3 offseason Mets free agent targets we'll be grateful they didn't sign, 2 we will wish they did

3) The NY Mets were right to not sign Andrew Heaney despite interest

The Mets’ interest in Andrew Heaney this offseason was scary. Until last year, where he still only pitched 72.2 innings, Heaney has been roughed up regularly and often hurt. He’s even older than Taillon by a candle. His 36-42 record and 4.56 ERA seems hardly worth the risk. Add in how poorly he pitched for the New York Yankees in 2021, maybe Heaney is one of those guys who comes up short in the Big Apple.

Heaney was led to the Texas Rangers to pitch behind Jacob deGrom and a bunch of other newcomers to their organization. His contract is heavy on incentives. It bottoms out at $12 million this year with up to $5 million more. There is a player option for 2024 set at a modest $13 million.

The injury risk is far too great. It doesn’t matter if he was pitching for free. Heaney has never gone 100+ innings in two consecutive seasons. Entering his 10th season in MLB, it feels like a requirement to do that at least once.

Heaney falls more in line with the amount of money the Mets ended up giving Jose Quintana. While he does have some recent struggles and injuries in the latter part of his career, he was a workhorse early on. Quintana stayed healthy all of last season and played well with both teams. Mets fans will be much happier with him than they would ever be with Heaney.