The Mets were linked to Michael King’s market earlier this week, and the team’s interest is developed enough that the two sides had a video meeting, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports. Sherman adds that King’s past experience pitching in New York with the Yankees is a plus for the Mets, and the likelihood that King will sign a somewhat shorter-term contract matches the Amazins’ preference to avoid long-term commitments to pitchers.
MLB Trade Rumors did project King for a four-year, $80MM deal, while ranking the right-hander 14th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents. At least eight other teams besides the Mets have been connected to King, so it’s possible there’s enough interest for King to lock in a four-year guarantee just because frontline pitching is such a valued asset. That said, the 2024 season represents King’s only full season as a starter, as he was limited to 15 starts and 73 1/3 innings with the Padres last season due primarily to a pinched nerve in his shoulder, and then a bout of knee inflammation.
King felt confident enough in his market to reject San Diego’s qualifying offer, and so any team that signs the righty will have to cough up some kind of draft compensation. For a luxury tax-paying team like the Mets, the penalty for signing a qualified free agent is particularly steep, as New York would have to surrender $1MM in international bonus pool money as well as their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2026 draft.
There has been speculation that King might be open to accepting a shorter-term contract with an opt-out clause or two, perhaps so he could re-enter the market as soon as next winter on the heels of a healthy and productive season. Giving up two picks for just one year of King carries some risk for the Mets even if that would fit their short-term window, and if King has a good enough year that he’s willing to opt out, that’s also a boost to the pitching staff. Given how New York’s rotation was beset by injuries in 2025, the Mets would probably prefer to add a pitcher with more of a proven track record of durability, but acquiring such a player could come with a higher price tag of years or money.
Speaking of the Mets’ injury-plagued rotation, president of baseball operations David Stearns gave a few updates on the staff while speaking with SNY’s Ben Krimmel, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (multiple links), and other reporters at the Winter Meetings. Perhaps the most noteworthy update focused on Kodai Senga, who Stearns said is feeling “as good physically as he has since that 2023 season.” The executive called this “the most encouraging development we’ve had in terms of our offseason player progression,” and said Senga was planning to return to the U.S. from Japan to throw around the end of December.
After bursting onto the MLB scene with a fantastic 2023 campaign, Senga pitched in just one game in 2024, and then more injuries and a downturn in form led to the righty tossing just 113 1/3 frames for the Mets this past season. Senga got off to a terrific start in 2025 but never seemed the same after a month-long stint on the IL due to a hamstring strain. After posting a 5.90 ERA over what ended up being his final 39 2/3 MLB innings of the season, Senga agreed to be optioned to Triple-A in September, and he allowed five earned runs over two starts and 9 2/3 innings with Syracuse.
Reports indicate that the Mets are open to trading Senga, and moving on from the last two years and $28MM of his contract. For his part, Senga wants to stay with the Mets, and his 10-team no-trade clause gives him some degree of control over his fate. Considering how the Amazins need pitching themselves, simply keeping Senga is also certainly an option, especially if the club is encouraged that he’ll be able to stay healthy. Then again, Stearns’ comments may also be read as an executive perhaps trying to calm any doubts about Senga’s health in order to help facilitate a trade.
In other rotation news, Stearns said Christian Scott will be fully ready for the start of Spring Training. Scott underwent a Tommy John/internal brace hybrid procedure in September 2024 that kept the right-hander sidelined for the entirety of the 2026 campaign. This absence made Scott a bit of a forgotten man behind other highly-touted Mets pitching prospects, yet it wasn’t along ago that Scott was himself a well-regarded arm who made a rapid climb up the minor league ladder. Scott made his MLB debut in 2024, posting a 4.56 ERA over nine starts and 47 1/3 innings before being sidelined by injury.
A.J. Minter is also returning from a season-ending surgery, as the reliever’s 2025 campaign was cut short by a torn lat muscle in May. The lengthy rehab process could extend into the 2026 season, as Stearns said it isn’t a guarantee that Minter will be ready by Opening Day, though Minter isn’t expected to miss much time if he does need to begin the year on the injured list.
The Mets have gotten little return on last offseason’s two-year, $22MM investment in Minter, and it isn’t great that there’s still a question mark hanging over his immediate availability for 2026. The veteran righty’s 2024 campaign was also hampered by hip problems that eventually required a season-ending surgery, so it has been some time since Minter was fully healthy. Between Minter’s status and the free agency of Edwin Diaz and several other members of the 2025 relief corps, it is no wonder that New York continues to be focused on more bullpen additions, beyond their three-year deal with Devin Williams.
Stearns also addressed Pete Alonso’s upcoming visit to the Winter Meetings, as Alonso (who lives in Tampa) is expected to head to Orlando to conduct in-person meetings with the Orioles, Red Sox, and any other teams interested in his services. While the Mets remain interested in re-signing the Polar Bear, Stearns said “I think Pete knows us really well, and I think we know Pete really well. I think he’ll take the time here to perhaps meet with organizations he doesn’t know quite as well, and I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”
We need starters who can AVERAGE 6 IP per start. King averaged a bit under 5 in an INJURY plagued year and around 5 in 2024. TOR stuff doesn’t make much difference if you can’t go deep enough in your starts. All pitchers come with risk but King has more risk than most at this point.