The New York Mets arrived a year ahead of schedule in 2015 and put together a nice postseason run. They fell short in the World Series, but this club has a legitimate chance of getting back there in the next 3-5 years thanks in no small part to arguably the best young starting rotation the game has seen since the '90s Atlanta Braves staffs.
The big four of that talented Mets rotation -- Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz -- are locked in for 2016, but there are a number of other details to address, including the likelihood that they'll have to replace a few big bats in the lineup.
Here's what's next for the Mets:
Free-agent departures: Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy, Tyler Clippard, Bartolo Colon, Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson
Objective No. 1: Let Cespedes and Murphy walk
The Mets should be prepared to lose both players. They'll make a qualifying offer to Murphy, but I'd expect him to decline it; he'll get more years and dollars on the free-agent market. As for Cespedes, he should be in line for a sizable contract. The Mets shouldn't put long-term exposure on the books for either player, and they could use the draft-pick compensation for Murphy signing elsewhere to help replenish their farm system, which was weakened by trades the team made to acquire big league talent in 2015.