The Mets, who have tons of holes to fill this offseason, will be swimming in the deep end of the free agent pool.
They’ve already done it once, quickly inking star closer Edwin Diaz to a five-year, $102 million deal during their exclusive five-day negotiating window — getting the deal done before Diaz could negotiate with other teams.
New York is also expected to quickly make a strong offer to retain Jacob deGromand could possibly turn to a superstar like Trea Turner if deGrom signs elsewhere.
Then there’s Brandon Nimmoa Scott Boras client who made it past the Mets’ five-day negotiating window and hit free agency, but whom the Mets remain very interested in retaining.
But beyond the biggest names will be lots of other free agents the Mets investigate.
Here are five under-the-radar free agents New York should have an interest in…
RHP NATHAN EOVALDI
Eovaldi has been very good when healthy, but an issue for him has been staying on the mound. And Eovaldi again had some health problems in 2022, when he made just 20 starts over 109.1 innings due to trap and shoulder issues.
But Eovaldi performed well when on the mound, with a 3.87 ERA (4.30 FIP) and 1.23 WHIP with an elite 1.6 walks per nine. And in 2021, Eovaldi finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting after posting a 3.75 ERA (2.79 FIP) and 1.19 WHIP while striking out 195 batters in 182.1 innings over 32 starts.
Eovaldi is high-risk, high-reward, but that risk will likely be offset since it seems likely he won’t be getting more than one or two guaranteed years on his next deal.
RHP JAMESON TAILLON
Over the last two seasons for the Yankees, Taillon — who reinvented himself after missing most of 2019 and all of 2020 due to his second Tommy John surgery — has been pretty reliable.
In 2022, Taillon had a 3.91 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 151 strikeouts in 177.1 innings over 32 starts (he made 29 starts in 2021). One of the issues with Taillon is his propensity for giving up home runs — he allowed 24 in 2021 and 26 in 2022 — but he’s a solid mid-rotation pitcher.
And the Mets, whose right rotation now consists of Max Scherzer and a bunch of question marks, might be in need of a mid-rotation starter — especially if they don’t retain Chris Bassitt or Taijuan Walker.
RH RELIEVER MICHAEL FULMER
Fulmer was linked to the Mets before the 2022 trade deadline, but was ultimately dealt from the Detroit Tigers to the Minnesota Twins as the Mets dealt for Mychal Givens.
The 29-year-old, who just completed his first year as a full-time reliever after being a starter for the first four seasons of his career and transitioning to a bullpen role in 2021, had a 3.39 ERA (3.57 FIP) and 1.36 WHIP in 63.2 innings over 67 appearances for the Tigers and Twins in 2022. He also had a strike out rate of 8.6 per nine and allowed just four home runs all season. Fulmer walked a career-high 4.0 batters per nine in 2022, but his career walk rate is just 2.7.
The Mets will need to add a true setup option to bridge the game to Diaz, but they can also use a pitcher like Fulmer, who should be a lot less expensive in terms of both years and dollars.
RH RELIEVER CHAD GREEN
Green had Tommy John surgery this past June, and with a recovery time of 12-to-18 months, he will very likely miss the entire 2023 season. But this would be a move with 2024 in mind.
The Mets did something similar this season with a much lower-profile reliever when they signed John Curtiss to a two-year deal as he recovered from TJS. Now with Curtiss expected back in 2023, the Mets could be adding a solid arm to their bullpen. They can take the same gamble with Green.
Green is 31 years old right now, meaning he’ll be entering his age-33 season in 2024. And since 2017, he’s been one of the nastiest relievers in baseball. If the Mets are confident in his full recovery, it could be well worth signing him to a two-year deal with a very low value in the first year and a more expensive option year in 2024.
OF/DH MITCH HANIGER
This might be a “break glass in case of emergency” type of move, and it would likely mean the Mets lost Nimmo via free agency and are shifting Starling Marte to center field. It might also mean they didn’t sign a full-time DH like Jose Abreu or JD Martinez.
But if the above happens, Haniger — entering his age-32 season and capable of hitting both righties and lefties — could be a strong fit.
Haniger, who is a solid defender in right field and could be a DH option, had a relatively down year in 2022, when he had his lowest OPS (.736) since his rookie season in 2016. But he hit .253/.318 /.485 with 39 homers in 2021 and has been an above-average offensive performer every year since 2017.