The biggest frustration with the New York Mets in recent weeks has been the inability of the starting pitching staff to live up to their even the lowest of standards. Well, even if they had gone about building the rotation differently this offseason, things might’ve ended up the same anyway.
After 22 starts and a 5.40 ERA, the Boston Red Sox flipped a switch on free agent addition Walker Buehler. Signed to a deal worth just over $18 million for this season with a mutual option for $25 million next year, he seemed right up the alley of what David Stearns likes to do. It was a gamble on a player who had seen better days, in large part because of injuries. Buehler left the Los Angeles Dodgers on a high winning a World Series and ended up in Boston hoping to regain control of his reputation as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Unfortunately for him, the Red Sox half of the mutual option doesn’t look like it’s getting picked up. They’ve moved him to the bullpen.
Remember when Walker Buehler was a popular free agent target for the Mets?
After one year of Stearns running the Mets, fans realistically set their expectations to see more players in the vein of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, etc. signed in the offseason. They ended up with Frankie Montas, Griffin Canning, and Clay Holmes who all somewhat fit the narrative of taking chances. Montas already shifted to the bullpen. Canning was having a career-year before a fluke injury. Holmes is clinging to life as a starter.
Buehler was one of the most often-discussed and rumored free agent targets for the Mets to add. His 4 shutout innings in the NLCS against New York helped further the case as did the additional 6 more scoreless frames in the World Series.
Considering the players actually signed by the Mets, Buehler would have been a Montas alternative. Other than being healthy, the results wouldn’t have been much different. He did give the Red Sox length at times this year but has as many walks as strikeouts in the second half (19) with a deceptive 3.66 ERA which is a major improvement on the 6.12 ERA he finished with at the All-Star Break.
Nobody felt good when the Mets signed Montas. Seeing how things with Buehler turned out, it might not have gone any differently.
