Could the Mets bolster their starting rotation or bullpen? Both? Well, they’re doing their “due dilligence.”
According to Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic, New York has been in contact with former Cy Young Award winner, Dallas Keuchel as well as closer Craig Kimbrel.
Rosenthal and Lin add that the Brewers have also recently checked in on Keuchel and so have the San Diego Padres, though the latter has to this point been unwilling to match his monetary demands.
As for Kimbrel, the Brewers are reportedly more interested in him than Keuchel, and the Tampa Bay Rays have been in touch with the former Red Sock as well.
Keuchel, 31, debuted in 2012 and has spent the majority of his MLB career to this point with the Houston Astros. He won the Cy Young Award in 2015 after going 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA in 33 starts.
In 2018, the Oklahoma native went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 108 ERA+ and 1.314 WHIP in 204.2 innings pitched.
Kimbrel, 30, is coming off a World Series championship with the Red Sox, though he struggled overall in the postseason, allowing seven runs in just over 10 innings.
However, there’s no doubt Kimbrel is still one of the elite closers in the game. Should neither him nor Keuchel sign soon, they might look to wait until after the amateur draft in June to sign so they are no longer attached to draft pick compensation.
In order for the Mets to sign Keuchel, Rosenthal says, they’d have to be creative with their payroll.
“For the Mets, the addition of Keuchel or Kimbrel would be a luxury, and one that likely would require creativity in order to fit into their budget,” the article reads. “The team currently is set with five starting pitchers, and Jeurys Familia and Edwin Díaz at the back of its bullpen. But contenders are forever in search of quality pitching depth. And the Mets, currently carrying 12 pitchers, easily could expand to 13.”
