The Mets already signed the best position player on the free agent market — to the largest contract in baseball history — and they were hoping to double-down on their transformative offseason by signing the best pitcher still available.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Citi Field, that dream died earlier this week. Roki Sasaki, 23-year-old Japanese phenom, chose to eliminate them (among many other teams) while narrowing his list of possible destinations to three.
The New York Mets are not finalists for Roki Sasaki, sources confirm.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 13, 2025
The Mets' rotation could've used Sasaki's transformative qualities. Instead, they'll now rely on Kodai Senga, the recently re-signed Sean Manea, and free agent additions Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes (who they'll try to convert into a starter from a reliever) to form the skeleton of a pitching staff that they hope is good enough to support a championship-caliber offense.
Assuming owner Steve Cohen isn't satisfied with the incumbents, where else can the Mets turn now that Sasaki has shunned them?
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A lot of the best free agents are already off the board, including the big three of Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Blake Snell.
There are a number of quality veterans still available, including Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, and former Met Jose Quintana. None of those players are significantly better than other starting pitcher options that the Mets already have in-house (David Peterson, Paul Blackburn, and top prospect Brandon Sproat), but they offer plenty of experience and could serve as valuable depth.
The trade market was also deprived of its best target once the Red Sox swung a trade for Garrett Crochet, but ace-caliber pitchers like Dylan Cease of the Padres, Sonny Gray of the Cardinals, and Luis Castillo of the Mariners have all been floated as names to watch throughout the offseason.
Whether the Mets are willing to part with any of their top minor league talent to acquire a pitcher of that caliber remains to be seen, but they're clearing hunting in that echelon if they were in so deep on Sasaki.
In truth, New York doesn't need another starter. Peterson authored a 2.90 ERA in 121.0 innings last year, Blackburn was an All-Star just two years ago, and Sproat is a Top-50 prospect. At least one of them should have no problem winning the No. 5 starter job out of camp, and the other two can cover for any injuries or poor performances of the stalwarts in the rotation.
It's just that the Mets are in the National League, and they're going to have to do battle the Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, and perhaps Cubs for league supremacy in 2025. All of those teams have better rotations that the Mets do, with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Phillies way ahead in terms of talent. If the Padres land Sasaki and don't trade Cease, you can put them in that upper tier, too.
Acquiring another depth starter won't do them much good in 2025, other than bringing them some extra peace of mind. It's the ace-waters where they have to go fishing, if only to spare Senga from having to match up with Corbin Burnes, Chris Sale, Zach Wheeler, and Blake Snell (among others) in the postseason.
In an offseason where they acquired Juan Soto, stopping now would be a disservice to what could be the only roster capable of matching wits with the Dodgers next year. There's still time for the Mets to show Sasaki that they never needed him after all.