Inside The Mets

Mets' Prized Hurler Called Top Offseason Fit for NL East Foe

An MLB insider deemed one of the New York Mets' biggest rivals a free agency fit for starter Luis Severino.

Grant Young

Oct 16, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino (40) takes the mound before game three of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Oct 16, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino (40) takes the mound before game three of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets probably would not have made it to the NLCS this season if not for Luis Severino.

Severino signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Mets last offseason and then became one of their workhorses in the starting rotation. He finished the regular season with an 11-7 record, 3.91 ERA, and 161 strikeouts in 182 innings pitched. The 30-year-old then followed that up in the postseason by amassing a 3.24 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched.

Given Severino's brutal 2023 season with the New York Yankees, the one-year deal he inked with the Mets served as an opportunity to prove to MLB teams that he's worth a long-term deal this winter—and he did just that.

Now Severino will be one of the higher-level starting pitchers available in free agency. And an October 21 article from MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand claimed that one of the Mets' biggest rivals will be one of his top potential fits.

"Severino should be able to command a multiyear deal this winter, as a number of clubs will seek a rotation upgrade," Feinsand wrote before listing the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and Atlanta Braves as the starter's three top free agency fits.

Mets fans would surely prefer that Severino doesn't head to Atlanta this offseason. Then again, New York has been linked to top Braves starter Max Fried, who has a carer 73-36 regular season record with a 3.07 ERA.

Therefore, if Severino going to the Braves opens the door for Fried to join the Mets, this seems like a free agency trade-off New York would happily take.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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