3 affordable free agents we’re almost surprised the NY Mets didn’t sign this winter

Although the New York Mets have had a good start to the season, there is always room for improvement. There are areas of the team that have performed worse than expected or have concerns about potential regression. Normally, these concerns can be fixed around the trade deadline; however, with the deadline being over two months away, that's not an option.

Outside of bottom-of-the-barrel free agents, the only way to address these issues is to wonder what might have been. To look at the previous offseason free agent list and find players that would've worked better than what the team currently has. Here are three affordable free agents the Mets should have signed this offseason.

1) Andrew Heaney

This past offseason, Heaney was seen as a reliable mid-rotation arm. He was not a top-tier free agent like Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell; however, he could be a guy who eats innings and gives you 100-plus innings. This caused the Pittsburgh Pirates to give the lefty a one-year deal worth $5.25 million.

This move has worked out better than the Pirates could have imagined. Through 60 and 2/3 innings, he has a 3.41 ERA, with 44 strikeouts to 24 walks, and a 1.26 WHIP. A big reason for this success has been the massive improvement of his fastball. Last season, his fastball was in the 35th percentile of fastball run value. However, the fastball run value has skyrocketed to the 89th percentile this season. This dramatic jump has a lot to do with the increased use of his sinker, which is up 9.6% from last season.

Heaney could have filled the role of swingman for the Mets—someone who can be a long reliever while also making a spot start if needed. This was the role Heaney had when he was with the Rangers for two seasons. It would be a role he was comfortable in, give the Mets a solid option, and prevent them from relying on inexperienced starters like Brandon Waddell and Justin Hagenman for spot starts.