Mets Rumors: A thankful swing and a miss at signing Garrett Richards

Garrett Richards will not be pitching for the New York Mets in 2021 which is actually not such bad news. According to the latest Mets rumors dropped by Jon Heyman, the club was in on Richards before he ultimately inked a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox worth $10 million.

There has been an abundance of Mets rumors this winter regarding just about every player under the sun—possibly a few on the dark side of the moon as well. So it comes as no surprise to see a player like Richards have his name added to the long list of players affiliated with offseason Mets rumors.

While Richards could make me eat crow for being so down on him, it’s probably best for the Mets.

Mets rumors need more than just Garrett Richards

The Mets swung at signing Richards but came up short. Whether it was guarantees, money, or disinterest by the player doesn’t really matter. Richards will call Boston home and it’s not something to cry about.

Richards has had an unfortunate run of bad luck post-2015. In 2014 and 2015, he looked like a future stud in the Los Angeles Angels rotation. Injuries got the best of him, limiting the now 32-year-old to only 198.2 innings over the last five seasons.

No, that’s no error. Richards has been sidelined plenty over the last several seasons.

This didn’t stop the Red Sox from taking a chance on the once-promising starter. For them, this winter has been about taking chances and hoping the players they still have in-house can play well. The Mets are in a much different position.

Expect more Mets rumors around starting pitchers

Losing Richards from the free agent pool doesn’t come close to ending the chatter about the Mets and any possible pursuit they may have for another starting pitcher. Armed with some good depth, anything from the lowliest available free agent to the best trade candidate on the market should appear in future Mets rumors.

Amazingly, the Mets could conceivably enter the season without making any more moves in regards to their starting staff. Because this offseason seems to involve turning over every stone possible, we are seeing them at least take a look at guys like Richards.

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I can’t quite imagine the number of questions we’d be asking if the Mets did sign Richards to a $10 million contract after passing on a few other surer bets this winter. Fortunately, there’s nothing to question. The Mets passed and we can turn our gaze to the rest of the options out there.