This Starter Could Be A Black Friday-Style Deal To Fill Out Mets Staff

The New York Mets don’t typically do their free agent shopping looking for the MLB equivalent of Black Friday deals, but these days you never know. GM David Stearns is committed to fiscal austerity, and you also never know when owner Steve Cohen is going to overrule him to chase a star he wants, but the idea of Black Friday free agents that would fit the Mets needs is an intriguing one.

Andy McCullough of The Athletic (no relation) thought so, too, and he came up with an interesting list of bargain players for each MLB team. His choice for the Mets was Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai, who’s already posted and is on the market looking for a home.

It’s not the worst choice in the world, but he’s not a great fit, either. Imai is unproven, so even though he’s in his prime and has improved his command, he might not be a great bet.

There’s another problem with adding Imai. Stearns seems committed to making deals for the underperforming veterans he doesn’t want going forward, which is part of what dealing outfielder Brandon Nimmo represents. Reports have the Mets getting interest on starter Kodai Senga, so he seems like the next to go in the pitching department.

One other name that might make some sense when Stearns is done wheeling and dealing is starter Ranger Suarez of the Philadelphia Phillies. The idea that Suarez might be a bargain feels fuzzy around the edges, given that the Phillies starter is 30 years old and has a 3.59 ERA since 2022 while averaging 26 starts per season, according to McCullough.

He’s also a divisional opponent that the Mets know quite well, which means they have a thorough scouting profile based on plenty of opposing starts. Suarez can also be a bit erratic from time to time, as he’s been known to be brilliant for four or five innings, then completely lose his stuff or command as he tries to make his second time through the lineup, and that’s the last thing the Mets need.

Suarez isn’t a flamethrower, so that he might be a less expensive option than some of the other starters on McCullough’s list. But Suarez will have a lot of suitors, including the Houston Astros, the team that was named as a fit in a different section of this Black Friday matchmaking exercise.

As painful as it might be for Mets fans to wait, that’s probably the best course of action here. If the Senga deal is real, it will probably happen some time next week as the winter GM meetings draw closer.