The Mets’ deadline sale has generated plenty of headlines over the past few days. New York moved a number of star players but also held a few veterans whose names had been floated in rumors — among them José Quintana, Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino.
Ottavino is one of a trio of players still on the Mets’ roster who’d have the choice to become a free agent at year’s end. Carlos Carrasco is headed to the open market; Ottavino and Omar Narváez have player options for next season. (The club holds an option on Raley.) Narváez seems a lock to return on a $7MM salary after slumping to a .200/.295/.260 line and missing a good chunk of the season with a strained calf. Ottavino’s option seemed a closer call, but the veteran reliever indicated this afternoon he’s leaning towards exercising it.
The Brooklyn native tells Anthony DiComo of MLB.com he intends to return for a third season with the Mets. Ottavino suggested he was likely to trigger the $6.75MM option on his existing contract. He left open the possibility of trying to renegotiate the deal if he pitches well enough over the next two months, though he indicated he’d do so as a means of tacking on more years rather than prioritizing the average annual value. The Mets don’t have to consider a renegotiation, of course. There’s ostensibly still a chance that Ottavino looks to extend the contract, the Mets decline, and he’s left to reconsider the possibility of opting out.
That said, the hurler seemed quite committed to returning to Queens for his age-38 campaign. “I want to be here no matter what,” Ottavino told DiComo. “This is a good place for me. I love the organization. I love being able to play where I’m from.”
Next year’s Mets will be a quite different team from the one that entered this season. Owner Steve Cohen and GM Billy Eppler have each made clear the club doesn’t anticipate being as active at the top of the free agent market as they had been. Cohen frankly stated yesterday that the ’24 roster won’t carry the same expectations as this year’s group.
Ottavino doesn’t seem deterred by the organizational messaging. The right-hander opined he “(knows) that we’re not going to stink next year.” More broadly, he said he’d value team success more when it’s built on continuity. “I really want to win, but I’ve come to realize it means more to me when I feel invested with the team, when I’ve been with the team for a while,” he told DiComo. “I don’t like feeling like a hired gun. … When I came here, I really wanted to prove myself again and stay. Once I was able to do that, now I feel like I’m bought into everything we’re doing around here.”
While Ottavino has sole discretion on whether to play out his contract, his deal does not contain a no-trade clause. If he exercises the option, there’d be nothing prohibiting the Mets from exploring trade possibilities during the winter. Barring an excellent final couple months, however, New York likely wouldn’t find a huge prospect return if they put Ottavino on the trade market.
While the 13-year MLB veteran is having a solid season, his production has taken a step back from his first year in Queens. Ottavino owns a 3.48 ERA across 44 innings. He’s racking up ground-balls at a massive 58.1% clip but has slightly worse than average strikeout (21.6%) and walk (10.3%) tallies. Ottavino fanned over 30% of opponents against a meager 6.2% walk percentage en route to a sterling 2.06 ERA through 65 2/3 frames a season ago.
The average velocity on Ottavino’s sinker and sweeping slider are each down a tick relative to last season. That has contributed to a drop in whiffs, though his lower arm angle has remained a very challenging look for same-handed hitters. Righties have only four extra-base hits and a .273 slugging mark in 118 plate appearances against him.
I mean, $6.75M for what he’s producing is in the upper half of his market value. A bird in hand is better than two in the bush. I don’t blame him for wanting the automatic guaranteed money and to stay in the same city/state- MLB guys like the family life stability of not having to move home teams.
Finally some positive news. I like the guy from Brooklyn (go figure)!
He’s also smart enough to know that Cohen is going to spend $$$. It just wont be what he spent this year. He has 2 rotation spots to fill and will probably bring back Robinson or another good set up man. I don’t see them adding a bat as the kids will fill in the roster. Although I would like Cohen to sign Korean superstar Jung Hoo Lee. Check his video out. He could be an impact OF on a smaller contract.
And Yamamoto!
I think Yamamoto is a near lock. Gotta be some appeal with senga there, and I really wouldn’t want ohtani at the $ he’ll get.
