3 Mets free agent targets they missed on who've already suffered a major injury in 2024

Steve Cohen is used to getting everything he wants. Ever since he became majority owner of the New York Mets, fans have expected this with free agents. Mick Jagger in his prime strutted with less confidence than some Mets fans when free agency begins. The wealth of the owner and his will to win typically has everyone assuming there is no one out of his reach.

In some cases, players choose other teams. It’s either because of location, playing time, or the Mets have been unwilling to meet their contract demands. Cohen is the face of the organization. He’s not the one making all of the baseball decisions.

Fortunately, the Mets didn’t get everything they wanted in the offseason. These three free agent misses have already suffered major injuries. Two won’t even play in 2024 at all.

1) Robert Stephenson

The Los Angeles Angels boldly paid free agent reliever Robert Stephenson $33 million on a three-year contract. A target for the Mets this offseason, teams were hoping his sudden success with the Tampa Bay Rays would continue wherever he ended up. Stephenson may need to relearn a few things. He’s out for the entire year due to Tommy John surgery.

Stephenson failed to throw a single pitch for the Angels which should have this going down as one of the worst moves of the offseason for any team. Already some pretty pedestrian career numbers made to look impressive only from his 38.1 innings with the Rays last year, chalk this up as another free agency failure for the Angels.

The Mets did still land a pitcher from the Rays School of Magic. Lefty Jake Diekman was signed to a much more modest contract. He’ll make less in two years than Stephenson will in 2024 to do nothing but rest and recover.

There is never a guarantee he would have suffered the same fate if the Mets had signed him. The same is true for this other pitcher the Mets were very much in on.