Report: Bounce-Back Hurler to Reject Qualifying Offer From Mets

According to a report from Newsday, one of the New York Mets' bounce-back pitchers will decline his qualifying offer on Tuesday.

Oct 16, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino (40) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning during game three of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The New York Mets are expected to see another key pitcher hit the open market once the qualifying offer deadline is reached at 4 pm EST on Tuesday.

According to Tim Healey of Newsday, right-handed starter Luis Severino will reject the one-year, $21.05 million offer from the Mets.

The Athletic's Will Sammon first reported on Saturday that Severino was unlikely to accept the Mets' qualifying offer.

It's unsurprsing that Severino intends on testing the free agent waters after the bounce-back campaign he put together in Queens in 2024.

Severino was coming off five straight underwhelming and injury plagued seasons with the cross-town rival New York Yankees, which led to the righty signing a one-year, $13 million prove-it deal with the Mets last winter.

This was a low-risk, high-reward move made by Mets' first-year president of baseball operations David Stearns. It was certainly a transaction that paid dividends, as Severino emerged as a frontline starter in the rotation, posting a 1.6 bWAR to go along with a 11-7 record, 3.91 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 101 ERA+ and 161 strikeouts across 182 innings (31 starts).

Severino far exceeded expectations in terms of performance and workload, having notched a combined 209.2 innings from 2019-2023 with the Yankees due to a variety of injuries.

The veteran hurler is set to turn 31-years-old in spring training, so it makes sense that he'd be seeking a long-term deal on the free agent market after the season he put up with the Mets.

The Mets on the other hand, will have at least three holes to fill in their starting rotation this offseason, which could come by retaining a combination of Severino, Sean Manaea (also expected to reject his QO) and Jose Quintana who will all be free to talk to other teams.

As it stands, the Mets' projected rotation includes Kodai Senga, who is coming off an injury riddled year, breakout lefty David Peterson and Tylor Megill. Trade deadline pickup Paul Blackburn is a question mark after undergoing a cerebrospinal fluid leak repair that is expected to sideline him for 4-5 months.

In addition to potentially bringing back any of their trio of veteran starters, the Mets should be in on top of the line arms such as Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.