The Mets’ offseason has to date revolved round their pursuit of Juan Soto and their makes an attempt to reload a pitching employees filled with free brokers. Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana are on the open market and Luis Severino has already departed to signal a three-year, $67MM take care of the Athletics. New York has responded by signing Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to comparatively cheap contracts, however the staff may very well be additional bolstering the rotation with an even bigger splash.
Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, and Jack Flaherty are three of the names the Mets have proven curiosity on this winter, in keeping with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon. Re-signing Manaea can also be nonetheless a risk, as Rosenthal/Sammon be aware that the Mets stay open to a reunion with the left-hander.
Montas signed a two-year, $34MM contract, whereas the Mets gave Holmes $38MM over a three-year deal. Provided that Eovaldi has a prolonged damage historical past and is coming into his age-35 season, his subsequent contract isn’t more likely to surpass three years in size, which inserts David Stearns’ most well-liked technique of giving shorter-term contracts to pitchers. MLBTR projected Eovaldi to land a two-year, $44MM contract, although it’s simple to think about Eovaldi touchdown extra from the Mets or one other staff contemplating what number of pitchers have already landed higher-than-expected paydays this offseason.
Regardless of his age, Eovaldi has remained a really strong pitcher, and it was simply in 2023 that he posted an All-Star season whereas serving to the Rangers win the World Collection. The 2024 marketing campaign noticed Eovaldi ship a 3.80 ERA and above-average strikeout and stroll charges, and his 170 2/3 IP marks the third-highest innings whole of his 13 huge league seasons. The best-hander is not any stranger to high-pressure championship video games in huge markets, and looks like a robust match on a Mets staff that has designs on contending for a World Collection in 2025.
Flaherty received a hoop himself with the Dodgers simply this season, capping off a robust bounce-back season that noticed him publish a 3.17 ERA over 162 mixed innings with Los Angeles and Detroit. The righty is now seeking to translate that platform yr into an enormous contract, and since he simply turned 29, Flaherty can also be youthful than Eovaldi, Manaea (33 in February), and Pivetta (32 in February). Nonetheless, that additionally means Flaherty is looking for a longer-term deal, with Rosenthal and Sammon figuring a contract of between 4 and 6 years.
MLBTR’s projection break up that distinction with a five-year, $115MM prediction for Flaherty’s subsequent contract. It stays to be seen if the Mets can be keen to satisfy that value, or if Stearns is cautious about giving such a deal to a pitcher who battled accidents and ineffectiveness from 2020-23. This isn’t to say that the Mets president of baseball operations is totally hostile to longer-term contracts, although Stearns’ chief tactic has been to hunt out “the subsequent Flaherty” within the sense of on the lookout for promising arms with bounce-back potential.
Re-signing Manaea is maybe probably the most comfy possibility given the Mets’ pre-existing familiarity with the veteran left-hander. There was a lot to love about Manaea’s first season in Queens, and he selected to capitalize on his robust season by opting out of the ultimate yr of his contract (price $13.5MM) with the Mets to pursue an even bigger deal in free company. Apparently, Rosenthal and Sammon write that at the least one different staff all for Manaea has mentioned the potential of a four-year contract, which might be a daring dedication to a pitcher of Manaea’s age and considerably inconsistent monitor report.
The qualifying provide can also be an element within the Mets’ pursuits. Eovaldi and Flaherty weren’t eligible for the QO and thus no compensation is hooked up to their companies. Manaea and Pivetta each turned down qualifying presents from the Mets and Crimson Sox, so their subsequent groups must give up some type of draft or worldwide bonus pool capital so as to signal both pitcher. This wouldn’t be an impediment for the Mets in re-signing Manaea since groups don’t have to surrender any compensation to re-sign their very own participant, however signing Pivetta would value the Mets $1MM in int’l bonus cash plus their second- and fifth-highest alternatives within the 2025 draft.
Boston’s determination to subject Pivetta was seen as a little bit of a shock, and it may very well be that being hooked up to a compensation package deal may uninteresting Pivetta’s market to some extent. Pivetta is a sturdy pitcher with high quality secondary metrics, but he was extra strong than excellent over his four-plus seasons with the Crimson Sox, posting a 4.29 ERA over 633 innings. This may not be sufficient of a resume to maneuver the Mets to surrender two picks and $1MM from their bonus pool, particularly since New York may already be making a gift of such a bounty in the event that they signal Soto (one other certified free agent). Signing two QO-rejecting gamers would value the Mets $2MM in pool cash, in addition to their second, third, fifth, and sixth-highest picks within the 2025 draft class, so it doesn’t appear to be the Mets would add onto Soto with one other certified free agent.