Carlos Rodon

As the 2022 MLB offseason continues to unfold, the New York Mets are pondering their next move at pitcher.

New York reached a new five-year deal with reliever Edwin Díaz just before the start of free agency. However, with Chris Bassitt, Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker reaching free agency, New York is looking to fill out its starting rotation.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets are eying top free agents like deGrom, Justin Verlander and Carlos Rodón to pair with Max Scherzer at the top of the rotation:

While deGrom appears to be the Met's "focus," according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, New York has turned its attention to Rodón this week. Sherman reported that New York scheduled a virtual meeting with the 29-year-old on Tuesday.

Kicking the tires on Rodón is completely logical, even if the Mets believe they can bring back deGrom. Rodón is on the under side of 30, is coming off of back-to-back All-Star campaigns and would potentially bring more long-term value to the Mets than either deGrom or Verlander.

Verlander, who will turn 40 in February, is still at the top of his game, but he may only make sense on a one- or perhaps two-year deal. The Mets are reportedly considering a three-year deal with deGrom, which is more than what other teams would offer.

According to SNY's Andy Martino, other teams view deGrom as a significant risk. The MLB insider recently said the following on Baseball Night in New York:

"I think this is breaking in the Mets’ favor a little bit. We have not seen teams step up at the level the Mets are willing to be. Which we’ve said before, is clearly three years. I don’t think the Mets would go four. But I think other teams, rightly, view deGrom as a big risk. He’s not Corey Kluber of a couple of years ago, but other teams are sort of seeing him in that category, where you take a flier on him."

The concern is legitimate, as deGrom has missed time because of injury in each of the past two seasons.

This is another reason why it makes sense to strongly consider the younger and (recently) healthier Rodón. While deGrom is capable of pitching at a high level when healthy, he can't help the Mets if he's on the disabled list.

And taking a swing a Rodón now is logical because other teams are interested. According to Rosenthal, the Texas Rangers are "more confident" about landing Rodón than either deGrom or Verlander.

The Mets owe it to themselves to see if Rodón can be a fit—on the field and financially—while the option of signing him is still on the proverbial table. If he isn't or if New York can't land him, the Mets can always turn their attention back to deGrom.

This is where teams' concerns can benefit New York. It feels unlikely that another franchise will snap up deGrom before pitchers like Rodón and Verlander are off the market. This gives the Mets time to evaluate their options before committing to a quality player with legitimate durability concerns.

This past season, Rodón won 14 games for the San Francisco Giants while pitching 178 innings. His 2.88 ERA was better than deGrom's (3.08), and his workload was significantly higher—deGrom pitched just 64.1 innings.

None of this means that deGrom won't be back, that New York won't make a run at Verlander or that it won't pivot to another pitcher. However, Rodón is a terrific starter to target for the long term, and the Mets would be doing themselves a disservice by not checking in.

Franchise owner Steve Cohen and GM Billy Eppler clearly aren't afraid to spend to build a contender. If they're going to spend big to keep a second star in the rotation, though, it only makes sense to consider all options before making a move.

The New York Mets are reportedly exploring their options in the pitching market in case Jacob deGrom signs elsewhere in free agency.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets have met with Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodón and Koudai Senga as they explore potential starters to pair with Max Scherzer atop the rotation, even if they would keep deGrom in their "own best scenario."

Verlander may be a long shot, though, as Sherman reported many executives believe he is "going through the motions" before eventually remaining with the Houston Astros.

The future Hall of Famer figures to sign a shorter deal since he turns 40 years old in February, but that would work for a Mets team that is in win-now mode after going 101-61 last season.

While there may be some question marks about Verlander's age and durability, he answered most of those worries last season as the American League Cy Young winner with a 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 185 strikeouts in 175 innings for the champion Astros.

And then there is Rodón, who is coming off two straight All-Star selections and will be just 30 years old in 2023.

He pitched for the San Francisco Giants last season and posted a 2.88 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, marking his second straight season with a sub-3.00 ERA following injury concerns and inconsistency earlier in his career.

Senga may be the least familiar name for stateside fans, considering he pitched in Japan's NPB. Like Rodón, he will be 30 next season and is coming off an impressive year that saw him tally a 1.94 ERA with 156 strikeouts across 144 innings.

"Though NPB is not MLB, his decade-long track record of excellence in what is widely considered the world's second-best league has a huge group of teams targeting him as one of the most appealing players on the entire free agent market," Jordan Shusterman of Fox Sports wrote about Senga.

The Mets are apparently one of those teams, and signing Senga instead of one of the headline names like Verlander or deGrom could help free up money to help address the roster elsewhere.

Starting pitcher Carlos Rodón is reportedly generating plenty of interest on the free-agent market, including some from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the San Francisco Giants are hoping to re-sign Rodón, but they will have some competition in the form of a National League West rival in the Dodgers.

Heyman noted that the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers have also shown some interest in signing Rodón.

Rodón, who turns 30 next month, is coming off the two best seasons of his eight-year MLB career thus far.

The Chicago White Sox originally made Rodon the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 MLB draft, and while injuries and inconsistency prevented him from reaching his potential, he has finally come into his own.

In 2021, which was Rodón's final season in Chicago, he was named an All-Star for the first time on the strength of posting career bests with a 2.37 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He also went 13-5 and struck out 185 batters in 132.2 innings.

Rodón signed with the Giants in free agency and not only had another great statistical year, but also enjoyed the healthiest season of his career.

His 31 starts and 178 innings were career highs, as were his 14 wins and 237 strikeouts. The lefty also posted a 2.88 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.

Rodón opted out of the second year of his contract with the Giants, making him a free agent for the second consecutive offseason.

The Dodgers don't necessarily jump off the page as a team with a huge need in their starting rotation due to the fact that they are returning Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías and Tony Gonsolin next season, but they have lost several pieces of their rotation as well.

