez) | ||
The 2016 New York Mets season was the franchise's 55th season. The Mets opened the season against their 2015 World Series opponent, the Kansas City Royals. This was the first time in the history of the league that World Series opponents played a rematch on Opening Day. This was made possible by interleague play being scattered throughout the season. Despite being below .500 (60-62) as late as August 19, the Mets went 27-13 in their final 40 games to make the postseason for the second time in two consecutive seasons. They lost to the San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card Game.
Contents
November
On November 24, 2015, Stolmy Pimentel signed a minor league deal with the Mets.
December
On December 2, 2015, bench coach Bob Geren left the Mets to join the Los Angeles Dodgers to fill the same position left by Tim Wallach who left to join the Miami Marlins in the same capacity. Geren served as the bench coach from 2011–2015. Dick Scott was hired to replace Geren on December 16, 2015. On December 3, the Mets signed pitcher Jim Henderson to a minor league deal. On December 9, the Mets traded pitcher Jon Niese to the Pittsburgh Pirates for second baseman Neil Walker. On December 10, the Mets signed Asdrúbal Cabrera to a two-year, $18.5 million contract. On December 14, the Mets signed Buddy Carlyle to a minor league deal for the third time since the offseason leading to the 2014 season. Duane Below was re-signed as well to a minor league deal. Marc Krauss was signed as well to a minor league deal. On December 15, the Mets signed Jerry Blevins to a one-year, $4 million contract with incentives. On December 16, Bartolo Colón was re-signed to a one-year, $7.25 million contract. To make room for Colón, the Mets designated Johnny Monell for assignment on December 18, when the deal became official. On December 23, Alejandro De Aza signed a one-year, $5.75 million contract with the Mets. On December 23, Kirk Nieuwenhuis was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers.
January
On January 15, 2016, Nevin Ashley was signed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. On January 22, Antonio Bastardo was signed to a 2-year, $12 million contract. On January 26, Yoenis Céspedes re-signed with the Mets on a 3-year, $75 million contract, with an opt out after the first season. On January 22, Carlos Torres was designated for assignment by the Mets. On January 29, Neil Walker signed a one-year, $10.55 million deal avoiding arbitration. On January 30, the Mets placed Torres on waivers. Torres cleared waivers on February 1 and elected free agency.
February
On February 2, 2016, Darrell Ceciliani was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. On February 8, 2016, Roger Bernadina signed with the Mets on a minor-league contract. On February 12, Jenrry Mejía was permanently banned from the MLB after his third performance-enhancing drugs (PED) violation. He became the first player to be banned for life due to PED use, and one of only two living people to be permanently banned, the other being Pete Rose. Mejía is allowed to apply for reinstatement after one year. However, he must sit out a minimum of two years, meaning that he will not be eligible to pitch again until 2018 at the earliest.
Opening Day
The Mets began their 2016 season by losing a close one in Kansas City, falling 4-3 at the hands of the Royals. Matt Harvey, making the Opening Day start, was hit around by the Royals, who took a 4-0 lead into the 8th. However, the Mets scored 3 runs off Joakim Soria to make the game close. In the top of the ninth, facing Royals closer Wade Davis, the Mets put runners at the corners with one out, but Davis struck out David Wright and Yoenis Céspedes to close out the Royals' opening day victory.
April
Following a narrow Opening Day defeat, the Mets split the series in Kansas City behind a scoreless outing by Noah Syndergaard and a two-run home run by Neil Walker. The Mets then returned home and won their home opener 7-2 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jacob deGrom pitched six strong innings, while Walker and Michael Conforto both had multiple RBI's. The Mets then went on a brief four-game losing streak which dropped them to 2-5. During the slump, the offense struggled to produce. However, the offense caught fire throughout the rest of the month, led by Neil Walker, who hit .315 with 9 home runs and 19 RBI's in his first month with the team. The Mets only scored less than four runs in a game once in April after April 15, and finished the opening month of the season with a 15-7 record.
May
After a surging April, the Mets began to cool down in May. On May 7, Bartolo Colón became the oldest player to hit his first career home run at 42 years and 349 days old. It came off San Diego Padres pitcher, James Shields in a game against San Diego. Mets pitchers continued to hit when on May 11, Noah Syndergaard hit two home runs off of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Kenta Maeda. The second home run gave the Mets the lead in the 5th inning. On May 27, the Mets returned to Citi Field to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in what was the first game in a 1986 World Championship 30th Anniversary Weekend Celebration. New York won the first game on a Curtis Granderson walk-off home run, but lost the next two games, highlighted by Noah Syndergaard throwing behind Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley, an act that was seen as intentional as the Mets were trying to get revenge for Utley's questionable slide against the Mets in 2015 NLDS. The Mets finished the month with a record of 14-15. This dropped them to second place in the NL East to the Washington Nationals, who would never relinquish their lead in the division.
June
The Mets continued to struggle in June, thanks largely in part to their anemic offense, which couldn't produce many runs, especially with runners in scoring position. Neil Walker, who had led the Mets in most offensive categories for the first two months, began to have a drop off in production. The Mets also could not beat teams in their division, getting swept by the Braves and Nationals. Pitching also became an issue for the Mets. While Bartolo Colón and Noah Syndergaard continued to pitch well, Steven Matz, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey would not win a game in June. The injury bug also began to bite New York, as Lucas Duda and David Wright went down with back and neck injuries, respectively. While Duda would return to the Mets later in the year, Wright would wind up missing the entire season. Duda would be replaced by James Loney, and the Mets brought back former shortstop José Reyes to fill in for Wright at third base. The move was greeted with criticism, as Reyes had been arrested for domestic violence in the offseason. However, Reyes filled in adequately.
Detailed record
Games played as of October 1, 2016.
Batting
(Updated as of 10/20/16)
Players in bold are on the active roster.
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On Base Percentage; SLG = Slugging Percentage; SB = Stolen bases
Pitching
(Updated as of 10/20/16)
Players in bold are on the active roster.
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts