4 best MLB free agents Mets fans should fear signs with a rival this offseason

The New York Mets finished the 2023 season with a record of 75-87. They finished fourth in the NL East, a whopping 29 games back of first place Atlanta. The worst part about their NL East standing is that they were closer to the last place Nationals than they were to the third place Marlins.

This was a year that was supposed to see the Mets compete with Atlanta for the division title and see them make a run at a World Series title. Things fell apart early, and the Mets were sellers at the deadline.

As disappointing as this past season was, 2024 can be a whole lot better. The Mets have money to spend, a quality core to build around, and a trustworthy President of Baseball Operations to put it together. They might not enter the season as favorites, but a playoff push should be expected.

The Mets push for a postseason berth is helped by the leagues having three Wild Card spots, but they're still going to have a lot of trouble in a stacked NL East division. The Braves and Phillies aren't going anywhere, the Marlins improved drastically, and the Nationals even have some bright young pieces to watch for. Things will only get harder if their rivals land these four players.

NY Mets fans should fear the Philadelphia Phillies signing Josh Hader this offseason

Like the Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies entered this season with lofty expectations after surging their way to a World Series appearance in 2023. They fell short in spectacular fashion, losing in the NLCS to an 84-win Diamondbacks team that the Mets dominated in the regular season. While Mets fans certainly enjoyed that defeat, the loss could cause the Phillies to continue to remain aggressive this offseason.

The Phillies do have to worry about their rotation with Aaron Nola and Michael Lorenzen hitting free agency, but their main issue in recent years has been their bullpen. It was better in 2023 but we saw in the postseason Craig Kimbrel blow a couple of games in their NLCS loss.

The Phillies still lack the dominant late-game arm they can turn to at the end of games. Josh Hader would give them that arm. Hader was arguably the best closer in the game this past season, and rivals Edwin Diaz in the best closer in baseball conversation.

The Phillies replacing Kimbrel with Hader while having guys like Jose Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, and Seranthony Dominguez setting up would suddenly give them one of the best bullpens in the National League. That's something Mets fans would rather not see happen.

NY Mets fans should fear the Atlanta Braves signing Sonny Gray this offseason

The Atlanta Braves looked unbeatable for virtually the entire 2023 regular season but lost once again to the Phillies in the NLDS. Their offense was historically good, but their rotation wound up leaving a lot to be desired by the time the season wrapped up.

Spencer Strider and Max Fried at the top of the rotation is as good as it gets, but the rest of the rotation is full of question marks. Atlanta brought Charlie Morton back, but he's turning 40. They have Bryce Elder who was an all-star in the first half but abysmal in the second half. Rounding out the rotation as of now is probably AJ Smith-Shawver who is their top prospect but far from proven.

With their lineup stacked from top to bottom, Atlanta will focus mostly on their rotation this offseason. They've never been spenders to the point where they'd compete with the Mets for an arm like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but Sonny Gray is a pitcher certainly on the table.

Gray's 34-year-old age will make his free agency contract shorter than many of the other high-end starters, but he's just as good. He was selected as a Cy Young finalist in the AL for this season and has consistently been a frontline starter throughout his career. The last thing the Mets need is for Atlanta to create a three-headed monster of Strider, Fried, and Gray. Let's hope this does not happen.

NY Mets fans should fear the Philadelphia Phillies signing Blake Snell this offseason

The Phillies signing Hader would be rough because it'd help them finally bring in that lockdown closer they've lacked for years. Philadelphia signing Snell could be even worse because of how big of a need the rotation has become.

Zack Wheeler is obviously one of the best pitchers in baseball now, but there isn't much behind him. Guys like Ranger Suarez and Taijuan Walker are decent mid-rotation arms, but Suarez has never made 30 starts in a season and Walker wasn't even trusted to make a single postseason appearance. Cristopher Sanchez broke out in 2023 and looks like a decent back-end starter, but it's clear Philadelphia needs another frontline arm to pair with Wheeler at the top.

The Phillies number two starter in the last couple of years has been Aaron Nola, but he's a free agent. The Phillies could look to bring him back, but they can also very easily look to upgrade. Blake Snell is a guy who could be considered just that.

Snell is going to win his second Cy Young award for his performance this past season. It's unlikely that his performance from this past season is sustainable, but it's also very likely that Snell is going to have better numbers than Nola did for the Phillies this past season.

Nola at his best does not have the ceiling Snell does. That's become abundantly clear with the season Snell just had. Additionally, Snell has a 2.66 ERA in eight starts against the Mets including a 2.81 ERA in six starts at Citi Field. The Mets seeing him more often than they already did with Snell in San Diego wouldn't be ideal.