The New York Yankees and New York Mets will meet for the first Subway Series of the season this weekend in Queens after taking markedly different paths to the matchup, the report says. The Mets sit in last place in the National League East and the Yankees have the second-best record in the American League, per the report. According to FanGraphs, the Yankees carry a 97.6% chance of reaching the postseason while the Mets have a 28.6% chance.
The report says the contrast traces to contrasting offseasons: the Mets overhauled their coaching staff and roster and discarded much of their veteran core after last season’s collapse, while the Yankees largely returned their roster and coaching staff after a 94-win campaign that ended with a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Division Series. The report notes the Yankees were 10 games over .500 at the time of publication and the Mets were seven games under .500.
On the Mets’ roster changes, the report breaks down where the makeover has shown early returns. Center field is up 0.5 WAR despite the club’s acquisition of Luis Robert Jr., who went on the injured list April 30 with a herniated disk, per the report. The Mets’ center fielders have combined for 98 weighted runs created plus, 12th best in the majors, after six different players started there in 2025 and combined for a 71 wRC+ that season. Tyrone Taylor and Carson Benge split starts after Robert’s injury, and 21-year-old A.J. Ewing was called up from Triple-A to play there every day, the report says.
Starting pitching is listed as an improvement, up 3.6 WAR, after the Mets prioritized landing a front-line starter and acquired Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers for prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat, per the report. Peralta, Clay Holmes and rookie Nolan McLean are described as one of the better trios on the club, even as the remainder of the rotation has struggled. The bullpen is cited as up 1.7 WAR; Devin Williams was signed expecting a setup role, Edwin Díaz departed for the Dodgers, and the Mets pivoted to Luke Weaver as the setup man and Williams as closer. The report adds that Williams and Weaver had some struggles but neither had been charged with a run in May.
Where the makeover has not worked, the report says, is first base, down 5.3 WAR. The Mets declined to re-sign Pete Alonso, the franchise’s all-time home run leader, and instead signed Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million deal to play first base — a position he had barely played as a professional and one that, the report says, carried significant injury risk.
