Mets have pieces in place to be World Series contenders in 2016, beyond

The Mets weren’t supposed to get thatfar. They were playing with house money in the World Series. But even taking that into account, it was still mightypainful for Mets backersto see the their teamcome up short on the big stage.

David Wright, the Mets’ captain, is well aware of the conflicting feelings within himself and in the hearts of the fans.

“You go from the disappointment and how much it stings to -it was a pretty good damn year,” Wright told reporters after Game 5.“We just fell a little short in the World Series. [But only] two teams played a game [Sunday], and we were one of them. That is something that we should be proud about.”

Now that the 2015 season is over, the Mets must focus on trying to get back to the World Series in 2016. The Royals showed it can be done, as they came up just one run short to the Giants in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.

The Mets’ most important pending free agents are Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes. Though they both struggled in the World Series at the plate and on the field, their overall production in the regular season combined with their NLDS and NLCS play made them very valuable assets. Both Murphy and Cespedes have expressed interest in returning, but the high prices they’ll command in the open market could prevent the Mets from both or even just one of them.

Should they both leave, the Mets would have to count on Curtis Granderson, Juan Lagares, and Michael Conforto in the outfield, and Dilson Herrera would have to step up to replace Murphy. The Mets will also have to decide whether or not to keep utility guys Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, both of whom will be unrestricted free agents and are on the wrong side of 30.

The great news is that the Mets have a starting pitching staff that will always keep them afloat. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz will be the big four going into 2016, with Zack Wheeler set to return from Tommy John surgery in the middle of the season. Jon Niese, Logan Verrett, and Rafael Montero should be there to hold down the fort at the bottom of the rotation. Bartolo Colon will be 43 next season, and though he says he might want to pitch next year, it’s unlikely he’ll be re-signed by the Mets with the glut of pitching they have.

The bullpen will need to be patched up a bit; Jeurys Familia will return, as will Addison Reed,Hansel Robles, Sean Gilmartin and Carlos Torres. Josh Edgin, the Mets’ left-handed specialist in 2014, is set to come back in 2016 after Tommy John surgery knocked him out this season. But Tyler Clippard, Bobby Parnell, Eric O’Flaherty and Jerry Blevins are all pending free agents.