The New York Mets will miss the 2025 MLB playoffs. A few months ago, that seemed impossible.
Nevertheless, New York lost to the Miami Marlins 4–0 on Sunday, eliminating them from postseason contention on the regular season’s final day. Francisco Lindor grounded into a double play in the top of the ninth to end the game. The team has a payroll of approximately $323 million and won’t be playing in October.
After Lindor’s season-ending groundout, Mets broadcasters Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez lamented the collapse they had watched over the past few months.
“And the Mets’ agonizing, three-and-a-half-month, slow-motion collapse is complete,” Cohen said. “It is unfathomable that this collection of talent winds up outside of an expanded playoff system. After having the best record in baseball for the first two and a half months of the season, everything goes wrong over the last three-and-a-half months, and the Mets find themselves on the outside looking in.”
“Players about as stunned as the fans,” Darling said. “I think a lot of the players felt as though this day would never come, that they’d be able to turn it on at some point and not have to endure this. But they weren’t able to do that.”
“This has got to be so heartbreaking, disappointing for the players, but they didn’t get it done,” Hernandez said.
“And the Mets agonizing, three-and-a-half-month, slow-motion collapse, is complete.”
Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez react as the Mets are eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Marlins on the final game of the season. pic.twitter.com/oYvnqhvCJp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 28, 2025
New York’s loss means Cincinnati has made the postseason. The Reds lost to the Brewers 4–2 on Sunday and finished with the same 83-79 record as the Mets but hold the tiebreaker. That means had New York won on Sunday or Saturday, Cincinnati would be out and the Mets would be in.
New York had MLB’s best record on June 12 at 45–24. After that, they went 38–55.
The Mets spent lavishly over the offseason, most notably inking Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract. They also re-signed Pete Alonso to a two-year, $54 million deal that paid him $30 million this season and brought back Sean Manaea on a three-year, $75 million deal.
It didn’t matter.
Soto had an excellent season, slashing .263/.396/.525 with a career-high 43 home runs, 105 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. His wRC+ of 157 ranked fifth in baseball, and he generated 5.8 fWAR, which ranks 11th. His raw hitting numbers were down from 2024, but he didn’t get to play 81 games with a friendly short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.
In the end, Soto was a star, but the rest of the roster wasn’t up to the task.
It will be a long offseason in Queens.
