Reese Kaplan -- So Who's "Left" for the Starting Rotation?

The media is rife with "what if?" articles right now concerning the prospect of the Mets missing out on Japanese young phenom Yoshinubo Yamamoto.  Rather than dance around the same well trod ground yet again after he decided to go join the Dodgers, let's consider that the Mets still need one to two starting pitchers to join the trio of Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and Luis Severino.  For today's exercise, let's see who's "left" as an available free agent.  After all, southpaw starting pitchers are not exactly a dime a dozen, but there are some relative potential bargains available.

Sometimes you are seeking an innings eater who will give you a chance to stay in the game and not give it away as many 2023 Mets pitchers did on a frustratingly regular basis.  James Paxton is not a kid.  He's already 35 years old but when you look at his statistics he's a winning pitcher with a career record of 64-38 with a 3.69 ERA.  His best season appeared to be during 2017 for the Seattle Mariners when he went 12-5 with a 2.98 ERA.  

He's never been a huge winner, never been an All Star and has bounced around a bit from Seattle twice, the Yankees and most recently with the Red Sox.  He's good for striking out nearly 10 per 9 IP while walking 2.8.  Those kinds of numbers are what you'd like for the back of your rotation and for Boston last year he earned a modest $4 million.  

At his age he'd likely take a 1-2 year deal at a salary of perhaps $10 million for the 2 year contract.  At $5 million per year he would most definitely be an asset even if he's not going to make anyone swoon with his star potential.  He is what he is and that's pretty good.

The most interesting free agent available domestically is the statistically highly impressive Korean import Hyun Jin Ryu.  He has been in the USA since 2013 with the Dodgers when he arrived as a 26 year old (reminiscent of the current infatuation with 25 year old Yamamoto).  

Ryu has been a very capable pitcher during his 10 years in the majors with a career ERA of just 3.27.  During 2019 he won the ERA title with a 2.37 number for the full season and made the All Star team.  His career record is a winning 78-48 and he's good for 8 Ks per 9 IP with just 2 walks.  His WHIP is impressive as well.  

He went from LA to Toronto for the last four seasons and is finishing up his last season of being paid $20 million per year.  Unlike Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, though the money might be a bit high, he's due for a reduction at age 37 and after a substandard season.  He too would likely be a 1-2 year commitment and perhaps might drop to about $14 million which given his track record is money well spent.

A familiar face to Mets fans based upon his brief 2021 trial as a starting pitcher the second part of the year for the boys in blue and orange, at age 44 Rich Hill says he's not ready to hang them up just yet.  For his career he has a 4.01 career though in 2023 he was over 5.00.  

At this age and stage of his career you could likely do a minor league deal with major league option for perhaps half of the $8 million he earned last season split between the Pirates and the Padres.  He's a 5th starter at best and surely would only require a one year conditional type of contract.

We won't reiterate the well publicized prospective deal for Imanaga.  At first everyone thought he'd be available for a Senga-like 5 year $75 million deal, but the wild Shoehei Ohtani contract and the frantic bidding for Yamamoto is going to drive up everyone's price.  Now there are rumors he may hit the $100 million price tag for a five year deal which is not horrible given his career ERA around 3.00.  

The Mets are surely interested but no one knows if it is primary interest or consolation prize interest should Yamamoto decide to go to the Bronx, Los Angeles or elsewhere.

All is not lost yet for the Mets as there are some interesting left handed pitchers still available on the open market who require just a contract and no sacrifice of player personnel.