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.

The post-mortems have long since been delivered for a Mets team that effectively removed itself from playoff contention in August, then mathematically finished the job in late September. By this point, the reasons behind New York’s demise have been well-documented, and yet the end of a season always offers another opportunity for reflection.

It was a summer without many redemptive qualities for the Mets, but with plenty of data points from which to learn. Here are a few of them:

Defining moment

Still well below .500 on the night of July 27, the Mets traded closer David Robertson to the Marlins for prospects. A day later, Max Scherzer said he needed to speak to Mets leaders about the direction of the franchise.

Those conversations led to Scherzer agreeing to waive his no-trade clause for a deal to the Rangers. Justin Verlander was next as the Mets overhauled themselves at the Deadline, breaking apart a $370 million roster in search of prospects and future value.

What we learned

Money doesn’t buy success. It helps, of course. But as owner Steve Cohen admitted this week, throwing hundreds of millions at a roster guarantees nothing.

“We’re not the only team that spent a decent amount of money and maybe it didn’t work out the way we had hoped it would work out,” Cohen said. “It’s really about finding the best ballplayers, putting together the best team we can, and cost is not necessarily the determinant of success.”

Best development

No player entered the season with a wider range of possible outcomes than Kodai Senga, whose five-year, $75 million contract represented one of the riskier bets of any MLB club. But Senga proved well worth the money in the first year of his deal, finishing fifth in the Majors in ERA with a performance that is likely to garner him National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year votes.

Entering his age-31 season, Senga could be primed for a better year in 2024, now that he’s accustomed to the league and won’t necessarily have the same shackles on his workload.

Area for improvement

Outside of Senga, the Mets’ pitching staff faltered, finishing 19th in the Majors in ERA a year after clocking in ninth. Much of that was due to early injuries to Edwin Díaz, Verlander, Scherzer and José Quintana, but not all of it.

Many of the Mets’ depth starters regressed, giving the team few reliable options in the first half of the season. The Mets will need to construct a more consistent pitching staff in 2024 and they’re likely to attempt to do so through free agency.

On the rise

It’s easy to forget that Francisco Alvarez didn’t make the Mets’ Opening Day roster. Called up in early April, Alvarez wound up appearing in 123 games and catching 108, setting aside concerns about his defense behind the plate.

Alvarez’s improvement wasn’t always linear, but he finished with 25 home runs and a .721 OPS as a 21-year-old rookie. If Alvarez can build on this, the path is still open for him to become one of the league’s top overall catchers.

Team MVP

The best Mets season belonged to Francisco Lindor, who once again combined elite defense and baserunning with a strong offensive performance. Lindor finished with his first career 30-30 season, taking advantage of MLB’s new rules to steal a career-high 31 bases along with his 31 homers. He should receive down-ballot NL MVP votes for a second consecutive year.