The New York Mets were seemingly one of the favorites to sign star pitcher Dylan Cease in free agency this winter, but they whiffed. Cease agreed to a huge $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

The Mets are in desperate need of pitching this winter, and losing the Cease sweepstakes could come back to haunt them. Now, they’re going to need to pivot to other top free agents to avoid falling behind even more in the National League.

The Mets can’t afford to leave free agency without one of the top pitchers on the market. With Cease off the board, the Mets should be pursuing pitchers like Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez. There’s also a chance the Mets make a solid push for international superstar Tatsuya Imai.

Either way, the Mets need to leave free agency with one or two top-of-the-rotation pitchers.

They could also turn to the trade block with pitchers like Tarik Skubal and Freddy Peralta reportedly available if the price is right. New York has the prospect capital to make a trade while also having the money to sign a star pitcher to a huge extension.

The heat is slowly turning up on the Mets. If they fail to land a star pitcher, they could be looking at another disappointing season next year.