The New York Mets ought to be encouraged by the sentiments that one of their most integral players recently shared about the franchise ahead of his 2025 MLB free agency.
Per John Heyman of the New York Post, Mets star pitcher Luis Severino glowed about the team recently and spoke about the strengths of their unit and personnel within their franchise ranks, which could hint at his potential willingness to return to Citi Field in 2025 (h/t Patrick McAvoy of New York Mets on SI):
“I mean, I love the Mets,” Severino said. “I love the people that are there. I mean, I think we have a great team. We have great communication. But, at the end of the day, you know, there’s a business side that I can’t control. I let my agents take care of that. But like you said, I love being with the Mets. I love the people that surround the Mets.”
Luis Severino’s resurgence in 2024 could position him to help the Mets contend in 2025
Severino has had himself quite the bounce-back season after a down 2023 campaign with the New York Yankees. Across 25 starts, the Dominican flamethrower owns a 9-6 record with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.239 WHIP, all while having retired 122 batters that he’s faced. Severino has been the Mets‘ stand-in ace for much of 2024 while 2023 All-Star Kodai Senga has been out with a myriad of injuries that have robbed him of his sophomore campaign.
Severino sentiments are refreshing to a Mets franchise that managed to resurge after a lackluster April and May got them off on the wrong foot to start the year. While the Mets may not have a realistic chance to win the World Series this year, anything can happen they’ve laid the groundwork for a potential retool to send them back into World Series contention in 2025 and closer towards their 101 wins total from 2022 that could help get them there.
Having a pitcher like Severino, who has twice been named an All-Star and finished as high as third in Cy Young award voting in the American League back in 2017, behind Senga and another top-shelf ace that the Mets have been heavily rumored to be interested in targeting next offseason, would give New York a three-headed monster on the mound that could propel them to a deep playoff run for years to come.
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The Mets could bring back Severino with ample cap space remaining for next season
Severino will be desired on the open market and several teams in need of another quality starter could offer the 10-year veteran a deal he may not want to refuse. In response to this, Mets owner Steve Cohen has the pockets and the gravitas to persuade his talented arm to remain in New York for the foreseeable future.
Surprisingly, if retired great Bobby Bonilla is taken out of the equation, the Mets only have 10 players on their books for 2025, eight of which are on their active roster. They bring the Mets’ adjusted payroll to $14.175 million for next year. It’s safe to say that Cohen and his front office led by Mets President David Stearns will have their work cut out for them to round out the roster and retain the players that have helped them rebound from the month of June onward.
This will all work toward the Mets fielding an even more competitive roster next time out. New York has the flexibility to maintain the $13 million salary that they gave Severino for one year when he agreed to sign ahead of the 2024 campaign, or exceed that number, making it well within the realm of possibility for him to fit into their grand scheme of things. Should that take effect, Severino appears as if he’ll be happy to remain in Queens, NY.
