5 future bidding wars we could see between the Mets and Yankees

3) Zac Gallen

A non-Mets or Yankees player who should make sense for both clubs in the future is Zac Gallen. The 2024 season will be his age 28 campaign. On the verge of winning a Cy Young, he’s one of the biggest reasons why the Arizona Diamondbacks found themselves in the 2023 World Series. Still rather fresh to his role as big league ace, he’ll become available after the 2025 season.

It’s hard to tell exactly what the Mets and Yankees rotations will look like by this point. The Mets have openings now, but will they remain by the time we get to this point? The Yankees may only get in on the action if Gerrit Cole opts out. They’ll still have Carlos Rodon making $27.83 million for a couple more seasons and Marcus Stroman for an even shorter period making $9 million less per year.

Gallen is far more likely to end up with the Mets than the Yankees because of all of the money already poured into what will become an aging rotation by the time he reaches free agency—if he does at all. The Diamondbacks need to prioritize extending him now. However, with the massive increase in how much pitchers of average ability are getting paid, Gallen shouldn’t be too shy about holding out. Two years isn’t a long time to wait. Knowing the Mets will have availability should be tempting for the South Jersey native.

The Prediction: Zac Gallen ends up pitching for some random team that decides they need a ringer. Will the Washington Nationals be good by then?