Walker Buehler is likely to miss the entire 2023 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Tyler Anderson signed with the Los Angeles Angels in free agency and Andrew Heaney is a free agent as well.

Rodón would round out a hugely talented Dodgers rotation and perhaps further cement them as the clear team to beat in the NL West.

The New York Yankees' confidence level in potentially signing superstar free agent Justin Verlander is reportedly "low," according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, but Carlos Rodón may provide a strong backup plan in the team's quest to improve its rotation.

Per that report, "Yankees people very much like Rodón, who's younger than the top two free-agent starters—Verlander and New York Mets star Jacob deGrom—and fashioned a complete 2022 All-Star season."

The Yankees have also reportedly been in contact with Japanese pitcher Koudai Senga, Jameson Taillon and some potential trade targets, per Heyman.

Rodón, 29, had a breakout season for the Chicago White Sox in 2021, finishing 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 185 strikeouts in 132.2 innings.

That made him one of the top free-agent arms on the market last offseason, and the San Francisco Giants signed him to a two-year, $44 million deal, which included an opt-out clause this offseason that he exercised.

Not before he put up excellent numbers, finishing 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 237 strikeouts in 178 innings. His wins, strikeouts and innings pitched were all career bests.

Rodón doesn't have the Cy Young pedigree of a three-time winner like Verlander or a two-time winner like deGrom. But Verlander is 39, while deGrom is 34 and has battled injuries in his career. That makes Rodón an intriguing option for any team in the market for a starter, including the Yankees.

And he should have plenty of suitors:

As for the Yankees, the top priority will be retaining Aaron Judge, with Heyman noting the slugger "remains, by far, the Yankees’ main target (and the one they’re most likely to sign)," adding that "the Yankees feel pretty good (or as good as they can now) about their chances to retain Judge despite the public start of his free-agency tour with the deep-pocketed Giants."

Coming off their sixth straight season with a losing record, the Texas Rangers are aiming high in free agency as they look to upgrade their pitching staff.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Rangers have contacted the agents for Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodón and Japanese star Koudai Senga.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported deGrom has told the Rangers he's interested in them but that Rodón "may be a better fit for Texas ultimately."

The Rangers have also been linked to Clayton Kershaw, who they tried to sign last offseason before he returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They are also trying to re-sign Martín Pérez, though Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today noted Pérez will likely receive a qualifying offer after the sides reached an impasse in contract talks.

DeGrom has the highest risk-reward potential of any starter on the market. He had a 3.08 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 102 strikeouts last season for the New York Mets but only made 11 starts as he recovered from a shoulder injury.

Over the past two seasons combined, deGrom has only thrown 156.1 innings in 26 starts thanks to injuries.

Rodón is coming off the best two-year run of his MLB career. The left-hander has a 2.67 ERA. 1.00 WHIP and 422 strikeouts in 310.2 innings over 55 starts since 2021. He spent last season with the San Francisco Giants after playing for the Chicago White Sox in 2021.

Senga is little known to baseball fans in the United States, but the 29-year-old right-hander is ranked as the 18th-best free agent by The Athletic's Keith Law.

"He throws 100 mph with a plus splitter, while opinions on his slider vary from below-average to just slightly above," Law wrote about Senga's arsenal. "He does have a true curveball that looks like it would be at least an average pitch as well."

Playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball last season, Senga posted a 1.94 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 144 innings.

After the Rangers fired Jon Daniels as president of baseball operations in August, they seemingly handed over control of their front office to general manager Chris Young.

The Daniels-Young front office spent big last winter to bring in Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million), Marcus Semien (seven years, $175 million) and Jon Gray (four years, $56 million).

Those moves didn't produce the results Texas hoped for. The team finished fourth in the AL West with a 68-94 record. One of the biggest reasons the Rangers struggled is that the starting rotation was the fifth-worst in Major League Baseball by FanGraphs' wins above replacement (5.8).

MLB teams that hope to trade for a top-tier starting pitcher like the Cleveland Guardians' Shane Bieber or Milwaukee Brewers' Corbin Burnes reportedly face "astronomical" asking prices.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Thursday neither the Guardians nor Brewers are showing an "intent to deal," which could restrict those pushing to land an ace to a free-agent class led by Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodón and Justin Verlander.

Bieber and Burnes are on the same contract track. They each have two years of arbitration remaining and can't become free agents until after the 2024 season. That puts little time pressure on their teams' front offices, so the lack of trade intent isn't a surprise.

Here's a look at how the standout right-handers performed in 2022:

• Bieber: 2.88 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 198 K in 200 IP
• Burnes: 2.94 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 243 K in 202 IP

Given those numbers, the contractual control and the fact that both Cleveland and Milwaukee are playoff contenders heading toward 2023, the chances of a blockbuster trade are remote.

In turn, the competition for the top starters on the free-agent market figures to become intense as World Series hopefuls attempt to bolster their rotations.

The good news for those clubs is plenty of talent is available in free agency, led by the trio of deGrom, Rodón and Verlander.

• DeGrom: 3.08 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 102 K in 64.1 IP (New York Mets)
• Rodón: 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 237 K in 178 IP (San Francisco Giants)
  
• Verlander: 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 185 K in 175 IP (Houston Astros)

Passan listed deGrom (34 years old) and Rodón (29) among the free agents expected to receive contracts with a total value over $100 million.

Verlander, 39, is a different case because of his age, but he could attract a lucrative one-year contract from a team on the cusp of World Series contention, or from the Astros as they attempt to defend their championship next season.

While it's never cheap to add an ace, that's particularly true this offseason because the demand for elite starters far outweighs the supply on both the trade and free-agent markets.

The dominoes will begin to fall when free agency opens at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.