QO, Options Deadline Today; Free Agency Starts at 5 PM ET

Thursday is an important one across baseball as there are multiple deadlines for player decisions and then at 5:00 p.m. ET the free agency frenzy starts. This is when the offseason really gets started.

Option Deadline

The deadline for teams to decide on team options, mutual options, and the players on their options (and opt-outs) is Thursday. The Mets have two players they have yet to make decisions on after declining their option on Mychal Givens on Wednesday.

• RHP Carlos Carrasco – $14 million team option with $3 million buyout
• RHP John Curtiss – $775K club option

Carrasco at essentially $11 million for the 2023 season is a good deal despite his age (35) and struggles down the stretch. He finished with a 3.97 ERA and 3.53 FIP in 152 innings this season. The Mets already have starters Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, and Taijuan Walker scheduled to hit the open market on Thursday night.

The 29-year-old Curtiss was signed by the Mets this year knowing he was going to miss the entire 2022 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2021. Assuming his rehab has gone fine, picking up his cheap option would be a no-brainer. The right-handed reliever had a 3.45 ERA in 41 games in 2021 before the injury.

Qualifying Offer Deadline 

The deadline to give a player the $19.65 million qualifying offer is also 5:00 p.m. ET tonight with a group of stars expected to get it and that includes multiple Mets.

• RHP Jacob deGrom – no-brainer here for the Mets and for Jacob to decline
• OF Brandon Nimmo – same thing here
• RHP Chris Bassitt – more of the same expected with Bassitt
• RHP Taijuan Walker – little tougher decision, but could make sense for a team in need of starting pitching

All the of deGrom, Nimmo, and Bassitt will get the QO and decline it. Meaning if they sign elsewhere the Mets would get a compensation pick after the fourth round of the 2023 draft. The $19.65 million salary for the QO is probably a little more than Walker gets on the open market, but he could decline in hopes of a longer deal.

Any player that receives the qualifying offer then has 10 days to make their decision.

Let Free Agency Begin! 

Players can sign with new teams starting at 5:00 p.m. ET tonight with lots of marquee players on the market including OF Aaron Judge, SS Carlos Correa, SS Xander Bogaerts, SS Trea Turner, SS Dansby Swanson, LHP Carlos Rodon, C Willson Contreras, Nimmo, and deGrom to name a few.

It’s been well documented that the Mets have a stockpile of free agents this season and most of them played a role in their 101-win season this year. The current list is up to 12 players for the Mets before they make decisions on Carrasco and Curtiss.

The Mets did get a jump on the market by signing star closer Edwin Díaz to a five-year deal.

The post QO, Options Deadline Today; Free Agency Starts at 5 PM ET first appeared on Metsmerized Online.