NY Mets: 10 best free agents for Steve Cohen to buy this winter

With Steve Cohen taking over, this offseason should be a very exciting one for New York Mets fans and for these ten free agents that should be on the radar.

The New York Mets just wrapped up an extremely disappointing 2020 season with a 26-34 record and missed the playoffs once again. This team has a lot of glaring holes. The Mets need a lot of help in their rotation, that’s definitely the biggest weakness of this team.

Outside of Jacob deGrom, there’s nobody that can be trusted. The catcher situation is extremely weak as well, as Wilson Ramos and Robinson Chirinos are free agents and likely won’t be back. The bullpen looked alright this season but could use a boost especially if Seth Lugo is a starting pitcher. The team defense was horrible, mainly in center field.

With new ownership in Steve Cohen set to arrive in November, the Mets might actually be willing to spend money in free agency. For years, the Mets have acted like a mid-market team with the Wilpon’s running the show while their crosstown rivals have signed what feels like millions of all-stars in free agency.

In order to contend next season, this team needs help. Here are 10 free agents I believe the Mets should target this offseason.

10) Trevor May

Signing Trevor May is certainly not the flashiest of moves the Mets can make, but I do believe this bullpen can use some help in the back end. I am a believer in Edwin Diaz and think he should be the closer next season. However, the Mets bullpen has a ton of question marks.

Will Seth Lugo be in the rotation or in the bullpen? It’s too early to tell. Can you trust guys like Dellin Betances and Jeurys Familia to be the pitchers they were a couple of years ago? I say no. I think May can provide a big boost to the back end of this bullpen, as he has consistently been very solid the last three years in Minnesota.

What I really like about May is his stuff. He’s got a fastball that averaged 96.4 mph this year, and really good breaking pitches as well. This stuff translated into 14.7 K/9 this year, and 10.5 K/9 in his career. May is good at keeping the ball in the ballpark, and also limiting walks. Two things the Mets bullpen has struggled with the last number of years.

May is 31, and I think the Mets can sign him to a two or three-year deal, and he would produce for the entirety of his contract. He’s certainly cheaper than other available options like Liam Hendriks. While he may not be as good as Hendriks, he’s a very solid reliever who is very worthy of serious consideration this winter.

9) Jake Odorizzi

Outside of Jacob deGrom, the starting rotation was an absolute disaster this season. With that in mind, the Mets will need to bring in at least one starter, and preferably two this offseason. I think one of the arms the Mets should take a look at is Jake Odorizzi. This season, Odorizzi battled a back injury, a chest injury, and a blister on his finger, and only made four starts.

Those four starts did not go well, as he went 0-1 with a 6.59 ERA in 13.2 innings of work. However, the injuries have been limited in Odorizzi’s career. In the six seasons prior, Odorizzi made at least 28 starts per season including 30 last season. In those 30 starts, Odorizzi went 15-7 with a 3.57 ERA, striking out 178 batters in 159 innings of work. He made his first all-star team, and started game three of the ALDS for Minnesota.

Over his career, Odorizzi has gone 62-56 with a 3.92 ERA in 192 starts for the Twins and Rays. Despite his trouble with injuries this year, he’s been capable of taking the ball every fifth day and giving his team five or six quality innings per start. Last season, he allowed 3 walks per nine innings and only 0.9 home runs per nine. The home run number, especially with the drastic increase in home runs is very impressive and encouraging for whoever ends up signing him.

I believe as a back end of the rotation arm he will be a lot more useful than Porcello and Wacha were and is definitely someone the Mets should look into.

7) Jackie Bradley Jr.

One of the big questions the Mets have to answer this offseason is who is going to play center field. Should they really keep Brandon Nimmo in center? Yes, his bat is great but he was among the worst center fielders defensively in all of baseball this season. I believe the Mets should look elsewhere for their center fielder.

The last time the Mets have had a legitimate starting center fielder who can both hit and defend was Carlos Beltran. Yes, it’s been that long. Guys like Angel Pagan weren’t here for very long and Juan Lagares really fell off after his Gold Glove season in 2014.

While Jackie Bradley Jr. probably won’t be the long-term solution, he’s certainly a worthy candidate for the present. Bradley has been an All-Star and a Gold Glove award winner in the past and was having one of, if not his best offensive season this year. Bradley slashed .283/.364/.450 with seven home runs and 22 RBI. His five stolen bases also would’ve been second on the team to Andres Gimenez.

