3 Mets rumors we'll be glad never came true, 3 we'll wish did happen

A switch flips in March as fans turn away from what the New York Mets should do and accept what they did—sometimes not so quietly. Despite the Mets not shopping exclusively from the top shelf, there were plenty of offseason Mets rumors to shove in our mouths like an infant does with anything they can get their grubby hands on.

Rebuilding the pitching staff almost entirely and plugging in several holes in the starting lineup were a must for the Mets to build any sort of competitive team. Linked to a variety of players throughout the offseason, there are certain Mets rumors we’ll be glad never came true and others we’ll wish did.

Excluded from this list are the obvious ones, such as signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The fallout there is that the Mets never stood a chance. It was the Los Angeles Dodgers or bust. While we certainly wish signing him did come true, it’s in a category all of its own.

We’ll be glad the Mets rumors of signing Erick Fedde never came true

Erick Fedde was an early rumored target for the Mets starting pitching staff. Struggles with the Washington Nationals led him to go overseas where he landed in the KBO and won their equivalent of the Cy Young. It doesn’t seem to matter much what league you’re winning a top prize in. It’s going to catch the attention of MLB clubs.

Fedde ended up with a two-year deal worth $15 million to join the Chicago White Sox. There’s nothing wrong with the contract, but most certainly the second guaranteed season drove the Mets away considering how much of a risk Fedde could be.

In MLB, Fedde is 21-33 with a 5.41 ERA. This doesn’t come from a small sample size either. His 454.1 innings are spread out through parts of six seasons all in Washington. As unhappy as many Mets fans are with what the team actually did this offseason with the starting pitching staff, Fedde wouldn’t have made anyone much happier. Plenty of pitchers have found success overseas only to come back to The States and reverted back to something closer to their old ways.

We’ll wish the Mets rumors of signing Gio Urshela came true

It’s understandable why the Mets didn’t end up with Gio Urshela. There was simply not enough room for him on the roster by the time the hot stove heated up for him. Urshela ended up signing with the Detroit Tigers for $1.5 million late in the offseason. It’s amazingly less than what the Mets will pay Joey Wendle this year despite Urshela being the superior player.

Urshela missed a whole bunch of time with the Los Angeles Angels last year so health concerns could be one of the reasons why the Mets went in a different direction. More so, their rush to sign Wendle before Ronny Mauricio went down with a season-ending injury is what we should be upset about most. Wendle was one of the earliest MLB free agent deals to happen. A slight upgrade over Luis Guillorme, it ended up limiting some of the other moves the Mets would make later on.

Urshela as the backup third baseman on the Mets with the capability of playing the other infield positions would have looked much better than Wendle. His bat is superior in every way. And despite the injuries last year, he did still perform well on the field.

The Urshela Mets rumors didn’t pick up until much later in the winter. If they had waited, he would’ve been a huge bargain. A lack of clear playing time spoiled any chance of it ever happening.

We’ll be glad the Mets rumors of signing Aroldis Chapman never came true

The Mets searched high and low for relief pitchers this winter. They made a few early additions. One name that circulated was Aroldis Chapman.

For $10.5 million, he’ll be a stopper in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen. His success last year, mostly with the Kansas City Royals prior to getting traded to the Texas Rangers, was enough to convince the typically frugal Pirates to spend heavily on a reliever who might not even close for them.

Chapman was already an outside possibility for the Mets due to his past suspension for domestic violence. The Mets have stayed away from players like this. With employees, we’ve seen how quickly they’ve eliminated them, too.

The thing with rumors is we’ll never know just how real they are or who’s leaking the information. Chapman’s camp might have been the ones using the Mets as leverage—something we’re all going to need to get used to.

Because of the contract amount, Chapman was never a realistic possibility for the Mets. They spent low on the bullpen additions they did make.

The biggest reason we’ll be glad the Mets rumors focused on Chapman never came true is that the club can get just as much from Jake Diekman. The Mets waited out his market. For less money and in a similar role, they’ll have a solid second-lefty to turn to alongside Brooks Raley without having to pay a ton.

We’ll wish the Mets rumors of signing Justin Turner came true

Some of the same problems the Joey Wendle signing created with Gio Urshela exist in their rumored pursuit of Justin Turner. It’s not apples to apples but the similarities are there. Had the Mets signed Turner, there would have been less incentive to keep Mark Vientos on the roster at all. Otherwise they would have a roster with three third basemen whose defense isn’t good enough. We know how much David Stearns values the glove.

Turner would have only been a third base option in case of emergency. The Mets seem dedicated to figuring out what they have in Vientos and Brett Baty this year. Originally, it was going to be a three-man battle with Ronny Mauricio added in. The second-place loser could have been sent to the minors.

There is little excuse as to why the Mets didn’t sign Turner unless he just didn’t have interest in the Mets. His one-year deal worth $13 million isn’t outrageous. We’ll look northward at how he does with the Toronto Blue Jays this year to see if he truly was the right match for the Mets or not.

Considering how well he hit last year for the Boston Red Sox and the consistent numbers he has put up over each of the last three seasons, there’s little reason to believe he’s going to crash and burn. In fact, getting the majority of his at-bats as a DH should only help keep him feeling young.

We’ll wish the Mets rumors of signing Lucas Giolito came true

Was Lucas Giolito going to be the difference-maker the Mets needed? Maybe not. But for a team with as many questions as they have in the rotation and even in the bullpen to some extent, having a true innings eater would’ve bailed them out plenty.

Let’s keep in mind we can’t look back at what the Mets should’ve or shouldn’t have done this offseason with the Kodai Senga injury in mind. By the time he went down, it was too late to retroactively sign many of their rumored targets. Giolito is included here.

Prior to signing with the Boston Red Sox, Giolito was someone Mets fans were practically demanding. They’d later turn to Sean Manaea which isn’t such a bad deal. Manaea’s deal is worth $28 million with a player option for 2025. Giolito, meanwhile, is on a two-year deal worth $38.5 million. It also includes a team option for 2026.

Giolito is more expensive, but his ceiling is also greater. Three seasons of Cy Young consideration versus the zero from Manaea shows a proven track record of outpitching the guy the Mets did end up landing instead.

No one should riot over the Mets’ choice, however, they did get the arm that’s more likely to be average. In an upcoming season where they added a guy like Luis Severino who has ace potential, having another like Giolito would’ve looked especially good. No one would blame them if he ended up flat on his face. Well, someone would. That’s baseball fandom.