Last Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET was the official non-tender deadline, where teams had to tender their eligible players contracts or else they’d become free agents. This day every season provides some interesting new free agents for all 30 teams to add to their rosters.

The Mets could certainly fill some holes with these new free agents. They still seek another starting pitcher, bullpen help, bench players, and possibly another big bat.

Nate Mendelson wrote an article on all the Mets players that were involved on Nov. 30 tender decisions, including the lack of tendered contract to Robert Gsellman and Mark Payton.

The first intriguing non-tender is reliever Richard Rodriguez. The Braves non-tendered the righty after only being on the team for half a season, as he was acquired at the trade deadline. Over 64 games in 2021 with the Pirates and Braves, Rodriguez pitched to a 2.94 ERA and a 0.933 WHIP.

Rodriguez, 31, is a contact pitcher who does not strike out many hitters. He only struck out 42 hitters out of 251 faced, good enough for a 16.7 percent strikeout rate. (That’s the lowest of his career.) Over his career, Rodriguez has a 3.28 ERA over his career, and the lowest he’s ever had in one season was 2.47 in 2018.

It is always good to have a pitch-to-contact guy in the bullpen, this way they have a go-to when they need a double play. Aaron Loup served like that in 2021, and there aren’t many options in the current bullpen to fill that role.

The player that likely makes the most sense for the Mets is left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd. Boyd, 30, had a 3.89 ERA in 2021 over 15 starts. While he is going to miss a good portion of the season because he is recovering from flexor tendon surgery, he would be a very useful piece for the Mets.

Boyd has a career ERA of 4.96. He does have a propensity to give up the long ball, as he led the AL in home runs allowed in both 2019 and 2020. However, in a short time in 2021, he managed to bring his home run rate to exactly one per nine innings. He would be one of the cheaper left-handed options out there for New York and could slot into the backend of the rotation or bullpen.

As of right now, David Peterson is the likely best lefty option for the Mets rotation. Peterson’s beginning of 2022 could be up in the air as well, as he recovers from an injury.

The Red Sox non-tendered outfielder Tim Locastro, who could provide as a possible fourth outfielder and bench bat. Locastro, 29, is desirable because of his speed. The native of Syracuse hasn’t really found his footing at the major league level but has always been an effective base stealer. Locastro set the MLB record for most steals without being caught to begin a career, with 29.

His speed, combined with Starling Marte‘s in the starting lineup, would give the Mets a much-needed speed boost off the bench.

The Padres non-tendered a few players, but the one that may fit the Mets bill is Matt Strahm. Strahm, 30, is a left-handed reliever that has six years of major league experience. The lefty was converted into a full-time reliever in 2020 with the Padres, where he put up a 2.61 ERA over 19 games.

However, 2021 wasn’t so kind to him. While he missed most of the season due to injuries, he had an 8.10 ERA over six games. He likely could sign for a smaller contract and would provide the Mets with the lefty in the bullpen that they need.

While he wasn’t non-tendered, outfielder Lewis Brinson was designated for assignment during this span of moves–essentially the same as being non-tendered, only he’s passed through waivers. Brinson, 27, was acquired in the Christian Yelich trade. Since joining the Marlins, he has never hit his stride. Once comparable to Byron Buxton, he was a first-rounder with a lot of potential who is taking much longer to reach that level.

Brinson comes with speed, a good glove, and the possibility of a good hitter. Over split time in the minors since 2012, Brinson had a combined minor league slash line of .283/.351/.497, but in 2021 with the Marlins, his slash was just .226/.263/.376 while striking out in nearly a quarter of his at-bats while walking in just around five percent of them. The most home runs he ever hit in a minor league season was 21, whereas the most he ever hit at the major league level was 11.

The Mets are looking for outfield depth, and Brinson would be a low-risk/high-reward player. The Mets may be able to find the inner Byron Buxton in Brinson if they decide to give him a shot.

While they won’t be able to sign these players until after the lockout, they still can research them and see which ones fit into their mold.