After hiring general manager Billy Eppler, the Mets now have a week until a potential work stoppage kicks into gear on Dec. 2 as a result of the expiring collective bargaining agreement.
And although Noah Syndergaard, Aaron Loup and Steven Matz decided to sign elsewhere, Steve Cohen and the Mets can still stick to their promise of spending big by going after two top starting pitchers that are available on the market.
Luckily, these two arms in mind, Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman, are already on their "wish list," and the team is focused on bringing in 2-3 starters, per SNY.
The Mets were willing to offer Matz at least $40 million or higher, and Syndergaard the $18.4 million qualifying offer. And evidently, the starting pitching market is not cheap this year.
However, the money they wound up hanging onto can now be allocated towards Gausman, Stroman or potentially both of these hurlers, which would transform this rotation for the better.
For Stroman, sources say he is likely to draw a 5-6 year deal worth $25 million AAV as a result of his stellar 3.02 ERA campaign across 33 starts last season.
And while Stroman isn't necessarily an ace, he might just be the best No. 2 starter in baseball. Not to mention, the 30-year-old has been with the Mets since the 2019 trade deadline, and is a durable pitcher who does not rely on high-velocity to be effective. This makes him a safer long-term investment.
As for Gausman, he is a little bit more of a risk given the fact that the righty is coming off a breakout season at age-30 with the 107 win San Francisco Giants in 2021.
For a number of years, the baseball world was waiting for Gausman to hit his ceiling, and he finally did just that a season ago. In 33 starts, the righty finished sixth in the NL Cy Young race while striking out 227 batters to go along with a 2.81 ERA.
While Gausman throws hard, averaging 94.6 mph on his four-seam fastball, he doesn't necessarily rely on high-velocity either. In fact, his second-most reliable pitch is the split-finger fastball, which averages out at 83.6 mph and is thrown at a 35.3% clip, per Baseball Savant. It's also great for inducing double plays and is his second best put away pitch, next to his 81 mph slider.
But not so fast, an additional reason the Mets could be cautious to dish out long-term money to Gausman is because he still holds a career 4.02 ERA and did not have the best second half last season.
Gausman made the NL All-Star squad with a 9-3 record and 1.73 ERA across 114.2 innings in the first half, but after the midsummer classic, he posted a 4.42 ERA in 77.1 innings with a 1.37 WHIP.
He also wasn't great in his lone postseason start, giving up four-runs across 5.1 innings against the mighty Dodgers.
So, in the end, maybe the Mets would be wiser to just try to retain Stroman in the long-run. But, landing both of these arms would essentially give them one of the top rotations in the game on paper.
And it could also cover them in case Jacob deGrom is unable to stay healthy again this upcoming season. While Stroman provides durability, Gausman has higher upside as a No. 1.
With Stroman and Gausman in the mix, they would slide in as the No. 2 and No. 3 behind deGrom, while Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker fill the backend. The only concern is that this rotation would not have any lefties.
Regardless, their depth would be in solid shape with David Peterson and Tylor Megill serving as minor league depth options.
On an additional note, maybe signing Stroman and Gausman would silence some of the laughs and criticism because it'd show that the Mets are backing up their own words about being aggressive. It'd also prove that they have a plan and are serious about winning now, which could attract additional talented free agents to New York.
But they must do something quickly, as MLB transactions are likely to hit an indefinite freeze in a week from now. And It's going to be a long winter with a freezing cold stove for potentially the next few months.
Mets fans would feel a lot better if Cohen and Eppler did something significant beforehand, so that they can relax a bit over the course of the lockout.
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