It is not an easy puzzle.

David Stearns mentioned repeatedly that Job 1 this offseason, after the 2025 disaster, is to improve the Mets in the area of “run prevention.”

Yet look at the pieces he has to fit together:

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1. Is David Peterson an All-Star or the second-half plummet? Is Sean Manaea the 2024 or the 2025 version? Can Kodai Senga be trusted to stay healthy, and — even healthy — who was that guy who couldn’t even get back on the active roster late in the year? Can Nolan McLean hold up for a full major league season? The same for Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong and Christian Scott, along with this question: Just how good are they? Clay Holmes is coming off a fine season in his conversion from being a reliever.