Why Mets' Chris Bassitt Doesn't Give A 'Sh*t' About His Contract Situation

Newcomer Chris Bassitt was the only Met out of a total of 14 arbitration-eligible players to not agree to a deal earlier in the week, meaning he will head to a hearing later in the year.

But when asked about his contract situation following his first intrasquad outing on Thursday, Bassitt let it be known that he isn’t frustrated in the slightest.

“My entire outlook is I care about baseball, I don’t give a sh*t about my contract," Bassitt told reporters on Thursday. "That’s why I pay my agent. My agent gets to fight with the front office and that’s it. I don’t care, I care about winning and having fun with these guys.”

The Mets acquired Bassitt in a trade with the Oakland Athletics on March 12. New York gave up a pair of pitching prospects in J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller in order to land Bassitt, who will serve as their No. 3 starter in the big-league rotation.

After the season, Bassitt will become a free agent. But heading into his final year of arbitration, Bassitt's camp asked for $9 million in 2022, while the Mets were only willing to go as high as $8.3 million.

Regardless, Bassitt, 33, will form a three-headed monster in the Mets' rotation behind Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer this season.

Earlier today, Bassitt went four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five batters in his first live game action with the Mets this spring.

"[Today was] more so just like pitch shaping," said Bassitt, who threw all of his pitches in this outing. "Making sure my curveball is doing what it’s supposed to do. Cutter’s doing what it’s supposed to do. Pitch shaping so I don’t make the mistakes come the season...

"It’s more so just getting all your pitches working for the season. Results are good and great, but it’s more so just – luckily, we have a lot of starters that know what it takes to get big league guys out, so it’s just more so being prepared for Opening Day."

Although today's game didn't count, it was a promising sign for Bassitt, as he builds up for the regular season, which is exactly two weeks away.

Carrasco Rocked

As well as Bassitt's outing went on Thursday, Carlos Carrasco's intrasquad start went the exact opposite.

Carrasco tossed 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits with three strikeouts. And his first inning woes (13.50 ERA last season) continued, as he served up a three-run homer to Mets minor leaguer Jose Peroza. Carrasco also let up a solo long ball to Tomas Nido.

The 35-year-old is making his way back from offseason surgery, where he underwent a procedure to have a bone fragment removed from his right elbow in October. Carrasco appears to be on track for Opening Day, but his first start of the spring did not go smoothly.