Mets' rotation has plenty of question marks, but plenty of upside as well
Mets pitcher Nolan McLean during a spring training workout on Feb. 14, 2026, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Barring any significant changes in the 12 days between Saturday and Opening Day, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza likely has a six-man rotation to start the season if that is his preferred route.
Top prospect Nolan McLean is as electric a young arm as there is in the sport. Fewer questions remain this spring training than last about Clay Holmes, entering his second season as a full-time starter. David Peterson, who admitted he was fatigued after pitching a career-high 168 2⁄3 innings last year, was an All-Star after a stellar first half of the season.
There’s hope that Kodai Senga, whose struggles ultimately led to a demotion to Triple-A last September, can regain the form that led to his becoming the Mets’ ace shortly after his 2023 debut. And while Sean Manaea’s velocity is down significantly, both he and Mendoza said they are not concerned as he continues to build up his workload.
Regardless of any questions relating to the aforementioned five arms, Mendoza has reason to be optimistic about his rotation. But the unit undoubtedly relies upon its new ace, Freddy Peralta.
“He’s just a personality. We all know the competitor,” Mendoza said on Saturday afternoon at Clover Park. “We know the type of guy he is when he takes the baseball and he goes out there. But I think it’s just the way he carries himself in that locker room. It’s just a different presence. There’s joy. There is [genuineness]. There’s a lot to like about him.
“The one thing that I see is he’s got that smile on his face, even on days that he pitches, and once the game starts, he’s just a completely different personality. Game’s on, and he’s competing. He wants to be the best version of himself.”
Peralta made his third spring training start Saturday evening, toeing the rubber against the Astros at CACTI Park in West Palm Beach. The righthander struck out five in four innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk and throwing 56 pitches. He said afterward that he has “no problem” being in a six-man rotation, noting that he has been in one before and knows he can manage it.
The Mets acquired Peralta and righthander Tobias Myers — a projected long reliever — in January for righthander Brandon Sproat and middle infielder/centerfielder Jett Williams, two of their top five prospects. It was a pretty penny to pay for the 29-year-old Peralta, a free agent after the season who is set for a big payday.
“I’ve been enjoying [it],” he said of being a Met. “Amazing . . . I can’t wait to be able to do it in the season and get some wins.”
McLean, who currently is with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and is MLB.com’s No. 6 prospect, dazzled in eight big-league starts last season, going 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA, 57 strikeouts and 16 walks in 48 innings. If that’s any sign of what’s to come, the sky may be the limit for McLean, but the sample size remains small.
Last year was a completely new adventure for Holmes, who pitched a career-high 165 2⁄3 innings; his next-highest was 70 innings in 2021. He went through bumps but posted mostly strong numbers, going 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 33 games (31 starts).
Mendoza sees “a completely different version” of Holmes.
“There was a lot of questions in regards to the limits of innings and all that, how we were going to manage him,” Mendoza said. “Now second year, after a full year as a starter, he’s got a better understanding of the routine, what the routine looks like in between outings, how he’s going to pace himself. In outings — pitch usage, how he’s going to attack a lineup, not once or [twice], but three times through the order . . .
“This is a guy that wants to use all the resources, wants to use all the information, and he continues to tinker with pitches. He’s got a pretty good repertoire versus lefties and righties, and he’s in a good place.”
Holmes, who also was with Team USA, made what he said was a “tough decision” to return to the Mets on Thursday to guarantee the workload he needs to build up to his first start of the season.
Senga will get a chance to redeem himself after a miserable end to 2025; in his final eight starts, he posted a 6.56 ERA in 35 2⁄3 innings, only 4.46 innings per start. He struck out five in three perfect innings against the Marlins on Friday night.
A variety of injuries have haunted Senga during the last two years — last year’s hamstring strain after a shoulder capsule strain and calf strain that limited him to one start in 2024. He is healthy now and averaged 96.5 mph on his four-seam fastball Friday night, compared to 94.7 mph in 2025.
“This offseason I was rehabbing,” Senga, whose signature ghost forkball has always been his top weapon, said through an interpreter Friday night. “I wasn’t injured or anything. I was healthy. But getting each of those body parts back to where it needs to be, connecting my brain and the body parts so that it can move properly, I was able to attack those and I feel great.”
Manaea’s fastball averaged 89 mph Thursday, down nearly 2 mph from last year. He said afterward that “I think I just [need] more reps.” Mendoza does not think the decrease is a result of the loose bodies discovered in his elbow last season. Only time will tell if he can get back on track.
Peterson had a 3.06 ERA in 18 starts before the All-Star break last year but had a 6.34 ERA in a rough final 12 starts, averaging only 4.06 innings in his final six starts. He wasn’t alone in that regard, as the Mets’ rotation struggled with length for most of the second half of last season. Peterson recently said he “wasn’t myself at the end of the year” and that fatigue played a factor.
If things do go awry for any of the Mets’ six starters, plenty of depth is waiting in the wings. Jonah Tong — the Mets’ No. 3 prospect, according to MLB.com — made five MLB starts last year and will start the season with Triple-A Syracuse. Myers, who made 31 starts in two seasons with Milwaukee but mostly came out of the bullpen last season, is being stretched out.
Mendoza also mentioned that former top prospect Christian Scott, who made nine starts in 2024 before Tommy John surgery, “is in a good place.”
“I feel good with our depth,” Mendoza said. “Six guys that are healthy now, and the guys I just mentioned [Myers, Scott and Tong] we feel really good about.”
Notes & quotes: Francisco Lindor (hamate bone) took a couple of at-bats in a minor-league game Saturday, and Mendoza said the shortstop “continues to feel good” and is “day-by-day now.” His Grapefruit League debut is still to be determined . . . Righthander Justin Hagenman (rib fracture) was placed on the 60-day injured list. “It’s a pretty significant injury,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to be down for a while.” . . . The Mets claimed lefthander Richard Lovelady, who appeared in eight games for them last year, off waivers from the Nationals.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
