10 best free agent targets the Mets need to go after hard in the next two offseasons

6) Walker Buehler could be the ace the Mets have been looking for

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Walker Buehler could be back this season with the National League West Division team. Buehler continues to recover from his second career Tommy John surgery, performed in August 2022.

The 2024 season represents the final year of arbitration for Walker Buehler before trying free agency. It is natural to think that being the first and perhaps the only time that a player of his caliber has been able to enter into negotiations with multiple teams, it is a certainty that Buehler will join the FA in 2025.

Buehler has been a command-and-control pitcher, with complete dominance on the mound and postseason experience. The right-hander has a career ERA of 3.02 and in his best season, he racked up over 200 innings pitched with a 171 ERA+ in 2021.

Walker Buehler would enter free agency at the age of 30, which would mean that the pitcher would seek a contract of at least six years. Should the young pitcher not post a good season in 2024, you would still expect teams to be highly interested in his services since pitchers coming off Tommy John surgeries tend to have a fit-gap of at least one full season.

Due to his two surgeries earlier in his career, Buehler could come at a slight discount for a one-rotation ace pitcher. Buehler could be, along with Kodai Senga, the efficient ace duo that the team has always wanted to have to reach the championship.