💥 BREAKING NEWS: Mets Signal All-In Intent as They’re Labeled “Aggressive” Players in a Crowded Free Agency Market ⚡.DD
The New York Mets are showing serious interest in a specific segment of free agents.
Most New York Mets fans are still holding out hope that their front office will sign a frontline starting pitcher in free agency this offseason.
And there seems to be a decent chance David Stearns will execute a deal for one of the top five free agent starters (Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suarez, Zac Gallen, Michael King, and Framber Valdez) in the coming weeks.
However, given that at least three of these five starters are seeking a long-term deal and the Mets are hesitant to offer such a deal, it might be more unlikely that one of these arms ends up in Queens by Opening Day.
The Mets could pivot to the trade market, or they could focus their search one level below the top starters and instead seek a more mid-tier addition to their rotation.
Jeff Passan Asserts Mets Are ‘Aggressive’ Pursuing Mid-Tier Starters
ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan conveyed that New York is active in this mid-tier starter market by writing, “Among those who have been most aggressive in mid-tier pursuit, according to sources: the White Sox, Orioles, Angels, Nationals, Mets, Padres and Diamondbacks,” in a December 18 article.
When addressing which pitchers he’d include in this tier, Passan wrote, “Chris Bassitt is the best of the bunch for teams seeking innings… and Lucas Giolito has the highest ceiling.
Nick Martinez and Zack Littell are steady strike-throwers, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are quadragenarians with enough stuff and know-how to succeed, and Tyler Mahle and German Marqués [are] tantalizing to teams that dream on what they could get out of a full, healthy season.
“Walker Buehler remains a prime bounce-back candidate, Patrick Corbin a lefty who can pitch forever and Michael Lorenzen an ever-ready swingman,” Passan added.
While most of these names don’t have the same appeal as guys like Tatsuya Imai and Framber Valdez do, there’s no question that many of these mid-tier arms have a low-risk, high-reward appeal that could make them invaluable to the Mets.
Among the most compelling might be Chris Bassitt, who is coming off a regular season where he posted an 11-9 record with a 3.96 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 170.1 innings pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays.
He then transitioned to the bullpen for Toronto’s playoff run, tallying a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched across 7 appearances.
That sort of versatility could be crucial for the Mets down the stretch.
And many of these other mid-tier starters hold a similar appeal.
It will be interesting to see whether the Mets’ aggression manifests in them signing one or more of these arms in the future.
