Mets Inquire on World Series Hero to Bolster Starting Rotation

After making their first significant free agent signing, the Mets are looking at another rotation arm.

Nov 1, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler (21) speaks to fans during the World Series Championship Celebration at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The New York Mets have made their first significant move in free agency - and needless to say, more moves are on the way.

Shortly after signing starting pitcher Frankie Montas to a two-year, $34 million contract, New York is looking for another arm to bolster their rotation; according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets have inquired on right-handed starter Walker Buehler, among other pitchers.

https://t.co/r3j5hubxr5 The Montas agreement is another symbol of hiw David Stearns is approaching starting pitching

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 2, 2024

Buehler, 30, has just won his second World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was a key component to their playoff run. Despite struggling in the regular season with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts, the righty shined in October by tossing 13 consecutive scoreless innings; this included scoreless starts against the Mets and New York Yankees in the NLCS and World Series, respectively, before earning a save in the clinching Game 5 of the Fall Classic.

Before 2024, Buehler was one of the best pitchers in the majors from 2018 to 2021, as he accumulated a 39-13 record and 14.4 fWAR with a 2.82 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, and 620 punchouts over those four seasons. However, the 30-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery and flexor tendon repair that ended his 2022 season and missed the entire 2023 season recovering from these operations; it took him until the 2024 postseason to fully shake the rust off.

Interestingly, Sherman noted that the Mets' pursuit of Buehler could be reflective of their strategy of signing free-agent pitchers; instead of pursuing the top arms available (such as Corbin Burnes and Max Fried), New York is looking at signing high-upside pitchers to short-term deals, similarly to what they did in the 2023-24 offseason when they signed Luis Severino and Sean Manaea to one-year and two-year deals, respectively (Manaea's contract had an opt-out that he exercised after a successful 2024 campaign).

This approach has been done by Mets' president of baseball operations David Stearns when he was with the Milwaukee Brewers, in spite having a significantly larger budget to work with due to owner Steve Cohen's willingness to spend.

"The Mets signed 10 free agents to major league deals last offseason and only Sean Manaea, with a two-year deal in which he had a player option for 2025, had more than one guaranteed season," Sherman wrote. "Stearns is too agile of a thinker to fully lock himself into a single policy. There is a long way to go this offseason and also in his Mets contract. But until demonstrated otherwise, particularly when it comes to pitching, Stearns appears to have a philosophy."

It is worth noting that Stearns may have done this out of necessity last offseason, as the Mets had a massive amount of dead money on their payroll (specifically the contracts of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander). However, even with those ill-fated deals coming off the books, Stearns is seemingly assembling the rotation in the same fashion as before; perhaps this could be due to the Mets' pursuit of superstar outfielder Juan Soto, who is looking for a deal well over $600 million in free agency.

Ultimately, Buehler fits the mold of the rotation arms New York is looking for, as he has immense talent and upside that has seemingly been undervalued this offseason. By signing the righty to a short-term deal, the Mets can possibly get elite production at a fraction of the price, even if he would become far more expensive for future seasons.

The Mets aren't the only team bidding for Buehler's services; for example, there has been "mutual interest" between the righty and the cross-town rival Yankees, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. However, if the Mets manage to land the 30-year-old, their rotation would receive an outstanding boost.