The celebration was short-lived for David Stearns and the members of the Mets front office.

 in Flushing came with much fanfare, including a staff-filled Piazza Club to harken his arrival, traditional Latin-American fare and the No. 22 jersey finally landing on the superstar’s shoulders. The pursuit of “someone who’s on track to go to Cooperstown” ended with him in their building for at least the next few years and perhaps 15 years.

Despite landing the crown jewel of this free agent class, Stearns knows there is more to be done to continue to fulfill his and owner Steve Cohen’s vision.

“I don’t think this changes our goals or how we look at our organization,” Stearns said following Soto’s introduction. “You make a move like this because the expectation is to win, win at a high level, win consistently, win championships. That was the expectation before this move and it will continue to be the expectation.”

The courting of Soto proved that the Mets’ consistent message about building an elite baseball team year after year is being taken seriously across the league. But now, with a record 15-year, $765 million deal on the books, the Mets front office must continue to sell some high level talents on that concept to better realize that goal.

With a successful Winter Meetings in the rearview mirror and 2025 rapidly approaching, here are three more predictions for where the Mets will turn and what their roster could look like with a little more than two months to go until the first spring training game:

Pete Alonso makes a return to Citi Field

One player who does not need to be sold on the Mets’ growth as an organization under Cohen is Pete Alonso, who saw that firsthand in the team’s deepest playoff run in nearly a decade.

Alonso was an important catalyst in leading the team’s run to the National League Championship Series. He homered four times and drove in 10 runs in 13 games, perhaps none bigger than his ninth-inning go-ahead three-run blast off Devin Williams in the Mets’ Wild-Card clinching win in Game 3.

The Mets have a big need to provide protection for Soto in the team’s lineup and what could be better than a reunion with their homegrown first baseman to fill that role. The Mets and Alonso could not be a more perfect fit in this free agent window, with the Mets’ willingness to pay and Alonso’s need for that suitor.

With Alonso back, Mark Vientos can grow more comfortable at third base and the Mets can begin to comb through their roster to find their future second baseman among Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña, Ronny Mauricio and Jett Williams. Alonso returns on a front-loaded six-year, $144 million contract.

Lineup gets a bit more balanced with Joc Pederson

When the Mets lost the left-handed hitting Jeff McNeil to a broken wrist toward the end of last season, the bottom of their lineup ended up a little bit unbalanced.

Despite adding one of the most dangerous left-handed hitters in the game in Soto, the team could still stand to add some more balance, particularly at the designated hitter spot which is still up in the air.

Joc Pederson is coming off one of his best seasons of his career in his lone season with the Diamondbacks. He slashed .275/.393/.515 with 23 home runs, 64 RBI, 62 runs and 17 doubles. Carlos Mendoza proved that he loves to platoon and play the hot hand during his first season at the helm and adding a quality hitter with a splash of pop would serve the Mets lineup well.

After a few short-term deals, maybe a two-year deal worth $29.5 million could help land the 32-year-old.

Mets bolster their bullpen with best lefty on the market

The one guarantee currently in the Mets’ bullpen is the presence of Edwin Diaz as the team’s closer.

After that, the Mets are relying on a trio of upstarts in Reed Garrett, Dedniel Nuñez and Jose Butto, a potential injury risk in Sean Reid-Foley and some other unknowns.

The Mets need someone with a track record of bridging the gap to the ninth inning to help them in the latter innings of close games. And the only left-hander remaining from last season’s late run is Danny Young.

A move to bring in Tanner Scott would immediately bolster the Mets’ bullpen, particularly against the right-handed side of the plate. The 30-year-old southpaw had a career season split between the Marlins and Padres and was the big bullpen prize of the trade deadline.

Scott finished with a 9-6 record, 22 saves, 1.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 84 strikeouts in 72 innings last season. He tossed 5⅔ scoreless innings for the Padres in the playoffs, further underscoring his value.

Scott is likely to cost a pretty penny, but with the Mets going for it following the Soto add, they could stand to gain a bona fide setup man.

Mets’ 2025 roster projection

Catchers: Francisco Alvarez, Luis Torrens

Infielders: Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil, Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuña

Outfielders: Starling Marte, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Siri, Juan Soto, Tyrone Taylor

Designated hitter: Joc Pederson

Starting rotation: Kodai Senga, Walker Buehler, Frankie Montas, David Peterson, Clay Holmes

Bullpen: Edwin Diaz, Dedniel Nunez, Reed Garrett, Sean Reid-Foley, Jose Butto, Tanner Scott, Dylan Covey, Griffin Canning