Mets and Chris Bassitt start off on the wrong foot with arbitration on the way

The New York Mets will head to arbitration with only one player: Chris Bassitt. The team was perfect with everyone else other than their newest addition to the rotation.

Hit the panic button. Regret the trade right now! It’s a total and complete disaster. The Mets just rented a veteran with no hope of re-signing him beyond this year.

Calm down. It’s not a big deal at all. The two sides barely know each other. In the rush to get things done, the two sides fell $700K apart on what the contract filings.

The Mets and Chris Bassitt will head to arbitration in April

Timing for a lot of the typical offseason events became delayed or outright canceled due to the lockout. If Bassitt was with the Mets for more than a week and a half before the deadline to file for his 2022 contract, things may have gone differently. Maybe not. Who knows? It’s just one of those things that remind us that baseball is first and foremost a business.

Bassitt is hardly the most notable player in the league to head toward arbitration. This year, in particular, seems to have a lot more than usual.

In the Bronx, the New York Yankees and Aaron Judge are $4 million apart on a deal with Judge wanting $21 million and the team offering him $17 million. The Atlanta Braves have Austin Riley, Dansby Swanson, Adam Duvall, Max Fried, and Luke Jackson. After already letting Freddie Freeman walk away, it’s a poor look for the defending champions.

The Mets were able to come to an agreement with everyone else on the roster including a nice fat raise for first baseman Pete Alonso who will get $7.4 million this season.

Notable players in their last year of arbitration eligibility before free agent include Edwin Diaz at $10.2 million, Brandon Nimmo at $7 million, and Seth Lugo at $3.925 million. Avoiding arbitration with those other soon-to-be free agents could go a long way toward a reunion.

For the Mets and Bassitt, the distance between filings wasn’t far away enough for too much bad blood to spill over. They had a reason to trade for him. They like him!

And while this isn’t the beginning we would hope for contract talks, it isn’t irreversible.