Mets Rumors

The Mets were one of the two finalists in the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes, but the Cy Young-winning right-hander wound up spurning the club for the Dodgers’ three-year, $102MM guarantee Friday. The Mets made a very competitive offer, though, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that they proposed a deal worth $105MM over three years. New York would have paid Bauer $40MM in 2021, $35MM in 2022 and $30MM in 2023, and the contract would have included opt-out chances after the first two seasons, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who adds that the Mets would have included $5MM had Bauer opted out after the second year.

Bauer’s Dodgers deal also features a pair of opt-outs, and it likely didn’t help the Mets’ cause that he is a Southern California native who said in the past he wanted to play in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are the reigning World Series champions, which further stacked the deck against a Mets club coming off four straight years without a playoff berth.

The Mets have made a real effort to change their fortunes this winter, largely because of new owner Steve Cohen. So far, the team has used trades and free agency to add Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, James McCann and Trevor May to its roster. A Bauer signing would have made the Mets even more imposing going into 2021, but they’ll have to either enter the season with the starters they have in place or acquire someone for a far less expensive salary.

10:50am: SNY’s Andy Martino tweets that there are “mixed signals” regarding whether there’s a firm deadline from the Mets to Bauer. Thosar tweets that there is not a concrete deadline in place, but a decision is nevertheless expected soon.

10:05am: The Mets have set a noon ET deadline on their current offer to free-agent righty Trevor Bauer, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). The current offer is a front-loaded, three-year pact in the $100-110MM range with opt-out clauses after years one and two, per Sherman. Bauer would earn upwards of $40MM in years one and two under the current proposal. Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News tweets that the Mets do expect an answer from Bauer today.

Depending on the specific guarantee of the deal, that range suggests it’s possible for Bauer to set a new record for a contract’s average annual value. Anything north of $108MM on a three-year term would topple his former UCLA teammate Gerrit Cole’s current record of $36MM with the Yankees — albeit over a much shorter term than Cole’s nine-year commitment. Even if the total falls shy of that sum and Bauer narrowly misses an AAV record, if the Mets are indeed willing to pay upwards of $40MM in year one of the contract, that could represent a record in and of itself.

The Dodgers, according to Sherman, remain “in the mix” to sign Bauer, although MLB.com’s Jon Morosi indicated this morning that at least as of last night, it was the Mets who had the highest offer to Bauer on the table. While last night’s report from USA Today that Bauer and the Mets had a deal has been widely shot down, it does appear as though Bauer’s camp is nearing a decision on where he’ll play for at least the 2021 season.

5:23pm: New York is “believed to” have made a three-year offer worth around $100MM to Bauer, tweets Heyman, who adds there’s “likely” an opt-out clause after the first season. Ed Coleman of WFAN previously reported a three-year, $90MM-plus offer with an opt-out.

4:31pm: The Mets are the current favorites in this race, Jon Morosi of MLB.com hears.

3:16pm: Agent Rachel Luba suggested on Twitter that Bauer is down to two teams, though she didn’t name the clubs.

3:05pm: MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that the Dodgers are still in the mix and that the Bauer bidding could come down to those two clubs.

2:56pm: The Mets are currently “in talks” with free-agent righty Trevor Bauer, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds that the team expects to hear something more definitive from Bauer’s camp within the next 24 hours or so.

The Mets, under new owner Steve Cohen, have been the most oft-connected team to Bauer over the past month. While other clubs have made sense as on-paper fits and been connected to him more loosely, the Mets have repeatedly been portrayed as one of his likeliest landing spots. Adding Bauer on a contract of any length would very likely send the Mets soaring past the $210MM luxury tax line — barring a trade to free up some space. The Mets currently project to have about $183.5MM in luxury obligations, and Bauer is widely expected to command more than that $26.5MM gap in terms of annual salary.

Adding Bauer would also give the Mets one of the more imposing rotations in the Majors. He’d join two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Marcus Stroman, and impressive young David Peterson, who turned in a strong rookie effort in 2020. Noah Syndergaard, meanwhile, would be expected to rejoin the fray midseason once he has completed his rehab from 2020 Tommy John surgery.

The Dodgers have been mentioned at times as a potential entrant into the bidding — likely on a short-term deal with a high annual value. The club has made that type of offer to various high-end free agents in recent offseasons — most notably offering Bryce Harper a reported four-year deal in the $180MM range — and could again see appeal in paying a super-premium annual rate to limit the length of their commitment to Bauer.

With Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Julio Urias, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin all on board already, Bauer would be something of a luxury item for president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman and his staff. That said, the appeal of a Buehler/Kershaw/Bauer top three is enticing, to say the least.

While the Dodgers and Mets might be the two likeliest destinations for Bauer at present, SNY’s Andy Martino tweets that others could yet enter the mix with enticing two- or three-year offers at a high annual rate. That said, he adds that things between the Mets and Bauer are “quite serious” at the moment.