DALLAS -- By the time the baseball world went to sleep on Sunday evening, the Mets had already guaranteed themselves the most significant offseason splash of any team. In agreeing with Juan Soto on the largest contract in Major League history, New York made certain its Winter Meetings would be successful.

That¡¯s not to say the Mets intend to skate from this point forward. To the contrary, president of baseball operations David Stearns noted earlier this week that ¡°we¡¯ve got a lot of work to do,¡± and it¡¯s easy to see in what areas he intends to focus. Soto may give the Mets instant clout as contenders, but they remain far from a complete team.

¡°I think it's pretty evident that the Mets have decided that they¡¯re going to pursue winning, and winning for a long time,¡± agent Scott Boras said. ¡°They¡¯ve made it very clear to us that they¡¯re not limited to signing one great player but multiple great players. [There¡¯s] going to be, I think, a very steady and heavy commitment to acquiring the best talent.¡±

BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS

1. Starting pitching
Even with their recent deals for Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes on the books, the Mets could use additional rotation depth. They¡¯re likely to acquire at least one more starting pitcher, with Sean Manaea still a possibility. If the club fails to re-sign Manaea, several other options loom, including veterans Walker Buehler and Andrew Heaney. New York also has been active in the trade market, negotiating with Chicago for Garrett Crochet before he ultimately went to Boston.

2. First base
While the Mets will almost certainly acquire a first baseman one way or the other, this essentially comes down to, ¡°Will they re-sign Pete Alonso?¡± There¡¯s clear interest from the Mets here, but also from other teams. New York could still pursue a lesser free agent such as Christian Walker, though nothing was hot on that front in Dallas.

3. Relief pitching
This is a market that tends not to catch fire until January. The Mets have already addressed it in small ways through Minor League signings and a waiver claim, but they¡¯re going to grab more pitching between now and Spring Training. Expect plenty of action here over the next six weeks.

RULE 5 DRAFT

The Mets lost two prominent pitching prospects, Nate Lavender and Mike Vasil, in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday. They didn¡¯t select anyone.

Lavender, a lefty reliever who went to the Rays in the first round of the Draft, briefly ranked among the Mets¡¯ Top 30 prospects before injuring his left elbow and undergoing Tommy John surgery in May. Because he¡¯ll miss most of next season, Lavender is likely to spend 2025 on Tampa Bay¡¯s 60-day injured list and be subject to Rule 5 restrictions the following year. If he doesn¡¯t spend the entire 2026 season on the Rays¡¯ active roster, they will have to offer him back to the Mets at that time.

Similarly, Vasil, who was taken by the Phillies in the first round, must spend all year on his new active roster or be offered back to the Mets for half his drafting price ($50,000). New York¡¯s top pitching prospect at the end of 2023, Vasil produced a 6.04 ERA for Triple-A Syracuse last season, prompting the Mets to leave him off their 40-man roster.

¡°You never want to lose pitchers or any player in a Rule 5 Draft,¡± Stearns said. ¡°There¡¯s a long way to go between having a player selected and actually losing the player. That¡¯s the reality of this. But look, those are two good pitchers.¡±

The Mets selected right-hander Michael Hobbs from the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate in the first round of the Minor League phase. New York lost the following players in the Minors phase: righty Joseph Yabbour (White Sox), righty Hobie Harris (Red Sox), shortstop Junior Tilien (Tigers) and catcher Drake Osborn (D-backs) in the first round; righty Nolan Clenney (Cubs) and righty Landon Marceaux (Royals) in the second round; and righty Jawilme Ramirez (Cardinals) in the third round.

GM¡¯S BOTTOM LINE

¡°I think we¡¯ve made ourselves better,¡± Stearns said. ¡°We have been in play in a number of different situations. We talked about starting pitching being a priority, and we¡¯ve been able to add multiple starters already and are still engaged in starting pitching, and clearly we¡¯re working hard to add to our position player group as well.¡±