New York Mets: Why the Mets need to make an offer to Dallas Keuchel

With the many questions the New York Mets pitching staff faces, hot free agent, Dallas Keuchel, can make a lot of those problems go away with one bold offer.

The New York Mets have been teasing the idea of having free agent Dallas Keuchel for some time now. With reports of the team having contact and reaching out from time to time, it’s obvious the front office is somewhat interested in having the former Cy Young winner on their squad. With multiple teams also in that stage, the Mets need to pull the trigger and get Keuchel to Queens as soon as possible.

Right now, the Mets starting rotation has its ups and downs. Jacob deGrom has continued his domination and picked up right where he left off with two wins and no losses, both starts throwing a shutout.

Noah Syndergaard has shown some signs of struggles. And while Steven Matz has been impressive, he could not get past his no-decision streak after his failure to go far into games this season and putting relief pitchers in early in games.

Jason Vargas has had his start skipped, and although he put up an impressive showing against the Marlins compared to the start of the 2018 season, the signs are still showing he may not be an effective fifth starter for the Mets to rely on.

Zack Wheeler has had the most struggles so far this season, with two starts he has a 10.24 ERA, giving up four runs in his first game, and seven runs in his second start both against the Nationals.

Dallas Keuchel is coming off his 2018 campaign with a record of 12 wins and 11 losses with a 3.74 ERA which was lower than current starters Jason Vargas and Steven Matz from last season. Although that is an increase from the season prior where he had an ERA of 2.90, there were some bright spots coming off his last season.

Also, he started more games with 34, the most in his whole career. As we know, starting more games leads to more innings pitched where he pitched in 204.2 innings which was also his most since his Cy Young season in 2015 where he pitched 232 innings.

Jason Vargas has had his struggles going deep into games, with Vargas only pitching 92 innings last year, Keuchel could help fix that problem immediately.

By having the starters going deeper into games, it allows the bullpen to rest more. The Mets’ bullpen needs as much rest as possible, and the fewer relief pitchers that have to come out, the better.

Let’s also consider the history and poor health of the Mets rotation the last few seasons overall. The Mets deal with injuries within their pitching staff a lot and with Keuchel coming off a season of longevity, he would be an asset to have to this team, especially later in the season.

The one reason the Mets seem to be holding back is because of Keuchels asking price. With rumors of his next contract wanting to be above his qualifying offer of 17.9 million dollars. It’s a big risk for a one year contract, especially after not being signed and having to start contributing right away.

The former Cy Young is also willing to take less money on a longer-term contract, which the Mets need to be careful in approaching. A one year deal seems like the most ideal scenario if the Mets wanted to go and sign Keuchel, this way if it does not pan out, they are not stuck with a long contract.

This year, the Mets seem to be taking many risks and not afraid to sign players. Dallas Keuchel should be no different. He is the most popular free agent on the market and can fit into so many teams rosters that it is more than likely he will be in a bidding war between teams if more time goes and his asking price gets lower.

The Mets need to cap off a successful offseason and make one more big move to cement themselves as contenders in the National League.