NY Mets: Top 3 free agent starting pitchers to target ranked

If there’s one thing an MLB team can never have enough of, that would be quality starting pitching. As we saw in the 2021 New York Mets season, starting pitching is something you need in large quantities.

This past season, the blue and orange had eight starting pitchers make eight starts or more. This offseason, the Mets are scheduled to potentially lose Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard, and Rich Hill, all as free agents this offseason.

Depth is the name of the game for Mets free agent targets

According to spotrac.com, the Mets only have six starting pitchers on major league contracts for the 2022 season. Only one of those players (Taijuan Walker), started more than 20 games this past season.

With the uncertainty of potential free agents from the Mets, along with a rash of injuries that devastated their rotation in 2021, they will need to look to the free agent market to sure up their rotation.

Even with the deep pockets of Steve Cohen, starters like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, even if they were to be left unsigned by their respective teams, are not likely to fit into the Mets 2022 rotation.

The Mets need to find their next Bartolo Colon this offseason, a reliable workhorse who can give the team quality starts, not their next Jacob deGrom.

3) A lefty from the bay area for the Mets

One thing the Mets certainly lacked last season was quality left-handed starting pitching. The team traded Steven Matz to Toronto in the offseason, then had the seasons of Joey Lucchesi and David Peterson cut short by injury.

If the Mets want to add another left-hander to their rotation, a name to add to the list would be Alex Wood from the San Francisco Giants.

Wood is coming off his best season since 2017 when he was named an All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that season he posted a career-best 2.72 ERA, along with a 1.057 WHIP rate.

Coming off of two injury-riddled seasons in 2019 and 2020, this season, wood posted a 3.83 ERA and a 1.183 WHIP, in 138 2/3 innings pitched.

Wood would be a nice addition to the bottom end of the

rotation, especially on a one or two-year deal. If Wood could be had on a salary around six to seven million a year, that could be a deal with minimal risk with a high upside.

A deal similar in structure to what Taijuan Walker signed with the Mets in the past offseason, one without a large commitment that offers the Mets upside on a veteran pitcher.