Ex-Mets starter viewed as AL West team's under-the-radar move

One MLB insider seems to like an AL West team acquiring this former New York Mets pitcher.

Sep 24, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) reacts after giving up a run against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Somewhat similar to how they're feeling right now, the New York Mets didn't know what sort of starting rotation they had heading into the 2024 regular season.

While they figured they could rely on Kodai Senga after his breakout 2023 rookie season, there were considerable question marks around the next three members of their rotation: Jose Quintana, Sean Manaea, and Luis Severino.

While Quintana seemed reliable, he had just turned 35. Manaea was coming off of several mediocre seasons in the NL West while Severino was the biggest question mark of all, just finishing an injury-plagued New York Yankees campaign where he pitched 89.1 innings and suffered a brutal 6.65 regular season ERA.

Read more: Ex-Mets outfielder seen as AL team's best offseason move

Thankfully, all of these pitchers paid off and produced extremely respectable 2024 seasons. As for Severino, he pitched his most regular season innings since 2018 and amassed a 3.91 ERA, along with an NLDS outing where he pitched 4.2 frames with no earned runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Another bases loaded escape 👏

Luis Severino gets out of the jam this time!

📲 Watch in 4K on the FOX Sports App: https://t.co/zsNincFCkS pic.twitter.com/h43Clz8HDc

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 17, 2024

Aa a result of this success, Severino signed a lucrative three-year, $67 million contract with the Athletics earlier this offseason.

And in a March 5 article, The Athletic's Jim Bowden deemed this Severino signing the A's most "under the radar" offseason move, saying that Severino is going to vastly improve their starting rotation (who had a combined 5.70 regular season ERA in 2024) headed into the 2025 season.

Six teams had offseasons that merited A grades from @JimBowdenGM.

But one team was flunked (sorry Cardinals).

His full report cards, season predictions and more: https://t.co/WZKXNJ7cyp pic.twitter.com/6zejPaiPfH

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 5, 2025

There's a lot of concern about how the Mets' rotation will shake out to start the 2025 season. However, fans can take solace in knowing there were similar concerns one year ago that ultimately turned out pretty well for New York.