Has this 'wild' Mets offseason decision already backfired?

Could the New York Mets already be regretting this offseason acquisition strategy?

Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes (35) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Perhaps it should not have come as a surprise that the New York Mets were conscious of their offseason spending after signing Juan Soto to the largest contract in sports history.

However, some believe that even after Soto became a member of the Mets, New York's front office was going to make a play on some of the top free agent starting pitchers available, such as Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, or Max Fried.

Instead, New York re-signed 2024 breakout player Sean Manaea, signed Frankie Montas, and brought former New York Yankees closer Clay Holmes over to their side of the city in order to turn him into a starting pitcher.

While the Holmes experiment seems to be going great, Manaea and Montas have already suffered relatively severe injuries, leaving New York's new-look rotation already depleted.

Hindsight is 20/20, of course. But it's hard not to wonder whether the Mets regret not being more aggressive in the starting pitcher market right now.

This was the sentiment Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter seemed to have in a March 10 article when speaking about the Mets' starting rotation.

"It's wild that a team willing to spend $765 million on Juan Soto could not do any better than re-signing Sean Manaea, overpaying for Frankie Montas and rolling the dice on Clay Holmes transitioning to a starting role to address the starting rotation," Reuter wrote.

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"With Manaea (oblique) and Montas (lat) both ticketed for the injured list, Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning and Paul Blackburn are competing for two spots, though all three could make the Opening Day roster."

That's a pretty harsh take from Reuter. However, if the starting rotation is proven to be a weakness for New York early on in the season, perhaps David Stearns and company will decide to trade for another top-tier arm.