Mets: Five best international free agents the front office should consider

The New York Mets have the opportunity this offseason to be involved in the rare acquisition of an international star on the free agent market.

This offseason’s hot stove offers many intriguing options internationally for the New York Mets to explore for both their Major League roster as well as their farm system, and I personally can’t remember the last offseason where there have been this many potential star options coming stateside at once.

The most coveted players making the move to Major League Baseball are two highly-regarded pitchers who have been posted from Japan, a talented shortstop who has been posted from Korea, and two highly regarded athletes from Cuba. Each one of these players can fill a need for the Mets in some form in 2021 and beyond.

While it has been a while since we’ve seen the Mets sign a highly regarded international player, we have to remember that this is no longer the same old organization we are used to. If the Mets believe any one of these five players fit the mold of what the current front office is looking for, regardless of cost, they will throw their hat in the ring. It’s certainly a refreshing take, especially this season in a market where many teams’ offseason plans have been debilitated by financial issues.

While it has not been publicly made known by the front office whether the organization has any type of interest in any of the following five international players, there’s no better time than now to view how each individual player could be viewed as a potential fit for the Mets. It’s also important to note that three of these players would count towards the Major League payroll, while the two others would count towards the organization’s international pool.

In lieu of all of the excitement surrounding these five international stars, I wanted to rank each player in terms of the best fit and as well as priority for the organization to sign this winter.