5 questions looming for the Mets this offseason

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo's Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

As soon as the World Series ends, likely in the opening days of November, the Hot Stove season can officially begin. For the Mets, that means the official start of what is sure to be another frenetic offseason; although owner Steve Cohen has noted that the club might not be as competitive on paper heading into 2024 as it was in March, few around the team expect the Mets to sit this offseason out. To the contrary, the Mets again figure to be one of baseball’s most active clubs.

Heading into November, a few questions loom larger than others. Here’s a look at what the team must solve over the next three months:

Who will manage?
Don’t expect this to become clear for at least another couple of weeks, as the Mets parse through candidates ranging from Craig Counsell to a litany of others. By all accounts, president of baseball operations David Stearns enjoyed a strong relationship with Counsell in Milwaukee, as evidenced by the fact that Stearns never moved to replace him. He’ll be looking to achieve the same sort of continuity in Flushing, whether with Counsell or someone else.

Will the team hire a general manager?
The answer to this is an eventual yes, but it doesn’t have to happen right now. If the right candidate crosses their path this winter, the Mets could certainly make a hire, but the club faces more than enough other issues to keep Stearns busy in the interim. If he needs to spend the offseason relying on the Mets’ incumbent staffers, so be it. The Mets still have a robust crew in place even without departed GM Billy Eppler. That includes assistant GMs Ian Levin and Ben Zauzmer, as well as senior vice president of baseball operations Jonathan Strangio.

How will the Mets fix their pitching staff?
Probably by signing as many accomplished starters as possible, though it’s not as simple as it might seem on the surface. Ultimately, the Mets would like to reach a place where they are not carrying bloated payrolls into every season. Signing top free agents such as Blake Snell or Aaron Nola to long-term deals would run directly counter to that goal. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is an exception given his relatively young age of 25, but he won’t come cheap; already, essentially every big-market team is rumored to be interested in him. That could leave the Mets shopping for older starters available on one- or two-year deals.

To what extent, if at all, will the Mets pursue Shohei Ohtani?
On paper, the Mets aren’t an obvious candidate for Ohtani, given the fact that he won’t pitch next season. But is it wise to count Cohen’s Mets out of the bidding for a player of Ohtani’s cachet? Perhaps they could lure Ohtani to Flushing on a super-high-value, short-term deal, as they did the past two offseasons with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Perhaps Stearns can negotiate some sort of incentive-laden contract that gives the Mets a long-term option to use Ohtani as a pitcher.

Ultimately, Ohtani might sign elsewhere. But until he does, the Mets will probably continue to monitor his movements.

How aggressively will the Mets pursue offensive help?
There’s room for the club to take on a big bat, whether that’s Ohtani at DH or perhaps a corner outfielder to guard against continued health issues for Starling Marte. But will the Mets bog themselves down with a long-term deal for, say, Cody Bellinger, widely considered the next-best option after Ohtani? Or will they instead take a more muted approach and search for the next Bellinger -- a buy-low candidate who can offer big rewards if he hits? Offense clearly isn’t the Mets’ top priority heading into the winter, but it’s also not an area they can afford to ignore.