Mets Should Look To Extend Chris Bassitt

So far in his brief time as a New York Met right-hander, Chris Bassitt has been extremely impressive. He continued his strong start to the season recording his fourth win in Sunday’s 6-1 victory over the Phillies.

Bassitt was pulled after allowing a double and walk with two outs in the sixth but finished the afternoon having given up just one run on four hits while striking out four and walking one in 5.2 innings of work.

“I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do, doing what I’ve done for the last couple of years,” Bassitt told reporters postgame. “Not trying to make anything bigger than it should be. I’m just trying to be a good teammate, have fun with these guys, and win a lot of games.”

Bassitt may be downplaying it, but through six starts this season he’s been tremendous. Over 36.1 innings of work, he’s posted a 2.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 3.40 FIP, and 38 strikeouts. He’s also seen both his whiff (25.8%) and strike-out (26.2%) rates increase from last season.

Bassitt has long been regarded as one of the more underrated starting pitchers in the game. Having spent the majority of his career pitching in Oakland his dominance often flew under the radar, but now that he’s in New York, it’s his time to shine on the big stage.

So far, the pending free agent has taken advantage of the opportunity in front of him. Even without Jacob deGrom, the Mets starting rotation has been one of the best in baseball and Bassitt has played a huge part in that.

Bassitt has served as a co-ace alongside Max Scherzer atop this stellar rotation. He’s provided some much needed stability to this group, having completed six innings in each of his outings prior to Sunday afternoon, when he fell just one out shy of the mark.

Bassitt has provided the Mets with exactly what they were looking for when they shipped pitching prospects JT Ginn and Adam Oller off to Oakland. While it’s still early in his tenure in the big apple, Bassitt has been making an extremely strong case to stick with the organization long-term.

As we know, he recently told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that he has very much enjoyed his time here so far and he would definitely be open to extension talks with the team.

It’s unknown if any such talks have taken place at this point, but Billy Eppler and company should definitely look to get something done prior to their arbitration hearing, which is set to take place sometime at the end of the month.

With his grit, toughness, and funky curveball Bassitt has quickly stolen the hearts of Mets fans. He’s dominated both on and off the field, handling the New York media well and serving as a veteran presence alongside Scherzer for the younger guys on the staff.

Even at 33-years old, Bassitt doesn’t come with much wear and tear on that right arm of his. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 then missed the whole 2017 season, and as a result, has only thrown 592 innings to this point in his career.

While the opportunity to reach free agency for the first time may be enticing for Bassitt, perhaps the chance to continue throwing alongside Scherzer (and hopefully deGrom) in front of one of the most passionate fanbases in the game could keep him in New York.

Bassitt will likely be looking for a pretty decent payday, but as we’ve seen Steve Cohen is willing to pay to acquire starting pitching. Perhaps a three-year pact in the $45-50 million range could make sense for both sides.

Bassitt has provided the Mets with everything they’ve needed and some so far this season. With the uncertainty this rotation faces moving forward, they should absolutely look to keep C-Bass in New York long-term.