Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free, but do not give me any free agent tied to draft compensation.

For the Mets, certain free agents need not apply and reach out to them this offseason. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the Mets are unlikely to add a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer from another club because of the draft compensation associated with them.

That eliminates the Mets as frontrunners for any of the following players:

Due to the Mets failure to sign the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft, Kumar Rocker, they’re highly coveting the ability to have multiple early picks.

By not signing Rocker the Mets will receive the 11th choice in the upcoming draft as compensation and their second-highest pick being their own at 14. They’d also lose $500,000 in international bonus pool money.

New York received an additional pick for the departure of Noah Syndergaard and will gain another if Michael Conforto signs elsewhere. Potentially the Mets will have four selections in the top 100 of the 2022 MLB Draft. The Mets will not lose a draft selection if they bring back Conforto.

Ten free agents who rejected the qualifying offer remain available, including Conforto. Rosenthal reports the Mets would have a greater interest in Semien, Ray, or Castellanos if the acquisition did not include the No. 14 pick. Instead, Javier Báez and Marcus Stroman are more likely targets.

The Mets already parted ways with a first-round pick with 2020’s No. 19 pick in Pete Crow-Armstrong going to the Cubs for Báez. If the Mets fail to re-sign Báez it would be an even greater loss for an already shallow farm system.

Four top 100 picks would bolster the farm and build a sustainable contender, a goal of new GM Billy Eppler.