The New York Mets have one of the highest MLB payrolls in 2025 after re-signing Sean Manaea and Pete Alonso in addition to landing All-Star outfielder Juan Soto. While the stars will carry the Mets roster in 2025, there’s one young player the club thinks can break out this season.
New York already has more depth than it did a year ago. The club added Jose Siri and Nick Madrigal this offseason with the signings of Soto and Jesse Winker pushing Starling Marte into a bench role. In addition, New York landed Clay Holmes and A.J. Minter to provide more pitching depth.
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- New York Mets payroll 2025 (FanGraphs): $331 million
The club has also been linked in MLB rumors to a potential reunion with veteran infielder Jose Iglesias. He would provide a strong option behind Jeff McNeil, who is coming off his worst season (.692 OPS) since 2021. However, New York reportedly is holding off on signing Iglesias right now in part because of confidence in another player on the roster.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Mets front office is very high on Luisangel Acuña and believes the 5-foot-8 infielder could have a very strong 2025 campaign with the club.
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- Luisangel Acuna stats (ESPN):.308/.325/.641, .966 OPS, 3 home runs in 39 at-bas
Acuna, who turns 23 in March, made his MLB debut this past season. While he received limited opportunities with the club in September, he did compile a .966 OPS and 0.5 Wins Above Replacement in 14 games played. That success came after a 131-game season at the Triple-A level where he slashed just .258/.299/.355 with a .654 OPS, 20 doubles and 7 home runs in 547 at-bats.
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Still widely regarded as one of the Mets top prospects in 2025, New York could ultimately decide to have Acuna start the year in the minor leagues so he can get more at-bats. Whenever he becomes a contributor for the club in 2025, the Mets clearly believe he’ll make a positive impact this season to a playoff contender.
