Mets Showed Interest in This Veteran Pitcher

The New York Mets nearly brought this former All-Star pitcher to their squad last season.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez (43) | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

A major league team can never have enough starting pitching. Even if a rotation appears to be in a good spot, things can change very quickly at the game's highest levels.

The New York Mets learned this lesson during their 2025 campaign. After their starting staff was the best in baseball over the season's first two months, they slowly began struggling because some of their veteran arms weren't producing up to their potential.

While most believed these Mets pitchers (such as Kodai Senga and David Peterson) would right the ship in the season's second half, their struggles intensified to the point where Senga was demoted to the minors, and Peterson was a liability every time he was handed the ball. And since the Mets didn't have other guys waiting in the wings (aside from then-unproven rookies like Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat), they had to hope that these veterans would eventually return to form, which they never did.

New York Mets pitcher David Peterson (23) | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Insider Reveals Mets' Interest in Aaron Sanchez

Some were frustrated that Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns didn't acquire a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, given the direction the rotation was headed.

However, The Athletic's MLB insider Ken Rosenthal revealed in a February 14 article that New York actually showed interest in acquiring Aaron Sanchez last season. Ultimately, Sanchez decided to sit out the season and signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals recently.

Read more: Marcus Semien Addresses How Francisco Lindor Injury Impacts Mets Chemistry

Sanchez's career has been derailed by injuries. He last pitched in MLB in 2022, but hasn't thrown more than 60 innings since the 2019 season. Yet, he did win the Dominican Winter League’s Pitcher of the Year award by producing a 1.55 ERA in 46.1 innings this past winter, which is what initially had teams interested.

Aaron Sanchez won the Dominican Winer League Cy Young Award.

In 46 1/3 innings, he posted a 1.55 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 9 walks.

Hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2022. #Royals pic.twitter.com/HghdAh2N1Z

— Jack Johnson (@JohnyJ_15) January 27, 2026

Sanchez's best MLB season came with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2016, as he earned a spot in the All-Star Game and was the AL's ERA leader, posting a 15-2 record with a 3.00 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched during the regular season.

Sanchez would have been a nice acquisition for the Mets last year, if only because he would have been a low-risk signing with a potentially high ceiling.

Alas, that is now in the rearview mirror, and Sanchez is playing for Kansas City. The good news is that the Mets' rotation as a whole appears poised for a bounce-back 2026 season.

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