Mets Reportedly Looking for More Pitching After Whiffing on Former Braves Ace

The New York Mets are looking for starting pitching, but not for top-of-the-line options.

MLB Insider Andy Martino reported that the Mets were in pursuit of free agent starter Julio Teheran this week. The former Atlanta Braves ace instead signed with the Baltimore Orioles, but the Mets were a "close second" according to Martino, and may have another opportunity to sign him if Teheran opts out of his deal by March 25. Baltimore's addition of a $100,000 signing bonus was the deciding factor in landing Teheran.

Julio Teheran to Orioles. Minors deal with MLB camp invite. $2M in majors, with $100K signing bonus and opt out
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 28, 2024

Although the Mets came up short in their pursuit of the 33-year-old veteran, they did reveal their current plan to address their starting pitching depth; they're looking for a lower-end starter.

Numerous sources have confirmed that the Mets are not pursuing options like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery due to the luxury tax and their respective price tags. They also aren't particularly interest in options such as Mike Clevenger and Michael Lorenzen (also due to their asking prices), and have chosen to ignore Trevor Bauer.

Regarding their current rotation, the Mets are banking on pitchers with high upside (such as Luis Severino and Sean Manaea), which necessitates the need for starters with a high floor. This was further exacerbated by Kodai Senga's shoulder injury, as Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser, and Tylor Megill will be bumped up in the rotation after originally serving as depth pieces.

As seen in the near-miss of Teheran, the Mets are looking for that last pitcher to not only balance out their high-risk rotation, but to give them another safety net in case another pitcher goes down with injury (Severino, who is currently the ace in Senga's absence, has had trouble staying healthy). Even then, Teheran has struggled since 2020 with injuries and inconsistency, and spent the 2022 season out of the majors, which may indicate that he wasn't the optimal choice for the Mets anyway.

The team is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2023 season that contained numerous backfires from their "high-risk, high-reward" players. But with the rotation constructed in a similar manner, the Mets need a starter that is dependable at worst, even if the upside isn't particularly high.