After signing catcher James McCann in December, the New York Mets have been relatively quiet in the free agent market. The league as a whole has been very slow to pick up the pace when it comes to signing upgrades. However, that doesn’t mean that they haven’t been monitoring the market.
The New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays have been connected to virtually every major free agent. Trevor Bauer, George Springer, Tomoyuki Sugano… you could say that they want the same players. But the thing is that both have wide open contention windows and need a couple of star-caliber players to solidify it.
One of the players that they both want is DJ LeMahieu. The Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been connected to him too, especially the reigning champs as they look to replace Justin Turner.
But according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Mets are eager to pry away LeMahieu from their crosstown rivals.
The Mets have other priorities, but that doesn’t rule them out
As of now, it appears that Springer is the Mets’ priority in the free agent market. However, they still want LeMahieu.
“They (the Mets) are widely expected to land Springer, possibly even Bauer, and won’t rule out LeMahieu,†Nightengale reported.
“No high-profile free agent wants to move as long as the Mets are in the picture,†Nightengale added.
The Mets have the desire to improve their roster, some holes in the rotation, bullpen, and center field, and the resources to fight for every major player available. That’s why agents want the Mets to be involved in every negotiation.
When it comes to LeMahieu, the smart money still has him signing with the Yankees. But in case that doesn’t happen, several clubs are lurking. One of them, even after committing $40 million to a starting catcher, is the Mets.