A top New York Mets insider believes it is not out of the realm of possibility that the team could pursue All-Star closer Josh Hader if one specific thing happened.
This has been an eventful, while also disappointing, offseason so far from the Mets. They entered the end of 2023 with a belief that they would go bargain shopping in MLB free agency. And thus far they have done exactly that with the deals they handed out to Yankees veterans Luis Severino and Harrison Bader. However, they did go big game hunting in December.
Related: Asking price for another New York Yankees and New York Mets free agent target skyrocketing
The Mets were reportedly among the finalists to sign gifted Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Unfortunately, despite two meetings with the 25-year-old and a willingness to give him a record sum, they lost the chase to the Dodgers.
Even worse, all indications are that they don’t plan on using what they might have given Yamamoto to one of the other elite starters available like Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell.
Could the New York Mets ponder a super-pen strategy this winter?
However, a team insider believes they would be open to spending big for the best relief pitcher on the MLB free agent market in one specific situation. On Thursday night, SNY MLB reporter Andy Martino gave an update on the Josh Hader market and where the Yankees and Mets stand in it, as well as what could make them shift more effort to signing the five-time All-Star.
- Josh Hader stats (Career): 2.50 ERA, 0.944 WHIP, 165 saves, 648 strikeouts, 388.2 innings
“The holdup is that, according to multiple other teams who have engaged on Hader, he is seeking the largest-ever contract for a closer in history — more than Edwin Diaz’s five-year, $102 million deal with the Mets,” Martino wrote. “That is a reasonable ask given his historical levels of production, but it doesn’t fit the budget of a [Yankees] team that needs to spend on innings.
“As a Mets aside,” he continued, “the same goes for them on Hader. He fits both New York teams perfectly, but both are short on starters. If Hader’s price goes down, it’s easier to see him coming into play for the Yankees and Mets, both of whom would improve dramatically by adding him.”
It would be wild for the Mets to hand out two record-setting deals to a pair of closers, but if they can’t find top-line starters at the right price, the plan may be to win with a super-pen than the rotation. Diaz, an elite closer in his own right, is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
