With 2026 baseball officially behind us, and so much speculation and insecurity around 2027 baseball, we are now entering that liminal space between seasons that may wind up lasting far longer than any of us would like. We will be with you throughout all of it, however long it lasts, and to begin the official offseason coverage, we’re going to take a look at some important dates for the Mets and Major League Baseball as a whole.
Deadlines and Important Dates:
October 29:
Free Agents file
At the end of the season, the Mets had zero (0) free
agents. Every single player that was due to hit free agency today was traded (or claimed off waivers) during the season. And so the 9am deadline came and went without any Mets activity at all.
November 2:
Free agency opens at 5 p.m. ET
Last day to issue Qualifying Offer
60-day Injured List reinstatement
Contract options deadline
In terms of the internal machinations, the Mets have no Qualifying Offers to issue. The Mets currently have three players on the 60-day Injured List who will need to rejoin the 40-Man roster (Tylor Megill, Reed Garrett, and Jorge Polanco). Bo Bichette is the only Met with a player option, so he will have to make a decision about his future in Queens by Monday evening.
With the lockout expected to begin less than a month from now, look for free agency to happen quite quickly.
November 9-12
GM Meetings in Las Vegas
These are usually fairly tame, in terms of trades and signings, compared to the Winter Meetings, but with those in question, look for the GM meetings to be a hotbed of activity.
November 17
Deadline for players to accept the Qualifying Offer, 4 pm ET
Rule 5 protection deadline (Players need to be added to 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 draft)
With the Mets needing to add some minor leaguers to their 40-man roster, expect a flurry of releases and trades to make some room before this deadline. Our Lukas Vlahos did a great job of outlining where the Mets’ roster stands at the end of the season.
November 17-19
Owners meetings in New York
Expect to see a lot of cigars lit with $100 bills and other signs of excess while crying poverty.
November 20
Non-tender Deadline
See the note about the Rule 5 deadline above.
December 1
CBA Expires 11:59 pm ET – Lockout begins
This is the big one; even if things go better than any of us expect, there will likely still be a lockout starting on December 1st.
Likely to be postponed or cancelled
December 7-9: Winter Meetings in San Diego
December 8: Draft Lottery
December 9: Rule 5 Draft
January 8: Arbitration Figures Exchanged
The Winter Meetings almost certainly won’t happen, and the others in this category will be postponed until the lockout ends.
January 15
International Signing Period opens
This will be the only real activity between the lockout’s beginning and end.
Awards and Hall of Fame:
November 1
Gold Glove Awards announced
The Mets have three players – Luis Torrens, Nolan McLean, and Carson Benge – who are Gold Glove finalists. The award announcements will be exclusively revealed via ESPN at 9pm EST.
November 2
HOF eight-person Contemporary Baseball Era ballot for managers, executives and umpires
Silver Slugger Award finalists announced – 2 pm ET
BBWAA Awards Finalists announced
The Mets look to have at least one Rookie of the Year candidate, but seem unlikely have any finalists in any other categories (Cy Young, MVP, Manager of the Year). These will be announced on an MLB Network broadcast from 6pm-8pm.
November 6
Heart & Hustle Awards announced – TBD – MLB Network
Gold Glove Awards dinner in NYC – Platinum Glove winners announced
November 9
Rookie of the Year – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)
It seems likely that Carson Benge and/or Nolan McLean get votes in the Rookie of the Year category, with Benge being the Met frontrunner.
November 10
Manager of the Year – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)
The Mets had two managers this year and neither seems likely to grab any votes here.
November 11
Cy Young Awards and BBWAA relievers of year – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)
MLB Awards show – 9-11pm ET (MLB Network)
All-MLB first and second teams
Hank Aaron Award winners
Comeback Players of year
Mariano Rivera & Trevor Hoffman relievers of year
Edgard Martinez DH of year
I suppose there is a chance that a Met picks up an honor on the first or second team, but that seems like the only likely Mets action here.
November 12
MVP Award – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)
In what world would a 2026 Mets be an MVP candidate?
November 16
Hall of Fame announces its 2027 ballot, 12 pm ET – Writer’s ballot
Bobby Abreu, David Wright, and Francisco Rodriguez will all be on this ballot, with potential ex-Mets Asdrubal Cabrera, Todd Frazier, and Jay Bruce potentially looking at debuts on the ballot.
November 17
Silver Slugger Awards
December 6
BBWAA announces Contemporary Baseball Era inductees
January 19
Hall of Fame announces BBWAA voting results & 2007 inductees, 6 p ET (MLB Network)
