The New York Mets have the rival Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of playoff elimination thanks to some surprising performances.
Their pitching staff is tied for the most postseason wins so far and it leads all teams with 48 total strikeouts. Veteran starters Sean Manaea and Luis Severino are both within the top-five of all pitchers for total strikeouts so far in October, after joining the Mets this season on short-term “prove it” deals.
Now, both players have the chance to hit free agency again with the likelihood of many more suitors. The team might also lose veteran starter Jose Quintana after his own strong season.
Given that likely turnover, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicted that the Mets will reload with one of the most decorated free agent pitchers on the market by signing reigning All-MLB First Team starter Blake Snell.
“With Luis Severino and Jose Quintana both becoming unrestricted free agents and Sean Manaea ($13.5M player option) very likely to opt for free agency, the Mets sure could use multiple starting pitchers,” Miller added. “If the Mets can continue this miracle run to what would be their first World Series title since 1986, maybe they don’t bother with Snell. Conversely, if they get eliminated because a starter absolutely implodes in the first inning of a winner-take-all game, (team owner) Steve Cohen might just hand Snell a blank check ASAP.”
Snell is a two-time Cy Young Award winner with a 3.19 ERA across nine career big-league seasons. He had a hard time finding a long-term deal last winter, likely over concerns about his ability to handle a large workload, and ultimately signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants that includes an opt out after this season.
After a rough start, Snell returned to dominance for much of the year and seems set to decline that second season with the Giants and return to the open market. After logging a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts — including a complete-game shutout — in 20 starts this year, Snell could finally land the long-term deal he has been seeking.
“He’ll return to free agency at age 32 and likely take another swing at the kind of deal that eluded him a year ago,” Steve Adams and Anthony Franco noted for MLB Trade Rumors. “He’ll try again without being tied to draft compensation and could take aim at a deal in the $150-200MM range.”
If the Mets do see their surprising postseason run end abruptly with a sudden implosion of their rotation dominance, Snell could answer their future-looking roster questions in a big way.
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