The MLB non-tender deadline is at 8 p.m. EST on Monday and with that, there will likely be many new free agents available and some trades will be made prior to that time.

Most of the players that get non-tendered aren’t top-of-the-line players, unless if we are talking about Jonathan Villar who had a 4.0 fWAR in 2019.

The Mets and many other teams could potentially find some good options from this group of players, though.

MLB Trade Rumors compiled a list of non-tender candidates on Friday with their projected arbitration salaries as of now.

Below are five options that could make sense for the Mets to sign.

1. Kevin Pillar 

The center fielder is actually a pretty obvious fit for the Mets with nobody on the roster who graded out positively at that position in 2019.

Brandon Nimmo would likely start in center field on Opening Day as of right now and he registered -2 DRS and a -1.5 UZR over 284 2/3 innings in center field this past season. While that number isn’t bad, if the team makes J.D. Davis the starting left fielder, the team’s outfield defense could be severely compromised.

If the team were to move Nimmo to left field and sign Pillar, the team could actually be pretty sound defensively in the outfield.

Pillar, 30, registered -5 DRS and -0.5 UZR in center field over 1,170 innings this past season. While neither number is that impressive, having that defensive stat line in center over more than four times as many innings as Nimmo suggests that he’d be an improvement.

The team shouldn’t expect to get the Pillar that was once an elite defender that had 50 DRS over a span of three years from 2015-2017 with the Toronto Blue Jays, but how he was defensively in 2019 would be more than enough to help the team.

Offensively, Pillar has always left something to be desired as he hit .259/.287/.432 with 21 home runs and 88 RBI between the Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants to give himself an 85 wRC+ in 2019.

At the very least, though, Pillar could serve as an upgrade over Juan Lagares as the team’s fourth outfielder.

2. Blake Treinen

The Oakland Athletics’ reliever could be one of the most enticing bounceback candidates for the 2020 season as he went from being the best closer in the game in 2018 to a below-average reliever this past season.

In 2018, Treinen registered a 0.78 ERA, 1.82 FIP, and 0.834 WHIP with 11.2 K/9 as compared to 2.4 BB/9 on his way to his first All-Star Game selection.

However, as noted by MMO’s own Christopher Soto, Treinen lost control of his sinker in 2019 which hurt him noticeably.  Over 57 appearances, Treinen had a 4.91 ERA, 5.14 FIP, and 1.619 WHIP with 9.1 K/9 as compared to 5.7 BB/9.

The A’s are reportedly considering the idea of trading him or even non-tendering him, with the first option being more likely as of now. Treinen is projected to make $7.8 million through arbitration in 2020.

If the Mets can acquire him relatively cheap in a trade or can just sign him on the free agent market this offseason, they should absolutely take the chance on Treinen.

3. Kevin Gausman

Gausman had a very strange 2019 season that saw him follow a similar path to that of Drew Pomeranz.

The 28-year-old had an awful first half with the Atlanta Braves in which he had a 6.19 ERA, 4.20 FIP, and 1.488 WHIP with 9.6 K/9 as compared to 3.0 BB/9.

Shortly after the MLB Trade Deadline, the Braves placed Gausman on waivers. The Cincinnati Reds claimed him and almost immediately converted him into a reliever.

In 14 relief appearances, Gausman had a 3.10 ERA and 1.131 WHIP to go along with 12.0 K/9. Opposing teams had only a .670 OPS against him down the stretch.

Now, Gausman doesn’t have to be strictly a reliever going forward as he is only one year removed from having a 3.92 ERA, 4.32 FIP, and 1.301 WHIP with 7.3 K/9 as compared to 2.5 BB/9.

The argument to move him back to the starting rotation would be that his 4.20 FIP with the Braves suggested he was bound to rebound at some point regardless of the role he had. However, his strikeout rate was significantly higher as a reliever.

While Cincinnati almost certainly enjoyed having him for the last two months of the 2019 season, the team would be on the hook for paying him $10.6 million if they kept him which might be a little too pricey for the Reds.

With the Mets needing a starter and a bullpen arm, Gausman could provide the team with multiple options going into the 2020 season if he is indeed non-tendered.

4. Joey Rickard

For another outfield option, Rickard would be worth looking into as he can play all three outfield positions solidly.

The 28-year-old split the 2019 season between the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants and registered 2 DRS and a 1.1 UZR in left, 2 DRS and a -0.7 UZR in center, and -2 DRS and a -1.4 UZR in right.

While he likely wouldn’t start for the Mets given his .226/.312/.357 slash line with three homers and 10 RBI over 68 games, Rickard could be a solid fourth outfielder option.

Especially when you consider he’s a right-handed hitter, Rickard could make a ton of sense spelling Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto in the outfield on occasion.

With no current true center fielders on the roster, Rickard would also help mitigate that concern with his ability to at least serve as a defensive replacement late in games.

5. Jose Urena

The 28-year-old has shown some promise with the Miami Marlins over the years, but never seemed to be able to put it all together. Despite having a big fastball, Urena has a career strikeout rate of 6.1 K/9.

From 2017-2018 that didn’t matter, though, as he led the Marlins troubled pitching staff with a 3.90 ERA, 4.68 FIP, and 1.228 WHIP over that span.

His high FIP caught up to him in 2019 as he had a 5.21 ERA, 4.74 FIP, and 1.476 WHIP. Urena was eventually moved to the bullpen, but would struggle to the tune of a 9.00 ERA.

However, one encouraging trend to note with his transition to the bullpen was that his strikeout rate increased to 9.9 K/9. Given that he only made 10 relief appearances, there is certainly reason to believe he could improve in that role.

With arms like Caleb Smith and Jordan Yamamoto going into next season, the Marlins might not be interested in paying roughly $4 million to keep Urena in 2020.

Similar to Gausman, Urena could provide the Mets with bullpen help and starter depth if they were to sign him.