NY Mets free agent reunions: 1 possibility, 1 definitely not happening, 1 in between

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Reuniting with former players is often a topic fans discuss in the offseason or whenever a familiar name loses his job. Sports fans have a connection to the people who wear their team's laundry. Like every offseason, the New York Mets could be a match to bring back some familiar faces.

Reunions have mixed results. Round two of Jose Reyes got ugly. Bringing back Jay Bruce was unnecessary. The same for Todd Frazier and Jeurys Familia.

There are some reunions that work well even if the player isn't quite as good. Tom Seaver came back to the Mets. Rusty Staub had a return and so did Dave Kingman. Even Lee Mazzilli found his way back to the Mets just in time to celebrate in 1986.

Because the team subtracted so much this year, the pool of candidates that could return to Citi Field and wear home whites is larger than usual. Not everyone is a perfect match for them. In terms of likelihood, one seems plausible, one doesn't, and a third looks like he's somewhere in between.

Expect the Mets to try reuniting with David Robertson

Nobody is a better fit for the Mets bullpen than David Robertson. He's a righty who has a history of handling himself well against lefties. He more than proved himself for the Mets this year while replacing Edwin Diaz as the team's closer. It was never the intended role when they signed him for the 2023 season but the safety net added to the roster just in case. The “just in case” happened sooner than anyone could’ve anticipated.

Robertson vocalized his desire to stay with the Mets only to become one of several pieces traded at the deadline. Will he harbor ill-will? Robertson knows the game is a business and mutual interest should be there. The man who traded him away is gone anyway.

There's no deep dive needed into the role Robertson would have. He'd once again be here in a setup role and hopefully share those duties alongside Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley. In case of emergency, the Mets can break the glass again and call upon him to save games.

Robertson coming back to the Mets seems plausible as long as the money is right and they can prove they plan to be competitive. Next season could be his last. Surely he'll want a chance to go out a champion.

Seth Lugo can't possibly want to come back to the Mets, could he?

Seth Lugo was an incredibly popular Mets player, particularly for the role he had. Middle relievers don't usually have as much fanfare as he did. That's because Lugo was amazingly effective as a multi-inning weapon in a time period when most Mets bullpen arms were getting shellacked.

What makes him unlikely to come back to New York is this exact reason. Lugo always wanted to return to starting games. The Mets gave him only a minimal amount of chances to return to the rotation from 2018-2022. They kept him in the bullpen instead of his desired place on the team as a starter.

This past season with the San Diego Padres proved that maybe the Mets should have considered it. Likely opting out of his deal with the Padres this winter, a return to New York doesn't seem likely to happen because of how often he was denied the chance to start.

It may be for the best anyway considering the ticking time bomb known as his partially torn UCL. Even if we took that out, the Mets need to look at bigger arms this offseason than him.

Expect Lugo to sign somewhere and continue to start games. Don’t mark him down as a realistic reunion candidate for the Mets. This long-lost former Mets player, however, might fit right in.

The long-awaited Justin Turner return might be too temporary to consider

The majority of Mets moves this offseason should benefit the club beyond 2024. Signing Justin Turner fresh from a productive season with the Boston Red Sox is much more temporary. He's the kind of guy who might only have a year left in the tank. How interested are the Mets in adding players like him?

The upside of Turner is the addition of a still productive veteran bat with plenty of postseason experience. The downside is he's mostly a DH. He started 98 games last year for the Red Sox out of the designated hitter spot. Another 35 starts came at first base, 4 at second base, and 7 over at third base where he spent most of his career.

His bat was very much alive, tallying 31 doubles, 23 home runs, and driving in 96 all while slashing .276/.345/.455 in his age 38 season.

Turner last played for the Mets back in 2013 before becoming one of the organization’s most infamous non-tender candidates. He broke out the following year with the Los Angeles Dodgers and continued to get better. He finished in the top ten of the MVP vote twice while in Los Angeles.

Finding a suitable DH is something the Mets absolutely must do and Turner is someone they can look at. The downside is he doesn’t really play the field much anymore. How willing are the Mets to bring in yet another DH-exclusive player?

Put Turner somewhere in between Robertson and Lugo. It makes some sense yet it’s not a must move for the ball club.

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