Red Sox contract with Walker Buehler hints at how interested the NY Mets were

A prime target for the New York Mets, or at least a large portion of the fan base, was free agent Walker Buehler. A talented pitcher coming off of a shaky 2024 season, Buehler fell into the narrative of one-year contract candidates looking to rebound.

The Mets haven’t swayed too far away from this way of thinking. Shorter term deals have been the preference. Even Sean Manaea at three years is favorable. Buehler was an incredibly popular free agent despite the bad season. He’s no longer available for the Mets, signing a one-year deal worth $21.05 million for the 2025 season.

How serious were the Mets when it came to signing Buehler? Based on the contract, it doesn’t seem like he was ever a priority.

The Red Sox contract with Walker Buehler is too within range of what the Mets would have done if they really liked him

Maybe Buehler was never a top priority for the Mets. At the exact cost of what players who accepted the qualifying offer received, he was hardly an overpay for a Red Sox team that had hoped they could retain Nick Pivetta on the QO. He opted out. Still unsigned in the meantime, they’re going with the higher upside of what Buehler can provide while Pivetta hopes a team buys into his consistency and the untapped potential fans of his seem to regularly cite.

We can wonder how much of an interest the Mets had in Buehler and why he won’t be wearing orange and blue next year. He’s not coming from a small market nor is he entering one. Pitching a year in Boston isn’t exactly the dream scenario for a pitcher to rebuild his market. There are most certainly other factors at play. It’s safe to believe money was the biggest reason why he is where he is; it can’t possibly have anything to do with him and former Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell both being from Kentucky.

It seems like the Mets had a plan to fill out their rotation with one high-end starter and two riskier additions. Manaea is the high-end guy with Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas falling behind as the gambles. Considering they were willing to give Montas a player option for year two and the total for 2025 is only a difference of about $4 million, we can safely come to the conclusion that Buehler was not someone the Mets were willing to match the highest offer on.

They’re better for it. As good as Buehler can be, he wasn’t the final touch they needed. Manaea, even with three years attached, brings much more satisfaction. Constantly signing players to one-year deals is not sustainable. We can only hope Montas replicates what Manaea did and a year from now we’re as excited to see him return on a new deal, too.