The New York Mets have been among the teams talked about thus far during MLB free agency. A lot of that has to do with the status of Jacob deGrom as one of the best-available pitchers and New York’s reported interest in reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander.
It appears that general manager Billy Eppler and Co. are leaving no stone unturned after coming up just short of winning the National League East in 2022.
Andy Martino of SNY reported on Tuesday that New York will meet with All-Star pitcher Carlos Rodon at some point this week. Meanwhile, The New York Post’s Joel Sherman notes that said meeting took place on Tuesday via Zoom.
Rodon, 29, would be an interesting fall back option for the Mets given that he’s younger than both deGrom and Verlander. The two-time All-Star is also coming off a tremendous two-year run in stops with the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants that makes him an appealing top-of-the-rotation arm.
- Carlos Rodon stats (2021-22): 55 starts, 27-13 record, 2.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 12.2 strikeouts per nine
Rodon has found himself healthy over this two-year span after starting just nine games between 2019 and 2020. That could be attractive given the injury concerns surrounding both deGrom and Verlander.
Related: MLB free-agent market for Jacob deGrom shrinking a bit
New York Mets aiming for another arm in MLB free agency
It stands to reason that re-signing deGrom would take New York off the market for a top-end starting pitcher after the team handed Max Scherzer a record-breaking contract last offseason.
In addition to Scherzer, the Mets will return Carlos Carrasco and David Peterson in 2023. Both Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker are currently free agents. Obviously, there’s a need to either re-sign these arms or add another pitcher to the mix.
Perhaps, there’s a scenario in which the Mets can re-sign deGrom and add Rodon to the mix. He’s not going to be demanding a contract in the ballpark of either deGrom or Verlander in the open market, leading to the possibility that owner Steve Cohen opens up his pocket book even more this fall and winter.
The New York Mets are coming off a 101-win regular season before falling to the San Diego Padres in the National League Wild Card Series. Shoring up the rotation has to be key for this organization moving forward. Adding Rodon would go a long way in doing just that.
As for the veteran pitcher, he’s drawing interest on multiple fronts. That includes the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and his current San Francisco Giants squad, among other teams.