Following the conclusion of the 2019 World Series on Wednesday night, Major League Baseball free agency officially started at 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday.
For the Mets, that means RHP Zack Wheeler, RHP Brad Brach, LHP Luis Avilan, 3B Todd Frazier, OF Rajai Davis, and C Rene Rivera are now free agents. With the caveat that the Mets have until Monday to decide whether or not to give Wheeler a qualifying offer of $17.8 million (which they would be crazy not to).
Monday is also the Mets deadline for their decision on outfielder Juan Lagares. They will either give him a buyout of $500,000 or pick up his $9 million option. Given recent production, giving him the buyout looks like a no-brainer.
Teams have an exclusive five-day window in which they can talk to players that just became free agents from their team (like Frazier, Avilan for the Mets).
Assuming the Mets buyout Lagares and Wheeler declines the qualifying offer, the Mets 40-man roster will be at 38 after players from the 60-day injured list are added.
Our own Jacob Resnick recently noted players that will become minor league free agents from the Mets system on Monday at 5 p.m. ET. The list includes right-handed veteran starter Ervin Santana, former first round pick Gavin Cecchini, and knuckleballer Mickey Jannis.
As Jacob notes, left-handed reliever Blake Taylor could be the most interesting name of the group after his Arizona Fall League performance.
Taylor, acquired in the Ike Davis trade back in 2014, had a 2.00 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts in nine AFL innings for the Scottsdale Scorpions. His success in the AFL comes on the heels of posting a 2.16 ERA, 10.0 K/9, and 10 saves during the regular season between Single-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton.
If the Mets didn’t want Taylor to hit free agent – certainly possible given their need for reliable bullpen arms – they would simply have to add him to the 40-man roster before the Monday deadline, much like they did with Josh Smoker in 2015.
To stay updated on free agents this offseason make sure to save this link from MLB Trade Rumors and read our free agent profiles.
