Important 2024-2025 Offseason Dates

The Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth World Series championship on Wednesday night, and now the 2024-2025 offseason begins. The New York Mets will begin their first offseason in a long time with the head of baseball ops and manager set in stone. It should be a huge opportunity for David Stearns and the company to capitalize on the deep pockets of Steve and Alex Cohen.

Of course, Juan Soto is the big catch of the offseason, but impact players like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Alex Bregman, Willy Adames and Max Fried are free agents, too. There are also a slew of free agent relievers who pitched in high-leverage this past season–Clay Holmes, Carlos Estevez, Blake Treinen, Jeff Hoffman, David Robertson and Paul Sewald–to name a few.

Let’s take a look at the important upcoming dates!

Oct. 31, 9:00 a.m. ET – Free Agency Begins

Players who are eligible officially become free agents, though they have to wait five days before they can talk to different teams. The Mets list of players to become free agents today: RHP Adam Ottavino, LHP Brooks Raley, RHP Drew Smith, 1B Pete Alonso, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Ryne Stanek, OF/DH Jesse Winker, DH J.D. Martinez, INF Jose Iglesias, RHP Luis Severino and OF Harrison Bader.

The Mets have two players with options who could also become free agents. Lefty starter Sean Manaea is a slam dunk to decline his $13.5 million player option for 2025. The Mets have a team option for right-handed reliever Phil Maton at $7.75 million for the 2025 season. That might feel like a no-brainer if you have only a short memory, but Maton pitched well in the regular season (2.51 ERA) for the Mets until he clearly hit a wall. The Mets could certainly decline the option and hope to bring back Maton at a lower figure.

Teams can also make trades starting on Oct. 31 at 9:00 p.m. ET, though there are rarely any outside of small 40-man roster maneuvers during this time. The Mets’ 40-man roster will be 35 (not counting Manaea or Maton) after players become free agents and players are activated off the 60-day IL.

Nov. 3 – Gold Glove Winners Announced

The annual Gold Glove Awards will be announced at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Mets sole finalist is right-handed pitcher Luis Severino. The Mets have not won a Gold Glove since Juan Lagares in 2014 and Severino could join Ron Darling as the Mets’ only pitcher to win a GG.

Nov. 4 – Players Can Find New Homes

Free agents can officially start signing with new teams at 5:00 p.m. ET on Nov. 4. Here is the full free agent list from MLB Trade Rumors.

Nov. 4 – Qualifying Offer, Player Option Deadlines

One of the most intriguing parts of the Mets’ offseason is how many players they will give the qualifying offer to. Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea are essentially locks to get the QO, but the Mets could also decide to use it on Luis Severino. The Mets must choose which players to use the QO on by Nov. 4.

Manaea must decide on his option and the Mets’ on their option for Maton by this date.

The Silver Slugger finalists will also be announced. Francisco Lindor is certainly the favorite to repeat at shortstop in the National League. The winners will be announced on Nov. 12 at 6:00 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

Nov. 4-7 – GM Meetings

This year, the GM Meetings will take place in San Antonio, Texas. Outside of teams hiring front office personnel and coaches, there is not a ton of action during this time.

Nov. 11 – Major Award Finalists Announced 

Finalists for 2024’s major awards will be announced during an MLB Network broadcast at 6:00 p.m. ET. The three finalists for MVP, Cy Young, Manager of the Year and Rookie of the Year will be announced.

Nov. 18 – Hall of Fame Ballot Revealed

The 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame will reveal their ballot for the 2025 class. Former Mets closer Billy Wagner will enter his final year of eligibility after narrowly missing last year with 73.8%. Former Met Curtis Granderson will be on the ballot for the first time, as will CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Félix Hernández.

Other former Mets still on the ballot include Carlos Beltrán, David Wright, Bobby Abreu and Francisco Rodríguez.

Nov. 19 – Deadline for QO Decision, Rule 5 Decisions 

The deadline for players to accept or reject the qualifying offer. Players who accept will sign a one-year, $21.05 million contract. Last year, seven players were given the qualifying offer, but none of them accepted it.

It’s also the deadline for teams to add prospects to their 40-man rosters to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place on the final day of the Winter Meetings.

Nov. 19 – Manager of the Year Announced

The Manager of the Year Awards will be announced on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET. Carlos Mendoza is likely battling Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy for top spot in the NL.

Nov. 20 – Cy Young Awards Announced

The Cy Young Awards will be announced on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET. Mets left-hander Sean Manaea will likely land in the top 10 in voting.

Nov. 21 – MVP Awards Announced

The MVP Awards will be announced on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET. Francisco Lindor should finish second behind Shohei Ohtani in the National League.

Nov. 22 – Non-Tender Deadline

Teams must decide whether to tender contracts to pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players. This is a big one for the Mets this season, as they have many arbitration-eligible players, including a few non-tender candidates. The Mets non-tendered five players last offseason.

Dec. 8-11: MLB Winter Meetings

This year, the MLB Winter Meetings will take place in Dallas, Texas. This is where a lot of action typically happens, and conversations lead to more player movement in the days following.

Dec. 11 – Rule 5 Draft 

One of my favorite parts of every offseason, the Rule 5 Draft, takes place on the last day of the Winter Meetings. There is a Major League and Minor League phase, and the Mets took right-hander Justin Slaten in the majors portion last year but traded him to the Red Sox for left-handed pitching prospect Ryan Ammons. Right-hander Mitch Spence was first overall in the draft and pitched 150 innings for the A’s this year.

The Mets lost five players and drafted two in the minor league portion last year.

Jan. 9 – Arbitration Salary Figure Deadline

It’s the deadline for teams to exchange salary figures with arbitration-eligible players. The Mets have eight arbitration-eligible players, with starters Paul Blackburn, and David Peterson tied for the highest projected salary of $4.4 million.

Jan. 15 – International Free Agency Begins

The 2025 International Free Agent period begins at 9 a.m. ET, though most of these deals have already been agreed upon, some have been done for over a year. The Mets are expected to sign one of the best players in the class, shortstop Elian Peña. The bonus is expected to be around $5 million, blowing the Mets’ previous record of $2.85 million they gave to Yovanny Rodriguez last year.

Jan. 21 – Hall of Fame Class Announced

The 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced. Former Mets closer Billy Wagner is in his final year of eligibility after coming in at 73.8% last year. Former Mets outfielder and manager Carlos Beltrán received 57.1% last year in his second year on the ballot.

Feb. 22 – Let the Games Begin!

The Mets have their first Grapefruit League game of the spring against the Houston Astros at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.

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