Mets giddy about Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, but will all three be part of the future?

Clay Holmes played Santa Claus on Thursday at the Mets’ annual holiday party at Citi Field.

Rookie pitchers Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong dressed up as Santa’s elves.

None of that Christmas cuteness can cover up what so far has been a Ho Ho Horrible offseason in Flushing.

Fortunately for the Mets, their Three Wise Men — Steve Cohen, David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza — have plenty of time before Opening Day to mend the hearts of fans who are still reeling from the departures of Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz.

Those fans are wondering what’s under the tree for next season.

Providing a glimmer of hope: The sight of those three rookie pitchers together, all fully dressed in green and red costumes — “I probably look ridiculous,” Sproat said with an elfish grin — and the hope that they can be three-fifths of one of the top rotations in baseball.

Maybe not in 2026. But the way things are going for the Mets right now, why not in 2026?

“Obviously, very talented,” Holmes said. “We got to see that last year. The velo, the kind of off-speed, the ability to spin stuff. Kids that are very driven. They want to do the right thing. They want to be great.”

The Mets could use an infusion of great on the mound. Their biggest weakness in 2025 was starting pitching, especially down the stretch, which is why McLean, Sproat and Tong totaled 17 starts in August and September.

The Mets were desperate, and all three showed signs, McLean especially. After eight big-league starts, a 5-1 record and 2.06 ERA, the 24-year-old is the only one of the trio virtually assured a rotation spot heading into spring training.

Sproat is 25. Tong is the baby of the bunch at 22, and his outings were the most uneven, suggesting he might need some more seasoning in the minors.

But the Mets’ veteran starters are Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and David Peterson, all of whom had issues last season. Holmes, the converted reliever, might be the most sure thing.

So the rotation is, as they say, a work in progress, and the rookie trio will get a serious look in Port St. Lucie.

The Mets once before had a Big Three of promising rookie starters. That was in 1995, and the names were Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen and Paul Wilson. They were called Generation K. Only Isringhausen panned out, and that was years later as a reliever, mostly with Oakland and St. Louis.

Sproat, asked if this trio could be the core of the rotation, reared back and fired.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “Even though we’re young, I think we bring a lot to the table.”

Said Tong: “I think that we’re going to go out there and do everything we’ve done in the past.”

Are they close friends? You bet.

“I talk to them every day,” Sproat said. “Whether it’s baseball or not baseball, we’re always communicating. It’s a great friendship there.”

Sproat said the “not baseball” talk consists of “video games, golf, you name it.”

One thing they apparently have never, ever spoken about: Whether the Mets are going to trade Sproat or Tong this offseason (McLean seems untouchable).

“I honestly don’t really look at it,” Sproat said. Tong said something similar.

We’ll allow them their fibs. Believing athletes don’t follow rumors about themselves potentially getting traded is like believing in a big guy in a red suit who rides a sleigh and brings presents to every kid in the world once a year. (Sorry.)

Why would the Mets entertain the idea of trading away Sproat or Tong or any of their top prospects? It could be the cost of doing business in the post-Alonso/Nimmo/Diaz world.

The Mets have needs. Maybe they can all be filled by young players and on the free-agent market. But something tells us Stearns is also going to make a big trade or two, and prospects are a currency he can deal in along with Cohen's financial might.

Keep particular attention on San Diego, which is looking to shed payroll because of an uncertain ownership situation.

San Diego has big names such as Fernando Tatis Jr. (the Mets are one team that could absorb his huge contract). The Padres have flamethrowing reliever Mason Miller, dependable starter Nick Pivetta, outfielder Ramon Laureano, and a general manager in Long Island-raised A.J. Preller who loves to make splashy deals.

Or maybe the Mets can really make a run at Tarik Skubal. If so, back up the truck and load up the prospects who would be heading to Detroit.

The Mets so far have added Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver (pending a physical). They need two outfielders and more pitching. They need a reason for their fans to show up like they did in 2025, when nearly 3.2 million jammed Citi Field in Year One of the Juan Soto Era.

Fans love homegrown players (hence the literal tears over the departures of Nimmo and Alonso), and the Mets have three who think they are ready to take the Citi Field mound on back-to-back-to-back days in 2026. It could happen, and it would be exciting for the fan base.

But who knows what the Mets are thinking? At this point, do the Mets know?

Cohen and Stearns must have a plan. Except it’s not immediately obvious, even to Thursday’s temporary Kris Kringle.

“For a player,” Holmes said, “it’s a little sad to see those guys go . . . Those aren’t easy decisions, I'm sure. I don't really know all the details behind the scenes, but to make those big decisions . . . sometimes it can be a little bit uncomfortable.

“I guess trust kind of the direction they're wanting to go. I know they wouldn't just be doing those things for no reason. So there's a lot of trust in kind of the plan moving forward and kind of what they have in store.”

It's another way to say Ya Gotta Believe. Santa wouldn't lie.