If the Mets were to sign Bradley, it would be more for his glove than his bat. This Mets team already has a ton of firepower as they lead the majors in batting and were second in on base percentage. Bradley would fit in just fine hitting eighth or ninth most nights. If the Mets can get the kind of production that he had this season, that’s just icing on the cake.

Bradley was the American League Gold Glove Award winner in 2018 and has 54 career outfield assists which is the third most among active players. He also was worth 5 defensive runs saved, far better than Brandon Nimmo’s -2.

The Red Sox signed a very similar player in Kevin Pillar to a 1-year $4.25 million dollar deal last offseason. I think Bradley will go for more money but I think the Mets can get away with committing to him for only one year. If that’s the case, I would love bringing in the 2018 ALCS MVP to Queens.

6) George Springer

Yes, I dislike the Astros just as much as you do. What they did was wrong and they should’ve gotten a much stiffer punishment than they got. However, I will start to forgive George Springer if he decides to sign with the Mets. Springer would give the Mets a legitimate star in center field for years to come. The three-time all-star is a career .270/.361/.491 hitter with 174 home runs and 458 RBI across seven seasons.

As mentioned prior, the Mets have an issue defensively in center field. Springer would bring a ton of value in that regard to the Mets. Springer had 6 DRS which was better than Bradley’s and way better than Nimmo this season. He’s played a ton of center field and right field in his career and would give the Mets a high-quality glove in center.

What’s won me over with Springer, is his clutch hitting. Springer has played in 63 playoff games for the Astros and has slashed .269/.349/.546 with 19 home runs and 38 RBI. In 2017, he was the World Series MVP as he slashed .379/.471/1.000 with a whopping five home runs in the seven-game series.

Yes, you can make the argument that cheating made him better. But unlike Jose Altuve, his production this year was not far off of what his career production has been. Springer slashed .265/.359/.540 with 14 home runs and 32 RBI in 51 games this season. Springer was on pace for 37 home runs if this season was a normal 162 games, which would have been his second highest total. He hit 39 last year.

The reason Springer is not higher on my list is because of his age. Yes, 31 years old isn’t that bad. But the Mets need him to be a center fielder for most, if not all of his contract. I would hope the Mets will hold onto Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, so the corner spots are solidified.

Does Springer have five years of good play in center field in him? I think that’s around the number of years he will get in free agency. If the Mets can get him for any less, that’d be icing on the cake. But Springer’s experience excelling in the postseason, as well as the current upgrade he is defensively in center field over Brandon Nimmo, makes him someone the Mets just have to look at.

5) James McCann

I don’t understand why the White Sox signed Yasmani Grandal last offseason. James McCann is most definitely a capable option behind the plate for most teams in baseball. As you know, McCann is not the number one option at catcher in free agency, but he is definitely worth a look if J.T. Realmuto signs elsewhere.

McCann is one of the more underrated players in all of baseball. When he first came up to the majors in Detroit, he was always known for his glove. He still does have a great glove behind the plate. What makes McCann stand out now, is his bat has caught up the last couple of years. McCann was an all-star in 2019 as he slashed .279/.328/.460 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI.

This season, McCann kept up his solid hitting, but didn’t play every day. In 31 games (111 at bats) McCann slashed .289/.360/.536 with seven home runs and 15 RBI. If those seven home runs were in the first 31 games of the season, and the season was 162 games, he would be on pace for 37 home runs. While I know catchers don’t play every day, that’s extremely rare offensive production from a catcher.

The Mets for years have been looking for their catcher. They thought it would be Travis d’Arnaud, but he has decided to wait until he got to Atlanta to produce. For the last two seasons, we’ve watched Wilson Ramos. He did have that 26-game hitting streak last season, but if you take that out, he wasn’t that great offensively. And this season, Ramos slashed .239/.297/.387 with just five home runs and 15 RBI.

As we all know, Ramos was terrible behind the plate as a Met. So many passed balls, and the missed tag in Philadelphia still haunts me. The Mets tried putting him on one knee and setting up lower to steal more strikes. That didn’t work, and it caused more passed balls as he couldn’t move to block a ball. We also know how slow Ramos is. Any ground ball on the infield with a man on base was a sure double play no matter how slowly it was hit. McCann would be an upgrade in every facet of the game over Ramos. He can hit, he can defend, and he’s not the slowest man in baseball.

In terms of contracts, I think McCann will probably get a two or three-year deal. He will be significantly cheaper than Realmuto and will give the Mets the chance to just call up their number two prospect Francisco Alvarez when his contract is up. As a secondary option, it doesn’t get much better than McCann and if Realmuto signs elsewhere, I believe the Mets must sign him.

