Last season: 90-72

Projected record: 86-76 (tied for first in NL East)

BBTN video preview: NL East | Betting guide

The Mets, the reigning National League pennant winners, took a huge step toward defending that title when they re-signed Yoenis Cespedes late in the offseason in an unexpected move. Cespedes signed a three-year, $75 million contract, spurning a five-year offer from the Washington Nationals. He can opt out after earning $27.5 million in 2016. Cespedes' arrival at the non-waiver trade deadline last season energized the Mets' moribund offense. The Mets became the first team in major league history to reach the World Series after ranking last in the majors in runs scored on July 31.

The Mets' starting pitching carried New York all the way to the 2015 World Series. With Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey joined by budding aces Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz and Bartolo Colon at the back end, that could be just the beginning of a long run of excellence for the group. -- ESPN.com (graphic from Dan Szymborski)

The Mets boast the most formidable young rotation in the majors. Manager Terry Collins suggested the Mets potentially have five No. 1-type pitchers -- Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz and Zack Wheeler. Wheeler is projected to return from Tommy John surgery around July 1, after a 15-month rehab process that worked so well with Harvey. In the interim, the 42-year-old Colon will provide a capable alternative.

Captain David Wright missed four months last season because of spinal stenosis in his lower back. And while the 33-year-old Wright returned in late August, there is no guarantee he is out of the woods just yet. Even if Wright is healthy, the bottom line is it's difficult to win two straight pennants. Wright knows that well, having lived through the Mets' 2007 collapse a season after they won the NL East.