While the New York Mets were expected to be serious contenders for Corbin Burnes this offseason, a team insider says they are much more likely to make a push for two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell.
Despite being eliminated in the National League Championship Series last month, the Mets and their fans went on a magical run over the last couple of months. After going bargain shopping in the offseason, they surpassed expectations and ended up being one of the best teams in baseball in 2024.
Nevertheless, they found out they need to get much better if they hope to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025. Right now, the organization is focused on making four-time All-Star Juan Soto a new member of the roster. However, they will have to pivot and focus on rebuilding a starting rotation that has three free agents this winter.
For months, New York has been viewed as a top contender for Baltimore Orioles ace Corbin Burnes. However, SNY MLB insider Andy Martino claimed this week the number of years Corbin Burnes is expected to request this offseason is a non-starter for their president.
- Corbin Burnes stats (2024): 15-9 record, 2.92 ERA, 1.096 WHIP, 181 strikeouts, 194.1 innings pitched
New York Mets likely to pass on pursuing Corbin Burnes due to the amount of years in a contract request
“Simply by looking at the body of work that made [David] Stearns a young star GM in Milwaukee, which he continued with his first offseason running the Mets’ baseball department, we see a clear philosophy of betting on carefully selected pitchers on short-term deals and using the farm system to develop controllable top-of-the-rotation starters (like Burnes),” Martino wrote in an SNY Q&A column this week.
“Generally speaking, look for the Mets to swoop in opportunistically when star pitchers do not see their expected markets develop. That probably won’t happen to Burnes.”
- Blake Snell stats (2024): 5-3 record, 3.12 ERA, 1.048 WHIP, 145 strikeouts, 104.0 innings pitched
The four-time All-Star is expected to get a deal for seven or eight seasons. Well beyond what Stearns would prefer to give. That is why Martino suggests that between the top two pitchers on this year’s market — Burnes and Snell — the team is more likely to target the San Francisco Giants ace.
Martino expects Snell to get a deal for four or five seasons. With the outside chance of a team extending it to six to win a potential bidding war. But he does mention New York Mets fans should not “expect them to be the most aggressive team on top-tier free-agent pitching.”