4) Kirby Yates

Kirby Yates had an injury riddled 2020 season which limited him to just six appearances for the Padres. His season ended on August 18th and he got surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. In the last two seasons prior, Yates was one of the top relievers in baseball. Last season, he led the National League with 41 saves and had an ERA of 1.19 in 60.2 innings of work. He had a 15.0 K/9 and just 1.9 BB/9. Yates also only allowed two home runs in his 60.2 innings pitched. It was truly a phenomenal season.

Due to his injury, Yates might be a buy low candidate for the Mets. The 33-year-old is not the top closer on the market, Liam Hendriks is, and is way more of a risk due to his age and coming off of elbow surgery. Also, in the 4.1 innings he did pitch in this season, he allowed six earned runs.

Whether that was due to pitching with the injury or not remains to be seen, but I think Yates will be searching for more of a “prove it” deal. If he can get a one-year deal with the Mets and be the closer or the set-up man for Edwin Diaz, he will have earned himself a ton of money for the future.

I think the Mets need to stop overpaying for relievers. It rarely works. They did it with Jeurys Familia and Dellin Betances. Both contracts are bad and they’ve underperformed. The Mets have so many holes, to the point where I don’t think it’s worth it to spend big on relievers.

Yates should be cheaper than guys like Liam Hendriks and might be just as productive in the short term. I think Yates is the best value play in terms of the relievers available for the Mets to pursue, and would love for them to sign him on a one-year deal.

3) Marcus Stroman

The Mets traded for Marcus Stroman at the deadline in 2019 to try and make a playoff push, and also to have him in the middle of their rotation in 2020. Stroman was mainly acquired to replace Zack Wheeler who departed for Philadelphia last offseason. Unfortunately for the Mets, this trade was a disaster. They didn’t make the playoffs in 2019, Stroman didn’t even pitch in 2020, and Wheeler was one of the better pitchers in the National League this season.

Even with all of this being said, the Mets need to bring Stroman back to Queens if they miss out on Trevor Bauer. The rotation is such a mess right now, as the only solidified members of the rotation are Jacob deGrom and David Peterson. Noah Syndergaard is expected back at some point, but nobody truly knows how a pitcher will recover from Tommy John Surgery. Stroman will be the second or third starter in the rotation that the Mets desperately need.

In his career, Stroman is 51-47 with a 3.76 ERA in 140 career starts. Stroman had his best season in 2019 in which he made the American League All-Star Team and went 10-13 with a 3.22 ERA in 32 starts splitting time between the Blue Jays and Mets. With the Mets, his production fell off but he was still effective.

Stroman is a ground ball pitcher, and the Mets don’t have great defenders in their infield other than Andres Gimenez. This can be an issue, but since the Mets have pretty much no other options, they cannot be picky. Stroman is easily the second-best starting pitcher in this years’ free agency class, and with Steve Cohen taking over, they should sign at least one of the better pitchers available.

As for the kind of contract he will get, that remains to be seen. The Mets can offer him the qualifying offer worth $18.9 million dollars. Since Stroman is coming off of an injury, there is a chance teams won’t want to commit long term. So, if that’s the case, it’s in Stroman’s best interest to sign the qualifying offer and try again in free agency next season after he hopefully stays healthy and pitches well in 2021.

I honestly hope this happens. I don’t love the idea of committing to any pitcher who isn’t a proven ace for a long time past the age 30 season. Stroman is 29 right now and might get a long-term offer.

The aforementioned Zack Wheeler got 5-years $118 million dollars from the Phillies. He’s older than Stroman, has had Tommy John Surgery, has never made an all-star team, and has no playoff experience. Stroman has not had Tommy John, he made an all-star team when last seen in 2019, and he has made five playoff starts with Toronto. Two of those five starts were in elimination games, and Stroman won them both. He loves the spotlight and has always pitched well in big games. If they can’t get Bauer, the Mets really need Stroman badly.

2) J.T. Realmuto

You all knew this one was coming. The best catcher in baseball is a free agent and will definitely be on the Mets radar. It’s been so long since the Mets have even considered top talent like this, and it sure is a relief that they’ll at least meet with him.

The 30-year-old slashed .266/.349/.840 this season with 11 home runs and 32 RBI. Despite not playing in 13 games, Realmuto finished in the top three in batting, home runs, and RBI among major league catchers. He also tacked on four stolen bases, which would have been the second most on the Mets.  A catcher also providing speed is extremely rare, and after watching Wilson Ramos run the last two years, Realmuto would be a very welcome sight.

