Mets named as finalists for the 2023 KBO MVP along with the White Sox

Some late night New York Mets rumors from the first day of the MLB Winter Meetings report they are finalists for the 2023 KBO MVP. According to Mark Feinsand, it’s down to the Mets or Chicago White Sox to snatch him up for a two-year deal in the $10 million range.

In case you haven’t updated the poster on your wall of KBO MVPs, the guy who capture it last season was a name you could recognize, Erick Fedde.

A member of the Washington Nationals up through the 2022 season, Fedde won 20 games with a 2.00 ERA and 209 strikeouts last season for the NC Dinos. It was a much different experience than he ever had in Major League Baseball. In six seasons with the Nationals spent mostly in the starting rotation, Fedde was 21-33 with a 5.41 ERA.

Why these Mets rumor are still encouraging

Fedde falls into that low-risk, high-reward category alongside Luis Severino. The Mets seem keen on either stealing someone from free agency or suffering with the results of not going the obvious route. Fedde’s monster season in the KBO which earned him the Triple Crown for pitchers seems to suggest a trip overseas helped him figure out what he never could back home.

It’s not as if he came out of nowhere. Fedde was a first round draft pick back in 2014. The Nationals stuck with him but failed to ever reap the reward the Dinos surprisingly received this past season when Fedde tore through the league.

This is a league known for its offense. Teams combined to hit .263/.339/.374 last year. MLB hitters trailed with a .248/.320/.414 slash line. The difference in power has a lot to do with the style of game. This is a league that has done the Bunt Derby instead of the Home Run Derby.

Home runs were somewhat of a problem for Fedde during his time with the Nationals. He averaged 1.5 per 9 innings. The league average in 2023 for MLB pitchers was 1.2.

The one major downside to the Erick Fedde Interest

If there’s a reason to feel discouraged about Fedde potentially coming to the Mets it’s the fallout after. Signing Fedde at this point takes the Mets out of the mix for other more proven MLB pitchers. It’s one step closer to deciding to pass on Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Fedde is worth a gamble, however, the Mets need to know when to hold on these more affordable arms with upside. Eventually, you’re going to spin too many.