Details On The Mets’ Offseason Pursuits

The Mets’ offseason has seen a bevy of major names both coming and going off the roster, and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman provides a nice breakdown of both the team’s moves and some of the behind-the-scenes plans (or backup plans) that went into these transactions.  Sherman’s piece also details some free agent and trade candidates who hadn’t been previously cited as Mets targets, including Ranger Suarez, Ryan Weathers, Johan Oviedo, and Pirates hurlers Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft.

New York’s trade for Freddy Peralta earlier this week helped the Mets finally secure the frontline rotation help they’d been seeking all winter, which helped because many of the other pitchers the team was exploring had already changed teams.  The Yankees acquired Weathers from the Marlins two weeks ago, the Red Sox landed Oviedo from the Pirates in early December, and Suarez signed with the Red Sox last week as well on a five-year, $130MM contract.

That type of long-term deal for a pitcher was thought to be outside of the Mets’ comfort zone, as multiple reports indicated that the team preferred shorter-term arrangements when trying to find rotation help.  The same was largely true of the Mets’ position-player pursuits, as the team offered Kyle Tucker four years and $220MM, and then landed Bo Bichette on a three-year, $126MM deal with two player opt-out clauses.  If Bichette hadn’t signed and Suarez had remained available, Sherman wrote that the Mets “would have pivoted to try to upgrade the rotation with a willingness to do the five years at $130 million Boston did.”

It’s an example of how the offseason can be a series of sliding doors, with a team’s priorities quickly changing when other teams start making moves and various star players leave the board.  Bichette himself wasn’t even known to be a Mets target until the eleventh hour, as missing out on Tucker led the Mets to quickly turn to Bichette and snatch him away from an almost-finalized agreement with the Phillies.  And, as it turned out, the Mets ended up landing their desired ace in inexpensive fashion in terms of money (Peralta is owed $8MM in 2026 before entering free agency next winter), but at the hefty trade cost of noted prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams.

Prying Bichette away from the Phillies may have provided some measure of revenge for the Mets after their unsuccessful pursuit of Kyle Schwarber.  New York was known to have interest in Schwarber’s services, and Sherman noted that the Mets “were much deeper in on him than previously publicly known.”  It was widely expected that Schwarber would re-sign with the Phils and he indeed rejoined the club for five years and $150MM.  As interested as the Mets were, Sherman wrote that they “perceived they would have to beat [five years/$150MM] by a good deal to get him to leave Philadelphia,” so the Amazins backed off.

The Mets had plenty of talks with the Marlins about Edward Cabrera before Cabrera was dealt to the Cubs, so it isn’t surprising that Weathers’ name was also brought up in those discussions.  Sherman reported that 8-10 teams had interest in Weathers, and it ended up being the Yankees (another Cabrera suitor) who landed the southpaw for a four-prospect package.

It was no secret that the Pirates were looking to upgrade their lineup this offseason, and with a surplus of arms on the roster, the assumption was that Pittsburgh would look to move starting pitching for some bats.  The five-player deal that sent Oviedo to Boston brought back Jhostynxon Garcia as a young outfielder who can help the Bucs as early as 2026, and Mike Burrows was traded to the Astros as part of the three-team swap with the Rays that brought Brandon Lowe to Pittsburgh.

With Oviedo and Burrows gone, the Pirates have probably closed the door on further pitching trades, as GM Ben Cherington has said the team would now be open to adding a bit of rotation depth, if anything.  Chandler (one of baseball’s top pitching prospects) and Ashcraft (a former second-round pick) each made their MLB debuts in 2025 and look to be part of the Pirates rotation both this season and for years to come, if everything pans out.

Sherman said the Mets “extensively” discussed Chandler, Ashcraft, and Oviedo in negotiations with the Pirates, and it would be fascinating to know the specifics of those talks.  Gauging by the Oviedo deal, the Bucs were presumably looking for controllable position-player talent, so any of Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, or even top prospect Carson Benge might have been on the Pirates’ wish list.  If Pittsburgh had looked for more of a veteran bat in the Lowe mold, Jeff McNeil (who was dealt to the A’s just before Christmas) might have been a fit, but it is hard to imagine the Pirates would’ve given up a significant MLB-ready pitcher for McNeil.