3 Mets free agent targets who turned down better or equal offers to sign elsewhere

Apr 10, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA;  St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Steven Matz (32) walks
Apr 10, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Steven Matz (32) walks / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
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2) Mets free agent target who turned down more money to sign elsewhere: Kevin Gausman

One of the best pitchers available in the 2021 offseason was Kevin Gausman. The veteran right-hander was coming off of a season that saw him finish sixth in the National League Cy Young balloting.

During the Mets negotiations with Gausman, they were also talking with Max Scherzer, a future Hall of Famer. We all know how those negotiations with Scherzer went, but the Mets wanted Gausman too.

Gausman ended up signing with the Blue Jays right before Scherzer inked a deal with the Mets. He received five years and $110 million dollars from Toronto. Andy Martino of SNY reported that the Mets offered Gausman more money than Toronto did.

Why Gausman signed with the Jays for less than what the Mets offered I have no idea. What I do know is there would likely be no Chris Bassitt trade with the Gausman signing in hand and there might not have been a Kodai Senga signing this season.

Gausman had a really strong season for Toronto but so did Chris Bassitt with the Mets. We'll have to wait and see how this one ages.