Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 best free agent starting pitchers we could realistically expect

New York Mets rumors pointing toward a possible starting pitching addition have fans speculating as to what kind of a deal they could strike with any of the remaining free agents. The two at the top, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, aren’t realistic possibilities. 

Snell’s asking price and the qualifying offer penalty imposed by MLB struck him out as a real option. Montgomery, on the other hand, always has been a good fit for the Mets. The trouble here is that if his asking price does come down, other teams would be more willing to outbid the Mets who’d most likely end up in the next threshold of luxury tax penalties.

What about everyone else? Dig a little deeper and these three pitchers could make some sense for the Mets in some capacity.

1) Michael Lorenzen

Finding space for Michael Lorenzen on the MLB roster is difficult. A lack of minor league options for pitchers other than Shintaro Fujinami means if the Mets sign Lorenzen he’s going to need to be on a minor league pact or handed the fifth starter spot.

Is Lorenzen any better than what the Mets already have? An All-Star last year with the Detroit Tigers and the hurler of a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies, he crashed and burned late in the season immediately after the no-no.

Lorenzen does have some decent numbers as a pitcher but most came pitching in relief. As a swingman out of the bullpen for the Mets, he’d actually be a big improvement over many of the others. The Mets could conceivably hand him a starting rotation spot to begin the year and move him to the bullpen once all of the starters are healthy (LMAO).

Other teams should be able to offer Lorenzen more of a guarantee to start for them. He’s a Plan-C for the Mets. A name we know the Mets have checked in on, this is probably the best we could hope for at this point.