Mets Rumors: Frontline Starter Will Be Pursued If NY Doesn't Land Yoshinobu Yamamoto | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
The New York Mets, like many teams around baseball, are gunning for Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But the team will still "pursue a frontline starting pitcher" if they're unable to land him, according to Andy Martino of SNY.
Per that report, the Mets are "intensely focused on Yamamoto" and "continuing to pursue rotation depth in the vein of the Luis Severino signing" but would only pursue players like Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez and Blake Snell if they don't land Yamamoto.
SNY @SNYtvDavid Stearns was asked to what extent does his offseason strategy hinge on whether or not the Mets get Yoshinobu Yamamoto: <br><br>"If we get him, then that probably leads us down one path in the offseason. If we don't get him, we'll adjust and go down alternate paths" <a href="">
Alongside starting pitching, Martino also reported the Mets are seeking "a strong defender in the outfield, who could provide insurance for Starling Marte's health, push Brandon Nimmo to a corner position at times, and help with run prevention by catching the baseball."
But pitcher seems likely to be the priority after the Mets traded Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander amidst last season's fire sale at the trade deadline. Team owner Steve Cohen hinted the team would be in the pitcher market this winter, though he also cautioned that the 2024 season may be something of a transition year.
"We will be competitive in '24 but I think 25-26 is when our young talent makes an impact," he told Jon Heyman of the New York Post in August. "Lots of pitching in free agency in '24. More payroll flexibility in '25. Got a lot of dead money in '24."
Scherzer also told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic around that time that he waived his no-trade clause because Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler indicated to him that the Mets wouldn't push all their chips in for the 2024 season:
"I talked to Billy. I was like, 'OK, are we reloading for 2024?' He goes, 'No, we're not. Basically our vision now is for 2025-2026, '25 at the earliest, more like '26. We're going to be making trades around that.'
"I was like, 'So the team is not going to be pursuing free agents this offseason or assemble a team that can compete for a World Series next year?' He said, 'No, we're not going to be signing the upper-echelon guys. We're going to be on the smaller deals within free agency. '24 is now looking to be more of a kind of transitory year.'"
Yamamoto fits that timeline, however. The 25-year-old ace is the rare star pitcher who comes on the free agency market in his mid-20s, making him particularly valuable, though there are obviously questions about whether he'll translate to the MLB level.
Mark Feinsand @FeinsandThe Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes won't come to a conclusion this week, but the Yankees and Mets will certainly be in the mix. Per sources, Steve Cohen visited Yamamoto in Japan last week, while the Yankees will meet with him on Monday. <a href="">@WillSammon</a> and <a href="">@jonmorosi</a> were on it.
Regardless, it sounds as though the Mets will be in on starting pitching this winter. It likely will be the only splash the team makes this offseason, however.
