The Mets thought they were on the one-yard line with free agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer on Thursday, but when Friday rolled along, he chose to take his talents to Los Angeles and join the Dodgers.
According to a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, multiple sources informed the paper that at a point during the last 24 hours leading up to the deal, the Mets felt they had agreed upon terms for a contract, and were working with one of Bauer’s agents, John Fetterolf, to complete the move.
“A source said that Mets president Sandy Alderson, who has been involved with three organizations over the past four decades, felt he had never proceeded to this extent of negotiations and not finalized the deal,” Sherman said in the article.
The Mets and Dodgers had similar offers to Bauer, but the California native decided on a homecoming and released his decision via his YouTube channel.
Leading up to his announcement, Bauer’s Linktree and website briefly made it seem as though he was going to be heading to Flushing, by posting merchandise that was Mets related. It was shortly taken down, but not before fans saw it and were under the impression he had made a decision.
On Sunday night, Bauer penned a statement to Mets fans in a series of Tweets, which can be found below:
Mets fans, I owe you an explanation and apology.
My intention this entire offseason was to engage with fans in ways that made the off season and free agent process more interesting. I woke up early on Friday not knowing what my decision would be and spent the next 5 hours on
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
Bauer’s agent, Rachel Luba, also doubled down on his statement, saying no one felt more awful than her client for what happened.
When (Trevor) discovered what happened w/ his merch while we were finishing the negotiations, nobody felt shittier about it than him,” Luba said. “It was very important to him that he took the time to understand the mistake & give your fan base a sincere explanation & apology.”
Regardless of Bauer’s intentions being legitimate or not, it could work as a blessing for the Mets, who now won’t have $40 million this year tied to one player, who also comes with personal baggage off the field.
To read more about my thoughts on the deal (or lack thereof) please follow this link.
