Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
With the news that the New York Mets will be without ace Kodai Senga for at least a couple of months, a team insider revealed if disgraced star Trevor Bauer be considered to replace the pitcher to start the 2024 season.
The Mets traded away aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander before the 2023 MLB trade deadline. Heading into the offseason the hope was that the team would try to fill the void with at least one pitcher with recent appearances in the All-Star games. However, the most notable addition they made was oft-injured Yankees veteran Luis Severino.
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The 2024 starting rotation is certainly cost-effective but quite underwhelming. What was already a middle-of-the-road group took a major hit on Thursday when it was revealed that 2023 All-Star Kodai Senga could miss a few months with a posterior capsule strain in his shoulder.
It led some Mets fans to wonder if the injury might compel the organization to make a bold step to add an impact arm in free agency.
After the news came out, SNY MLB insider Andy Martino wrote about the idea of the New York Mets targeting either Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery in free agency. However, that is looking highly unlikely to even be considered.
“The team would pay a 110 percent luxury tax on every dollar spent on Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, or anyone else, pushing the cost of those players into the $70-to-$80 million range for this year, ” Martino wrote.
“To put it another way, if the Mets did not see a fit before Senga’s injury, that remains the case after the team learned that news. An injury that they hope will only last a few months has not yet moved them to consider committing to other players for multiple years.”
If not Snell or Montgomery, what about Trevor Bauer? The 2020 National League Cy Young served his year-long suspension and is willing to take the league minimum of $720,000 to fix his damaged reputation after sexual assault allegations two years ago.
Unfortunately, the Mets insider claimed “The team has also not expressed interest in free agent Trevor Bauer,” despite being an elite pitcher willing to play on an extremely team-friendly deal in 2024.