MLB Insider Links Mets To 3 Big Stars In Free Agency
With MLB free agency looming in November, the Mets are expected to be highly active in order to fill the slew of holes on their roster.
And on Friday, MLB Insider Jon Heyman made his predictions of where some of the biggest names on the market could land.
According to Heyman, he believes the Mets will go hard for a third baseman this winter, which is why he sees them signing Kris Bryant.
As Heyman also noted, Bryant was the player who made the most sense for the Mets at the trade deadline, and although they showed interest in acquiring him from the Cubs, they ultimately wound up with Bryant's former teammate Javier Báez.
Bryant was traded to the San Francisco Giants, who finished with the best record in baseball. However, they were eliminated in the NLDS by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While Heyman sees Bryant potentially re-signing with the Giants, the Mets look like a very realistic destination for him at this point.
And speaking of Báez, Heyman's gut is telling him that he winds up back with the Cubs. But he also wouldn't rule out Báez re-signing with the Mets.
After the Cubs blew up their core at the deadline in July, they appear to be headed for a rebuild. This is something Báez is fully aware of, considering the comments he made at the end of the year.
Not to mention, SNY's Andy Martino reported earlier in the week that the Mets and Báez could possibly agree to a contract extension in the beginning of free agency.
Following Báez's strong finish to the season, plus his close friendship with double play partner Francisco Lindor, Martino says there is mutual affection there on both sides.
As long as the Mets put a feasible offer on the table, maybe in the range of $150-200 million, Báez could opt to stick around in New York for the foreseeable future.
“I obviously don’t like the traffic. I don’t like the cold,” Báez told Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago at the end of the regular season. “But if they make the offer, and they make it happen, I would love to stay in New York.”
Beyond Báez, another superstar shortstop will be available in Carlos Correa. Heyman says he wouldn't rule Correa being an option for either New York team in the Mets or Yankees.
But if Correa signed with the Mets, he would have to move over to third base with Lindor locked in at the shortstop position for the next decade.
This is something Alex Rodriguez did in 2004 when he signed with the Yankees, who already had their captain, Derek Jeter at shortstop. And the result was a World Series championship in 2009.
