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Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt is open to extension talks with the organization, reports the New York Post.
Bassitt, 33, was acquired by the Mets this last offseason through a trade with the Oakland Athletics. In return for the starter the Mets sent pitching prospects JT Ginn and Adam Oller to Oakland. Bassitt is set to be a free agent after the 2022 season.
“From my standpoint, I am very surprised at how much I like it here, to be honest,” Bassitt said.
Prior to becoming a Met, Bassitt spent the last six seasons with Oakland. From 2018 to 2021 he was quietly one of the best pitchers in baseball, earning his first career All-Star nod in 2021 when he went 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 157 innings.
Bassitt and the Mets failed to reach an agreement for his 2022 salary and have an arbitration hearing set toward the end of May. As it stands, Bassitt is seeking $9 million while the Mets countered at $8.3 million.
The arbitration hearing could be avoided if the sides agree to an extension.
“I definitely understand the fear of giving an older guy multi-years because you just don’t know how they’re going to age, but the one thing that kind of saves me is that usually a guy who is 33, 34 had a lot of innings on their arms, right?” Bassitt said. “I barely have any innings on my arm, so to speak. So yeah, I understand my age, but I also know how good I feel, how great I felt last year, how good I feel this year, so I’m not too concerned about aging, so to speak.”
So far, Bassitt has been everything the Mets have needed. He’s stepped up with Jacob deGrom sidelined putting together a 2.61 ERA in five starts so far.
The Mets have a problem looking ahead at the future of their starting rotation. Bassitt, Taijuan Walker, and deGrom who said he would opt-out of the remaining years on his present deal could all be free agents come next winter.
Steve Cohen is willing to pay for pitching. If Bassitt wants to stay in New York then all the more incentive to figure something out.
