5 best Mets starting pitcher additions for next season ranked

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3) Tyler Glasnow

The Mets don't have to fill every vacancy in their starting pitching rotation in free agency. The trade market may even have more striking figures than free agency itself, with pitchers with high potential and performance at a lower contractual cost.

Among the pitchers who would be available this offseason to be traded, Tyler Glasnow is one of the most relevant names. Glasnow enters the final year of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, after signing for $30.5 million for two years in 2023.

The $25 million salary obligation on Glasnow that the Rays have made him a pitcher subject to being traded since Tampa's small market team does not have the financial freedom or income to retain a contract of this type. This represents an opportunity for the deep pocket of Steve Cohen and the intelligence of David Stearns.

Because Glasnow would be a rental, the cost of returning prospects would not be high, giving the Mets a potential ace pitcher that they could extend as soon as he is traded. The Rays ace continues to be an effective pitcher, with great swing-and-miss ability and good speed on his fastball (96.4 mph), with a high strikeout percentage (top 3% in the league) of his pitches.

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