Two conclusions for NY Mets fans after seeing the Ranger Suarez contract

Ranger Suarez won’t be pitching for the New York Mets next season, instead signing a 5-year deal worth $130 million to join the Boston Red Sox. Boston’s response to losing Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs was to take a free agent starting pitcher at the top of the remaining heap.

The size of the contract, in dollars and length, assures us of two things we already figured were true about the Mets.

The Mets aren’t going to sign Framber Valdez

There isn’t any reason why Valdez should get less than Suarez in free agency. Even getting the same contract would be unfair based on his track record. Sure, he’s older. He’s also more accomplished and durable.

With Valdez, he benefits from being in a light market. Before Suarez, no starting pitcher had received a $100 million deal except for Dylan Cease. Another starting pitcher with questionable value because of how up and down he has been in his career, the Toronto Blue Jays gladly gave him money now in what appears to be an all-in type of offseason for them.

The Mets will trade for a starting pitcher and it’s going to be a good one

Nick Pivetta doesn’t wet your whistle? What about Freddy Peralta? The lack of major Mets traded this offseason to subtract from an increasingly deep farm system should have us confident they’ll end up pulling off possibly the biggest trade of the offseason for a starting pitcher.

Peralta has always made the most sense. Tarik Skubal? Joe Ryan? Whoever moves, you better accept the Mets will be the ones paying the price.

So far the Mets have used money, not their best prospects, to get better in the offseason. The deal with Milwaukee for Tyrone Taylor and Adrian Houser was largely because the Brewers no longer wanted to pay their rising salaries. Last winter, the same could be said about Jose Siri. None of those three were making a lot of money and in many ways, the seemingly light cost of the trades made it feel as much like a free agent signing as an actual swap.

If you’re a sufferer of eczema, you might want to reach out to David Stearns and find out what cream he uses. His finger hasn’t itched all winter. No significant trade has been made that sent Mets prospects to another place. The dam needs to break eventually. Suarez signing for as much as he did and for the length only furthers the belief it’s a trade the Mets should make.