3 blockbuster NY Mets roster moves that can further build Steve Cohen a dream super team

While this whole week has been about the New York Mets celebrating landing a generational talent in Juan Soto to the largest contract of all time, their work this offseason is far from done. With the richest owner in the MLB telling Soto he wants to win two to four World Series in the next decade, it stands to reason that he'll stop at nothing to achieve that quest.

As currently constructed, the Mets still aren't the favorite to dethrone the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The team still lacks an ace, could use help in the bullpen, and while the lineup is improved with Soto, he's essentially an Alonso replacement which leaves another hole open.

To get where Cohen wants to go in 2025 and beyond, the Mets will have to lay it all on the line. They have to think big. And because of that, these three blockbuster moves to build a super team may be on the horizon.

1) The NY Mets sign Corbin Burnes to lead the rotation

The Mets entered the offseason needing to replace at least three-fifths of their starting rotation. So far the answers have been signing a guy in Frankie Montas who posted an ERA near five while coming off a major shoulder injury, and signing a career reliever in Clay Holmes who needs to evolve to become a competent starter.

Even if you believe in those two guys having success in the Mets rotation, they're still without a true ace. Meanwhile, the Dodgers added to their embarrassment of riches in the rotation signing two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell earlier this offseason.

The starting pitching market has gotten wild. Luis Severino signed for more than expected with the Athletics. Nathan Eovaldi got more than many thought in his return to Texas. The Yankees panic-bought Max Fried, the other true ace on the free-agent market, to the tune of eight years and $218 million. On the trade market, the Red Sox gave up a king's ransom for Garrett Crochet.

Yet, despite all this movement and dollars being thrown about, the best starter on the market, Corbin Burnes, remains available. Burnes is in a tier well above the likes of Severino and Eovaldi. He offers much more certainty and durability than Snell and Crochet who have combined for just three total seasons of over 140 innings pitched in their careers.

Burnes is a workhorse with four straight years of at least 160 innings pitched and 193 or more innings in each of the last three seasons. Unlike Fried, he has multiple ways to get hitters out, either by using finesse to generate soft contact, as evidenced by his 48.2% groundball rate last season, or with power to dominate hitters via the strikeout, as evidenced by the 12.61 K/9 he posted in 2021, his first full season as a starter.

Burnes paired with Kodai Senga at the top of the rotation would give the Mets a one-two punch that could match up with anyone. He'd be the second top prize the Mets could come away with this free agency period.

While some have indicated that the Mets aren't in on Burnes, every day that passes and every alternative that comes off the board makes a match seem more and more likely. The Mets have the cash, the need, and the desire to win, so this is a move that needs to happen.