Mets Heavy Favorite To Land Top Starting Pitcher In Free Agency

The New York Mets went from having a great dream, leading Major League Baseball with the best record in June, to a haunting nightmare, losing 55 of their final 93 games and missing the playoffs.

It was an ugly collapse, potentially the worst in Mets history. The starting rotation dealt with numerous back-breaking injuries, the bullpen fell apart, the offense went cold and the defense was poor.

New York is primarily focused on run prevention in the offseason, buzz words for improving the pitching staff and defense. The Mets have already made a massive trade to improve the team’s middle infield defense as well as remove a bad defender from the outfield, sending left fielder Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second baseman Marcus Semien.

That move would classify as run prevention, but the Mets are certainly not done improving the roster. A great pitching staff is a huge component of a playoff contender, and the Mets are the favorite to land one of the top starting pitchers on the free agent market.

Left-hander Framber Valdez will garner plenty of interest from teams including the Mets, but many executives around the league believe the Mets are among the favorites to land the two-time All-Star.

In a survey conducted by several executives around the league, voters had the Mets narrowly behind the Toronto Blue Jays as the favorite to land Valdez, and the Mets were the favorite to land right-hander Dylan Cease over the Blue Jays. Essentially, the expectation is that the Mets and Blue Jays walk out of free agency with one or both of these guys in their starting rotations.

“The Mets weren't far behind in the voting, considering their starting staff was a mess late in the year and they relied on rookies down the stretch,” ESPN’s Jesse Rogers wrote Wednesday.

Valdez had another All-Star-caliber season with the Houston Astros in 2025, going 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 31 starts. He also struck out 187 batters but walked a career-high 68 batters.

Valdez might not be considered an ace by some, but the two-time All-Star is widely regarded as one of the league’s top arms and would be a great addition to the Mets’ rotation.

UPDATE: Right-hander Dylan Cease has reportedly signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.