I hope very much that we sign Yamamoto. As for Ohtani, it really depends on the money. Too much hamstrings the team. But if the price is right …
Ottavino is a veteran and he’s saying all the right things. Not that I don’t believe him but if he exercises his option for next year, does well and gets traded at the deadline, I guarantee he’ll have a statement like: “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to join a playoff-caliber team and have a chance at a World Series title”. He knows how to work the media and the fans with the best of them. A true veteran of the game; I wish him all the best.
The same guy who arrived in NY with the Yankees and said he could strike out Babe Ruth every time and subsequently got a TV commercial deal out of it. He’s a good entertainer.
Oh yeah the big Olive Garden is coming back for one more year
I’m not sure why most people seem to think the Mets trading both Max and Verlander is also punting on 2024; the fact is, the ’23 Mets were OLD, past their primes, light-hitting and not very good. The simple fact of getting younger, hungrier and deeper mostly likely makes the ’24 version of the Mets better than this sad sack ’23 version.
The Mets got young prospects that will be eager to prove themselves, that alone adds a much needed jolt of energy that a team with so many veterans needs.
Mets gonna Mets even with a hand full of aces.
They aren’t going to get a ton from the prospects they traded for in ‘24. Acuna could be a factor but the others are more likely to impact the club in ‘25 & beyond.
@Bstrowman9 – The OF from Houston should be ready to contribute next season in MLB as well, possibly even both of them.
@dorothy
Gilbert has 250ABS of so-so AA production right now. He’ll need some minor league time for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him debut later in 2024 but I wouldn’t expect him to be an impact player next year. Clifford is still in high A ball.
Things change but the realistic timeline for those guys is 2025. Ronny Mauricio is more advanced than all of them and he’s yet to see ML time. The Mets tend to let guys play at AAA.
@ MLB Fan – The owner came out and said next year is somewhat of a reset year. They aren’t going to tank the season, but I believe they are losing 3 and possibly 4 starting pitchers from their 2023 roster. If they are not going to play in the deep end of free agency then I don’t see how they could put together a true contender with a lack of quality starting pitching. Position player wise, they should be okay but pitching will be their downfall next year.
The Mets should spend big on the Japanese free agent pitcher for next year and team him with Senga. That would certainly help them build some depth in their rotation and he’ll cost less than the established, free agent pitching stars who will be available next year.
They could spend big on both Japanese free agent pitchers. There are questions whether the big one wants to play on the East Coast and whether he would want to go to a team that just traded away a quarter of its MLB players. I think Ohtani would be looking at the long term and could feel good about it if he sees two potential teammates that he knows from NPB. As for what Cohen and Eppler said publicly and to Scherzer and Verlander, I think they could easily pivot if there’s a chance to get Ohtani. I think Cohen would go over $0.75B on contracts for the two elite Japanese pitchers.
Valid point. If Cohen could nab Ohtani, he’ll certainly pony up the money to do so regardless of what he said about next year.
Eh. I wouldn’t say that they’re completely punting on 2024, but they’re not going to push in the way they did last offseason. I do expect them to add at least one big name starter and some bullpen arms. They need to reconstruct their entire rotation aside from Senga. Quintana will be on the last year of his deal and he’s a #4 or 5 at best.
They have no worthwhile starting pitching in AAA, so they’re going to need to get someone. Sign a good starter this offseason, and another next offseason. They can’t rebuild the rotation in one offseason.
Lolmets
Don’t the Mets finally finish Cano’s contact.. heck sign Othani.. fixes 2 problems.. pitching and line up.
Mets will have dropped a significant amount, however the intent there is to ‘reset’ the lux tax rule. They’re being mindful of the impacts to their draft position and international monies that are impacted each year they remain over the limit.
I don’t see any way they can re-set lux tax, 2024 no way, 2025 *slight* possibility, but unlikely
Please don’t be absurd. They’re paying off substantial money for both 2024 and 2025. They’re unlikely to get under the LT threshold this decade.
Why not get an all Japanese starting rotation.
I think Met fans might be a little disappointed in the off-season when they realize that other big-market teams are going to be looking at the same SPs that the Mets are. Plus the geography. As much as I’d like the RS to land Yamamoto, he might prefer the West Coast.
“I’m committed to returning to the Mets—I mean, are you kidding? You think with my raw numbers I’ll get close to my player option if I go the free agent route?”