5 Mets free agent targets who could be great candidates to get their mojo back in 2024
The New York Mets are looking to rebound from an abysmal 2023 season. They had such lofty expectations after a 101-win season and setting the record for highest payroll only to fall flat on their faces and finish with a 75-87 record.
Unlike recent years, the Mets will not look to rebound by spending boatloads of money in free agency. They’ll spend on the right players, but won’t go out of their way to spend for the sake of spending. One way to do that is finding value with certain players who might not be high priorities for other teams.
The Mets won’t only be bargain hunters, but betting on established players coming off years in which they were either injured or unproductive isn’t the worst idea in the world. These five players lost some of their mojo in 2023 but will look to gain it back with a prove-it deal this offseason.
1) Rhys Hoskins
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From the second half in 2017 through the Phillies 2022 playoff run, Rhys Hoskins was a staple in their starting lineup. He was a guy who’d consistently provide tons of power while also walking at a high clip.
Hoskins was expected to play a huge role once again for Philadelphia in 2023, but tore his ACL in Spring Training and wound up missing the entire regular season. It’s possible he returns for the World Series if the Phillies get there, but that’s hard to bank on. The most unfortunate part about the injury for Hoskins, outside of missing this playoff run, is the fact that it occurred in his walk year.
Hoskins is set to hit free agency for the first time this offseason, and will do it with a grand total of zero plate appearances in 2023. He’ll still be worth something on the open market because of his track record, but the chances of him signing the long-term deal he had hoped for are slim to none.
With Hoskins looking to re-establish himself, the Mets should absolutely come calling. First base is taken, of course, but the DH spot is far from set in stone. There’s a good chance Daniel Vogelbach is non-tendered leaving Mark Vientos as the presumed DH. Vientos showed flashes in the final month of the season, but has proven next to nothing at the big league level.
The Mets could obviously choose to start Vientos at the DH spot in 2024 and I don’t think that’d be the worst decision in the world. However, if they either decide Vientos isn’t ready or opt to trade him, Hoskins makes all the sense in the world. In 2022 he hit 30 home runs and had a 122 OPS+. He’d be a major upgrade at a position of weakness for the Mets, while also having the chance to do some damage against the Phillies.
2) Luis Severino
Luis Severino is a name I believe will be linked to the Mets a ton because of their need for starting pitching and his success in New York pitching for the Yankees. There are some obvious pros to the Mets signing Severino this offseason, and other obvious cons.
A big pro for the Mets signing Severino is the fact that when healthy, he’s been quite good throughout his career. He had a 3.18 ERA in 63 starts combined in 2017 and 2018, making the all-star team both seasons and finishing in the top 10 in the AL Cy Young Award balloting as well. He even pitched well in 2022 in the 19 starts he was healthy for.
A huge con for the Mets signing Severino has to be his health. The 2017 and 2018 seasons are the only ones in his nine-year career in which he has made 20+ starts. That’s a massive concern. Additionally, 2023 was his worst year by far. He was able to make 19 appearances (18 starts) but had a 6.65 ERA in 89.1 innings pitched. He had the seventh-lowest ERA in the majors among pitchers with at least 80 innings pitched this season.
Because of his durability concerns and his 2023 struggles, Severino will only realistically get a short-term prove-it type of deal. It’s on him to prove he can remain healthy and productive for a full season. The 29-year-old certainly has the stuff to do it, and he’d make some sense for the back of this rotation with only two starters truly locked in right now.
3) Hunter Renfroe
From 2017-2022, Hunter Renfroe established himself as one of the game’s premier power bats. His 153 home runs in that span were in the top 20 in all of baseball, ahead of guys like Jose Abreu, Cody Bellinger, and Anthony Rizzo who all played in many more games than him.
Renfroe was able to hit 25+ home runs every 162-game season in that span despite playing for four different teams in the six years. The Angels had all of this in mind when they acquired him in the 2022 offseason in a trade with the Brewers. He was expected to provide major thump in their order behind the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and Anthony Rendon. He wound up failing miserably.
The 31-year-old slashed .242/.304/.434 with 19 home runs and 56 RBI through the month of August before he was waived by the Angels and claimed by the Reds. Cincinnati was vying for a postseason berth and had hoped Renfroe would provide a spark but he had just five hits in 39 at-bats before being waived again.
His stock is at an all-time low, and the Mets can hope to help him revive his career. Renfroe can play in the corner outfield spots or serve as the team’s DH while hopefully providing some more right-handed power.
4) Andrew Chafin
Andrew Chafin is a player that many Mets fans have been wanting this team to acquire for years now. Whether it was before the 2022 season, at the 2022 trade deadline, or even before this season, he felt like the perfect fit from the left side in the bullpen.
Chafin, unfortunately, went from one of the best left-handed relievers in all of baseball in 2021 and 2022 to a player two playoff teams lost trust in. The Diamondbacks were the team that wound up signing him last offseason, but he struggled mightily, particularly at Chase Field, leading to the team dealing him at the trade deadline to a different National League playoff contender, the Milwaukee Brewers.
Chafin wound up struggling even more in Milwaukee, posting a 5.82 ERA in 20 appearances before being left off of their postseason roster. He has a club option for the 2024 season worth $7.25 million, but the chances of the Brewers picking that up feel very slim.
Chafin’s struggles in 2023 are obviously more alarming because he could simply just be running out of gas at age 33. Despite that, he’s still a worthwhile gamble for David Stearns to look into as he looks to re-assert himself as a premier left-handed reliever.
5) Lucas Giolito
Lucas Giolito was one of the best pitchers in the American League in a three-year period from 2019-2021. Those seasons included an all-star appearance and three top 11 Cy Young finishes. He finished as high as sixth back in 2019.
Unfortunately, Giolito struggled last season and after a promising start to 2023 with the White Sox, really faltered as the season progressed. He wound up finishing this season with a 4.88 ERA in 33 starts and 184.1 innings pitched in stints with the White Sox, Angels, and Guardians.
Giolito coming off two down years isn’t the most appealing option in the world, but the Mets need a lot of rotation help. I fully expect them to sign a guy like Yoshinobu Yamamoto to pair at the top of the rotation with Kodai Senga, but the back-end of the rotation leaves a lot to be desired assuming New York has no interest in throwing guys like David Peterson, Tylor Megill, or Joey Lucchesi out there.
What is appealing about Giolito is that even if he isn’t at his best, he’s certainly durable. He’s made at least 29 starts in each of the last five full seasons with at least 160 innings pitched. The Mets lacked any sort of consistency outside of Senga just in terms of who’d make a start every fifth day. Giolito gives them that consistent option with the chance of him re-discovering his form. A 29-year-old durable starter with upside makes all the sense in the world to me.
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