Five Free Agent Starters Mets Could Still Target

Pitching depth, both in the rotation and bullpen, has been one of the main points of emphasis for the New York Mets this offseason.

Last week, acting general manager Zack Scott told reporters during his first virtual press conference that he “definitely subscribes to the ‘never can have too much pitching’ cliché.”

Pitching has begun to fly off the board, but with camps set to open up this week, the Mets still have the opportunity to upgrade or add additional depth to the back-end of their rotation. Let’s take a look at five of the free agent starters still available on the market for the Mets.

RHP Taijuan Walker

Despite teams reporting to spring training this week, 28-year old right-hander Taijuan Walker surprisingly still has not found a new home for the 2021 season.

As noted by Michael Mayer, the Mets reportedly have shown interest in Walker of late. MLB Trade Rumors projected Walker to receive a two-year deal worth $16 million, and Mayer noted the righty is said to still be seeking a multi-year deal at $10 million per year.

Walker is entering his ninth MLB season after stints with the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. He struggled to stay on the mound in both 2018 and 2019, but rebounded with a solid 2020 season, posting a 2.70 ERA (his best since 2014) and 1.16 WHIP over eleven starts.

If added, Walker would likely slot in as the fifth starter behind Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman, and David Peterson.

RHP Jake Odorizzi

Following a career-best 2019 season, Jake Odorizzi bet on himself and decided to accept the Minnesota Twins qualifying offer. In the end, that decision didn’t quite work out for the veteran right-hander.

Odorizzi struggled to stay on the mound, pitching just 13.2 innings during the 2020 season. He began the season on the injured list with a back injury, and not long after returning was struck in the chest by a line drive, and was forced to miss another month.

Despite the notion of Odorizzi being ‘injury-prone,’ the 2020 season was a bit of an outlier for him. Throughout his career, ‘Odo’ has made more than 25 starts in six of his nine big league seasons. I wouldn’t expect a team to punish him much in terms of a potential contract.

MLB Trade Rumors expected Odorizzi to receive around $13 million a year at the start of the offseason. This could certainly still happen on a one-year “prove yourself” type of deal, though Odorizzi is said to be expecting a multi-year contract.

A reunion in New York with his former pitching coach Jeremy Hefner could be great for both the Mets and Odorizzi.

RHP Julio Teheran

The Mets certainly know Julio Teheran can be a relatively reliable starter. Teheran seemed to always dominate the Mets throughout his nine-year career with the Braves. In fact, he posted a 2.98 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in ten starts against New York.

During his tenure in Atlanta, Teheran was the Opening Day starter nearly every year and averaged a 3.70 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP over a total of 1360 total innings pitched.

Similar to Odorizzi, the 2020 season was a bit of an outlier for Teheran. He signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels and ended up making nine starts for the club and posting a 10.05 ERA.

Teheran held a showcase for teams alongside Anibal Sanchez about a month ago in Miami, and they were reportedly amongst the teams in attendance.

While the two haven’t been heavily-linked up to this point, Teheran could be a solid depth fit for the Mets. In the veteran right-hander, the Mets would be adding some stability to the back-end of the rotation. Excluding 2020, Teheran has made 30 or more starts in each of the past seven seasons.

RHP Trevor Cahill

Trevor Cahill will be entering his 12th big league season after signing a one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants in 2020. While Cahill hasn’t pitched over 200 innings in a season since 2012, it is rare for a starting pitcher to hit that threshold when they’re being pulled in the fifth inning every start.

In 2020, Cahill was in the rotation in addition to pitching out of the bullpen with San Francisco, posting a 3.24 ERA with 11.16 K/9 and a 4.19 FIP. After having an abysmal 2019 campaign, he achieved a career-high 29.2% strikeout rate in 11 appearances this past season. Cahill could be a valuable depth piece in Triple-A Syracuse along with Mike Montgomery, as both veterans have the ability to be starters and relievers.

The 6’4” right-hander is still relatively young at just 32 years old, with less than 1,500 career innings under his belt. ZiPS projects Cahill to own his highest WAR (0.4) since 2018 (2.0) and pitch 84 innings in 2021.

The Mets could be seeing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason this year, so having someone like Cahill who has pitched five years inside the NL West could give New York an edge. The Vista, California native has compiled 75 strikeouts against Dodgers hitters, who are hitting just .233/.321/.339 against him in 21 career games.

RHP Rick Porcello

Mets fans might not want Rick Porcello back after starting 12 games and posting a 5.64 ERA last season. But in this scenario, the Mets aren’t looking for Porcello to replicate his 2016 Cy Young season.

All they would want from him is to be able to step in for a small period of time if Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto struggle out of the gate as the fifth starter.

Not to excuse Porcello from the five starts where he gave up four-plus runs, but it’s important to note that Porcello didn’t receive much run support from the Mets lineup in 2020. The lineup scored four-plus runs in just three of Porcello’s starts while scoring one or zero runs in 41.6% of his starts.

Porcello, 32, may not even get a major league contract, so he could be a low-risk addition on a minor league deal just as Mike Montgomery. According to ZiPS, Porcello is projected to pitch more than 150 innings with 8.06 K/9 and is expected to be worth two Wins Above Replacement.

After his final start of the 2020 season, Porcello thanked Mets fans for their support, saying “it’s been an absolute pleasure to be able to put this jersey on, and represent the city of New York and Queens.” Perhaps Porcello will be given another shot to redeem himself as a member of his childhood team.