3 players the Mets should sign while they wait around for the Yoshinobu Yamamoto decision

A friend of mine used the pickup line “If this takes any longer, I’m going to miss Christmas!” on a girl back in middle school while they were in a queue at an amusement park. It worked! Sometimes you just have to break the ice. They’re now happily married to completely different people no less. The New York Mets can’t get caught waiting around for their star signing which, according to the latest might last until the New Year.

Not even Yoshinobu Yamamoto seems to know what he wants. Fair enough as it’s one of the biggest decisions of his life thus far.

While waiting around for him to make a decision, David Stearns should make these three Mets rumors come true.

1) The Mets should sign Justin Turner while they wait

Justin Turner makes too much sense for the Mets right now. Fortunately, following the devastating injury news to Ronny Mauricio, Mets rumors of them circling over to their long-lost infielder have surfaced. Turner as the everyday DH and occasional third baseman is such a great fit right now that going in any other direction would feel irresponsible.

Signing Turner should have nothing to do with adding Yamamoto. Holes for completely different roster spots, any money they would have thrown at Turner isn’t coming out of the Yamamoto fund anyway. 

Turner, unlike some of the other DH options, wouldn’t require a lengthy contract. Compared to Jorge Soler and Teoscar Hernandez who should be in the market for three-year deals, Turner’s age might limit him to only one or two tops.

Before another team decides they’re out on Yamamoto and allocates some dollars toward Turner, the Mets need to swoop in.

2) The Mets should sign Lucas Giolito while they wait

Even though Lucas Giolito wasn’t one of the pitchers in my prediction for the Mets rotation if they sign Yamamoto, I believe adding him would be a savvy addition. He’s a proven innings eater coming off of a whacky year spent with three different teams. His career has been unpredictable at times. Will the team who signs him get the Cy Young contender he was in certain years or the batting practice ace he has been in other seasons?

In some ways, Giolito can be regarded as an upper-tier free agent pitcher. In others, he’s absolutely not. Because of this strange predicament he is in, a short-term deal is expected. One or maybe two seasons at the most is what we’re looking at. The AAV, which should be north of what the Mets gave Luis Severino, will be buying into Giolito bouncing back. He very well may.

The big options for the Mets are to sign either Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. Each has their quirks. Snell is coming off of a Cy Young winning campaign and likely to get overpaid and for many years. Montgomery, as the accepted second-best option out there, is going to get ace money without being an actual ace. The shallow free agent class of starting pitchers will be enough for someone to give him a healthy contract.

Combine the upside and the shortness of a deal with Giolito and he seems to match exactly what it is the Mets are doing.