3 Mets free agents that can drastically raise their stock with a strong finish

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. This is true for many things in life. Each trip to the buffet, it doesn’t matter what the first food I taste is. The real key is not feeling like a complete blob afterward. For these three New York Mets free agents, they’re in a similar situation.

Certain Mets free agents have built up enough of a reputation for themselves this year where it will be hard to see their stock tank or go up all that much more. Jacob deGrom is going to get paid a ton. So will Edwin Diaz.

It’s these other Mets free agents who can earn themselves a few million fistfuls more by ending the regular season strong and carrying over the performance with them into the postseason.

1) NY Mets free agent Taijuan Walker can get a huge raise with a strong finish

Taijuan Walker had trouble finishing his 2021 season with the Mets with any compliments from the fans. He completely tanked in the second half and has seen a few struggles down the stretch this year, too. He hasn’t been nearly as bad, though. Walker, a pitcher with talent but a limited number of innings logged each year on his resume, is fighting for possibly the widest range of any contract on the roster.

Walker is young enough to get a strong multi-year contract but also someone who could settle for a short-term deal with a high AAV. Anything seems possible with him at the moment.

A good final few starts and some nice showings in the postseason will go a long way toward Walker becoming one of the most coveted starting pitchers in free agency this offseason. He won’t have a $100 million contract coming his way but a four-year deal with an AAV over $15 million is completely reasonable.