Intriguing Orioles Hurler Could Be Offseason Target For Mets According To Insider

Should the Mets target the former Orioles hurler this offseason in free agency?

The New York Mets need to improve the starting rotation this offseason. 

New York has Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana in the rotation right now. While that is a solid start, the Mets will need to add a few more hurlers into the mix this offseason. The Mets have been linked to top arms like Orix Buffaloes phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto but will need to add more depth as well. 

One intriguing player to watch out for is former Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty, according to SNY's Danny Abriano.

"Flaherty has dealt with shoulder issues and is coming off a poor 2023 -- when he had a 4.99 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across 144.1 innings for the Cardinals and Orioles," Abriano said. "But he is just two seasons removed from a year where he posted a 3.22 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while striking out 9.8 per nine -- and he is entering his age-28 season.

"As is the case with Severino, interested teams really shouldn't be floating Flaherty anything more than a one-year, prove-it deal. If his offers exceed that, the Mets should bow out. At one year, though, Flaherty -- who has a four-pitch mix and an average fastball velocity that has always hovered around 93 mph -- could be a nice bounce-back candidate."

Flaherty is just 28 years old and won't be exceptionally expensive this offseason. He had a down year in 2023 with a 4.99 ERA in 29 total appearances but has plenty of upside. Flaherty logged a 2.75 ERA in 2019 for the Cardinals as a 23-year-old but has dealt with a plethora of injuries since. If he's fully healthy and can return to form, he could be a very solid back-of-the-rotation piece with high upside. Why not take a chance on him?