Ranking Mets’ top 5 free agent pitching targets for 2025-26 MLB offseason
November 20, 2025
Ranking Mets’ top 5 free agent pitching targets for 2025-26 MLB offseason
11 comments
TL/DR:
5. Ranger Suarez
4. Framber Valdez
3. Michael King
2. Tatsuya Imai
1. Dylan Cease
I’m still trying to comprehend how we signed the only terrible Japanese SP in MLB history.
Cease is waaaaay too high for someone who’s inconsistent with his command, which the Mets don’t need after last season
Everyone is scared of cease’s inconsistency though if you even it out he’s still a solid pitcher.
The inconsistency is probably noise as the underlying metrics have largely been consistent.
He has the stuff to be an ace and the inconsistency just makes him a cheaper buy
This class is all number 3 pitchers in a very good rotation.
They’re all solid pickups, but just hope not giving number 1 contracts. Market will say they’re higher rotation guys I fear
You might as well disregard anyone with a QO attached. Stearns hasn’t given the impression he’ll make any kind of moves that would jeopardize his ability to draft
1-3 are fine
Stay away from Valdez and Suarez
Valdez is a ticking TJ time bomb and I don’t trust him to not fall off in a year or two
Suarez is so uneven and probably only a tick or two in lost velocity from being Jose Quintana
Cease is a no brainer. Cease is also someone who can take a short term deal, have better luck, and then be 50-75M more expensive next offseason. The under the hood numbers look great, the ratios look great.
Get him now. Probably the best bet to be an anchor for your rotation.
Fangraphs projects 5/130M. I’d easily go 7/170.
I feel like Cease is gonna gamble on himself though, he’s just too talented.
>As far as free agency, this year’s crop of starting pitchers does not have a slam dunk option like it did last offseason (Max Fried) or the offseason before (Yoshinobu Yamamoto).
Insanely disingenuous lol. Corbin Burnes was the apple of everybody’s eye last off-season with Fried playing second fiddle. Yamamoto was indeed seen as the “give him whatever it takes” slam dunk option the year before and well… he’s lived up to it.
Cease and Imai feel like the guys Stearns will take a hard look at, King to a lesser degree…
They should be in the trade market market for a high upside arm
give me ranger and king and ill be fucking pumped! heck throw in gonso and canning just to see if they can maybe take a spot in the rotation.
11 comments
TL/DR:
5. Ranger Suarez
4. Framber Valdez
3. Michael King
2. Tatsuya Imai
1. Dylan Cease
I’m still trying to comprehend how we signed the only terrible Japanese SP in MLB history.
Cease is waaaaay too high for someone who’s inconsistent with his command, which the Mets don’t need after last season
Everyone is scared of cease’s inconsistency though if you even it out he’s still a solid pitcher.
The inconsistency is probably noise as the underlying metrics have largely been consistent.
He has the stuff to be an ace and the inconsistency just makes him a cheaper buy
This class is all number 3 pitchers in a very good rotation.
They’re all solid pickups, but just hope not giving number 1 contracts. Market will say they’re higher rotation guys I fear
You might as well disregard anyone with a QO attached. Stearns hasn’t given the impression he’ll make any kind of moves that would jeopardize his ability to draft
1-3 are fine
Stay away from Valdez and Suarez
Valdez is a ticking TJ time bomb and I don’t trust him to not fall off in a year or two
Suarez is so uneven and probably only a tick or two in lost velocity from being Jose Quintana
Cease is a no brainer. Cease is also someone who can take a short term deal, have better luck, and then be 50-75M more expensive next offseason. The under the hood numbers look great, the ratios look great.
Get him now. Probably the best bet to be an anchor for your rotation.
Fangraphs projects 5/130M. I’d easily go 7/170.
I feel like Cease is gonna gamble on himself though, he’s just too talented.
>As far as free agency, this year’s crop of starting pitchers does not have a slam dunk option like it did last offseason (Max Fried) or the offseason before (Yoshinobu Yamamoto).
Insanely disingenuous lol. Corbin Burnes was the apple of everybody’s eye last off-season with Fried playing second fiddle. Yamamoto was indeed seen as the “give him whatever it takes” slam dunk option the year before and well… he’s lived up to it.
Cease and Imai feel like the guys Stearns will take a hard look at, King to a lesser degree…
They should be in the trade market market for a high upside arm
give me ranger and king and ill be fucking pumped! heck throw in gonso and canning just to see if they can maybe take a spot in the rotation.