While his offensive production especially for a catcher is very good, he’s more known for his defense. Realmuto won the 2019 Gold Glove Award and had a +12 DRS. Realmuto has the fastest pop time for a catcher, and a strong arm to go along with that, which helped him catch 46.7% of opposing base stealers in 2019. This will certainly be helpful for guys like Jacob deGrom and especially Noah Syndergaard who has struggled with potential base stealers his entire career.

The stars all align for the Mets to make this move. There is an obvious need for a catcher, they could really use another big right-handed bat to compliment a very left-handed heavy lineup, and they could steal him from the rival Phillies.

This would not be the first time the Mets have gone after Realmuto. They made a real push for him in the 2018 offseason to acquire him, but nothing ever materialized. The Marlins reportedly wanted either Noah Syndergaard, or two of Brandon Nimmo, Amed Rosario, and Michael Conforto. Looking back, I probably would trade Nimmo and Rosario for Realmuto. But obviously, hindsight is 20/20.

Signing Realmuto is no guarantee. Due to the COVID pandemic, we really don’t know what teams will be willing to spend in free agency. Recently, a report came out saying Realmuto was seeking $200 million dollars this offseason. If that’s what it takes to get him, I say no deal. This team has too many other holes to fill and that’s too much for a 30-year old catcher. Players at that position get beat up every single game and Realmuto himself is coming off of a season when he missed two weeks due to injury.

If the Mets can land Realmuto on a four- or five-year deal worth around $30 million dollars per season, I would be very happy with that. I think anything longer term just seems like too much of a risk for someone at this position. I do believe due to Realmuto’s outstanding athleticism he can last pretty long behind the plate but you really never know.

Realmuto will have plenty of teams going after him this offseason, but I don’t imagine any of them spending more than Steve Cohen would if he decided Realmuto is his guy. For the first time in a long time there is a really good chance the Mets can sign the top player in free agency, and I couldn’t be more excited.

1) Trevor Bauer

Trevor Bauer would fill the biggest hole the Mets have. Their rotation outside of Jacob deGrom and David Peterson was awful. The team expects Noah Syndergaard back at some point, but who knows when that will be. With three spots wide open in the rotation, if the Mets wanted to compete, it would behoove them to sign a legitimate number two starter to go after Jacob deGrom. Bauer certainly fits that bill.

Bauer likely will win the 2020 National League Cy Young Award, ending deGrom’s streak at two consecutive Cy Young’s. Bauer went 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA in 11 starts for the Reds, striking out 100 batters in 73 innings pitched. In his career, he boasts an ERA of 3.90 in 195 games started and 1,190 innings pitched.

In 2018, Bauer finished sixth in the American League Cy Young Award voting after going 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA in 175.1 innings pitched. After a step back in 2019, Bauer seemed to have righted the ship in 2020. The 30-year old is in his prime and will be paid like the star pitcher he is. But the question is, what kind of contract will he demand?

Early this season, Bauer said he was only open to one-year deals. A big reason why is because he wants to be happy and to be contending every year. By signing a long-term deal, his happiness and team success is more in the organization’s hands than his own. This was said before he put up a Cy Young caliber season. Will he still only seek one-year deals? My guess would be no. It’s very hard to pass on hundreds of millions of dollars which Bauer will certainly fetch in a multi-year deal.

On Twitter, his agent tweeted out that “we are open to and will be considering ALL types of deals.” If he seeks a long-term deal, Bauer will likely get something similar to what Stephen Strasburg got last offseason, seven years, $245 million dollars. When that number was floated around, a source close to Steve Cohen said “For a headache? Forget that.”

While Bauer can be a headache at times, I do think he’s very fun to watch and cares deeply about winning baseball games. Watching his vlogs on the Momentum YouTube channel, I got a glimpse at the fun guy he is and how much he loves the game. He wants to take the ball on short rest (as he did in one start this season). He wants to put the team on his back and win games. In his one playoff start this season, Bauer shut out the high-powered Braves offense for 7.2 innings allowing just two hits and striking out 12.

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Will Bauer be the all-star pitcher he’s capable of being for the entirety of a seven-year deal? Probably not. But is it still worth it? Absolutely. The Mets need pitching and shouldn’t be afraid to spend money now that Steve Cohen will be here. The new Mets president Sandy Alderson built his teams around pitching, and he can do that again by signing Bauer to pair with an already very solid lineup.