Maybe its the distraction that Sandy Alderson and Steve Cohen believe the Mets need after several weeks of bad PR? Maybe it's just flat out hubris? Maybe a combination of both? Whatever the reason, the Mets are still very much in the mix to land free agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, and according to his agent, Rachel Luba, it's down to two teams.
According to John Heyman, the Mets and Bauer have been engaged in talks, and expect to hear an answer within 24-hours. CBS is also reporting that Mark Feinsand of MLB.com that the Mets are involved in the process along with the Dodgers.
Bauer is coming off the best season of his career, albiet a shortened 60 game season, where he went 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA and a WHIP of 0.795. He recorded 100 strikeouts, two shutouts and two complete games. He is a bulldog both on and off the field -- we'll get to the off-field part in a moment.
The question is how much would it take? On the Michael Kay Show, hosts Michael Kay, Don Lagreca and Peter Rosenberg debated whether Bauer would get a deal close to the $36 million a year he was asking for. Perhaps the Mets come in a little lower at around $30 million. Would there be player opt outs every year?
And that leads to the next question: is Bauer worth it? Is a pitcher who before the OVID-shortened 2020 season, held a career 4 ERA, worth $30 million a year? The short answer of course not. No pitcher is worth that much, and if the Mets give Bauer that much, their staff ace Jacob deGrom should scream poverty in that case.
Then there is this: Has Bauer turned the corner? Is he on his way to becoming one of the games most dominant starters at age 30? That is a huge question, and another reason why risking a mega deal on him for such a hefty price is a gamble.
Then there are the off-field issues. Bauer loves to spout off on social media. He has his own YouTube channel, is a constant presence on Twitter, and even got in trouble for reportedly harassing a female college student in a twitter battle back in 2019.
These should be concerns to a Mets franchise that has been bit by bad social media PR lately. First there was Jared Porter's sexual harassment texts to a foreign female reporter that ultimately got him fired by the Mets 37 days into his tenure as GM. Weeks later five women claimed ex-Mets manager Mickey Callaway had harassed the, with lewd photos. In between we had owner Steve Cohen get into a Twitter war with David Portnoy and fans over his contribution to the GameStop controversy.
Adding Bauer's headaches would not help. In fact it would paint the Mets as the cartoon show they always wanted to avoid.
Bauer is no stranger to the spotlight, in fact he craves it, which makes his presence in New York a fascinating episode to watch if indeed he signs with the Mets.
Are the Mets willing to gamble on Bauer? Apparently the are, but is Bauer willing to gamble on them over the World Champions.
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