After spending big on free agency last offseason and building what he considered a balanced roster, Mets general manager Billy Eppler got more than he expected in one regard. 

“Winning 101 games doesn’t happen very often,” Eppler said Friday at a Citi Field press conference to wrap up the Mets’ season. “It doesn’t happen. You recognize it. It’s pretty special.” 

Not so special was the manner in which the season concluded, with a loss to the Padres in the wild-card series after the Mets were swept in three games in Atlanta the previous weekend to destroy their NL East title chances. It’s a division the Mets led by 10 ½ games on June 1. 

Now comes the reality that key players can depart through free agency and decisions will have to be reached on others in constructing a 2023 roster. 

The Mets’ payroll was just short of $300 million this season for owner Steve Cohen, and while Eppler wouldn’t divulge his spending power for the winter, it’s likely safe to say the budget isn’t going to decrease. 

“As far as where we go now, Steve has continued to say, ‘I will support this cause financially,’ ” Eppler said. “We can use some money to bridge ultimately where we want to take this place, which is to add sustainability where we win year in and year out.” 

But for such a plan to succeed, it will take the patience to build a farm system that can regularly feed the major league roster. 

“I don’t think building sustainability is going to come via free agency,” Eppler said. “I think it’s going to come internally. There’s a couple of franchises that are kind of the model for that right now and that is where we strive to be, but it’s going to take some time to build to that.” 

In the meantime, the Mets will spend to stay competitive. 

Jacob deGrom, Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo are the biggest Mets stars headed to free agency. Behind them are Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker, Adam Ottavino and Seth Lugo, among others. 

Eppler said he isn’t prioritizing any of the top free agents over the others. He acknowledged already speaking with deGrom — who has stated he intends to opt out from his contract — after the Mets’ final game on Sunday. 

“He knows how we feel and I know how he feels,” Eppler said. “It was a good conversation and we had a good amount of dialogue over the course of this season. I think we have a sense of what makes the other one tick. Things are positive and the relationship is positive and we’ll see where it ultimately goes, but he knows how we feel.” 

Before trading for Bassitt during spring training, Eppler signed free agents Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar to multi-year contracts. All were instrumental in the Mets reaching the postseason for the first time since 2016. 

“Thank goodness they all have multi-year contracts,” manager Buck Showalter said. “That is unusual, when you get done, I am glad all four of those guys you signed are coming back again. 

“I look at where we were a year ago on this date. I think it’s pretty impressive what ownership and the front office has done and I think our fans should take great confidence in that.” 

Eppler noted that the Mets were second in on-base percentage and tied for fifth in runs scored this season. 

“We headlined it with two guys that are going to end up in the Hall of Fame and ultimately we fell short at the very end,” Eppler said, referring to deGrom and Scherzer. “There’s a variety of things that go into that. But if you tell me we can design a team year in and year out that is going to win that many games or close to that many games … score in the top five in runs and we’re going to have two Hall of Famers at the front end of our rotation, I think that is a pretty good recipe.”