According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the New York Mets have already discussed some possible alternatives if the team is unable to re-sign starting pitcher Sean Manaea. In his article for the Athletic on Saturday, Rosenthal confirmed the Mets are among the teams to have expressed interest in starter Nathan Eovaldi. He added the team has also, “at least checked in on,” starters Jack Flaherty and Nick Pivetta. Rosenthal lastly once again reiterated a prior Athletic report from Will Sammon explaining the possible fit between Walker Buehler and the Mets.
Below are the projections from MLB Trade Rumors for each of the above-mentioned pitchers:
Note, MLB Trade Rumors had Pivetta accepting the qualifying offer. So, they did not have a long-term projection for him. Fangraph’s crowd-sourced projections have Pivetta signing a three-year deal worth $45 million.
President of baseball operations David Stearns philosophy over the years has seemingly always consisted of not signing older free agent starting pitchers to longer-term deals which Tim Healey of Newsday confirmed once again on Saturday. When looking at the above, this seemingly would indicate the interest in both a reunion with Manaea and Flaherty may just be that. Though, things change, and usually when there’s interest, it’s not just without merit.
Regardless, a one-year deal for Buehler, who is trying to revitalize himself would make a lot of sense and one that would be extremely similar to the deal the Mets made with Luis Severino last offseason. Buehler, after not pitching since 2022, finally returned in the regular season last year and struggled mightily. He pitched to a 5.38 ERA across 75 1/3 innings. However, in the postseason, he looked like his old self after a troublesome National League Division Series, finishing the postseason with 10 scoreless to go along with 13 strikeouts. Signing Buehler would be betting that he returns closer to his pre-injury form and the one he found in the National League Championship and World Series.
Nathan Eovaldi. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Nathan Eovaldi has quietly emerged as one of the most consistent starting pitchers in all of baseball over the last seven seasons. Outside of 2019, Eovaldi has posted a 3.87 ERA or lower in each season while making two All-Star appearances. Additionally, since 2021, he has thrown at least 109 innings in each year, with no less than 144 being thrown in all but 2022. He’s a very strong No. 3 or formidable No. 2 on most teams.
Pivetta, who surprisingly declined his qualifying offer from the Boston Red Sox, has quietly emerged as an underrated No. 3 option to any rotation. Over his Red Sox career, Pivetta owns a 4.29 ERA, but has superb strikeouts rates and some of the best pure “stuff,” in all of baseball. In a ballpark such as Citi Field, those traditional numbers (such as ERA) should continue to improve. A full breakdown of just how underrated Pivetta has been can be found here.
Flaherty would indeed be the big prize. At only 29 years old, he should have several strong years left in the tank and as a result would be the longest-term option of the players mentioned in Rosenthal’s report. Flaherty put together the best season of his career since 2019 in 2024, posting a 3.17 ERA across 162 innings. If he stays healthy, which has been an issue for him, he would compliment Kodai Senga at the top of the Mets’ rotation admirably.
Lastly, Sean Manaea’s success with the Mets in 2024 is well documented. The team took a shot on the now 32-year-old and were rewarded with Manaea posting a 3.47 ERA across a career-high 181 2/3 innings. In his ninth big-league season, the left-handed starter posted the best of his career and will surely be looking for a well-deserved pay raise. With the philosophy of Stearns and staff in mind, how far are the Mets willing to go to bring Manaea back to Flushing?
The main takeaway from the report is the Mets know they still need to add to their rotation. As it stands, the rotation projects on paper as such:
All of the pitchers mentioned in Rosenthal’s report project as a No. 2 or at-worse very quality No. 3 starter. This is encouraging to see since, on paper, this is exactly what the Mets need to round their rotation out. How the Mets choose to do so, only time will tell.
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