Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Mets will be in attendance as Zack Britton throws a simulated game in California on Thursday, according to John Harper of SNY.
Britton, who is currently a free agent, will be in action at UC-Irvine with around eight teams expected to be there watching, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. And, according to Mike Puma of The New York Post, Britton will also throw a showcase for teams in Miami Gardens on Thursday. The Mets are expected to be in attendance for that too.
This shouldn’t come as a surprising development given that the Mets are currently awaiting news on Edwin Díaz. The star reliever injured his right knee while celebrating Puerto Rico’s win at the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday night. He went down and had to be helped off the field. The Mets confirmed that Díaz will undergo imaging on Thursday.
If the Mets’ worst fears are confirmed and Díaz is ruled out for a substantial amount of time, then there will be a pressing need to add another impact arm to the bullpen.
That could well be Britton, who the Mets have held interest in all offseason. They have attended previous showcases staged by the reliever and, according to Puma, Mets officials were already having a debate about whether to sign Britton even before Díaz went down hurt. It appears now that momentum is building towards the Mets making an offer to Britton. Puma also notes that other available players like Corey Knebel and Will Harris could be in the mix too.
Britton signing for the Mets has always made sense given that he was a favorite of Buck Showalter‘s during their time together with the Baltimore Orioles. Showalter knows the makeup of Britton better than anyone, and he’s also the best available option left on the open market.
Plus, even after trading for Brooks Raley from the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this offseason, the Mets still lack southpaw depth and signing Britton would go a long way to addressing that weakness on the roster.
The only big question mark over Britton is his health. He has only thrown 38 innings over the last three seasons. He underwent surgery in 2021 to remove bone chips from his elbow and missed months of action as a result. He then required Tommy John Surgery shortly after making his return, missing most of the 2022 season as a direct result.
When Britton did eventually return to the mound, he struggled and allowed six walks and a hit over three games, recording only two outs in the process. The veteran then ended the year on the injured list with arm fatigue. With that in mind, there is a considerable amount of concern over whether or not Britton will be durable going forward.
However, the track record is impressive and if Britton can get back to the filthy stuff he showed before the injuries started to pile up, then he could become a real weapon out of the bullpen for the Mets. From 2014 to 2020, he recorded an impressive 1.82 ERA over 367.1 innings. He was almost un-hittable and his deadly sinker and slider combo helped to establish his reputation as one of the best relievers in all of baseball.
You can read our Free Agent Profile of Britton here.
If Britton can prove he is healthy and capable of throwing filthy stuff on Thursday, then it does seem likely that the Mets will finally make their move for a lefty reliever they have long admired. And the urgency for such a move could be accelerated if the front office receive bad news on Díaz today.
