The hot stove is officially on for Major League Baseball and especially the New York Mets after the Houston Astros finished off the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series on Saturday night.
Owner Steve Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler face a number of key roster questions heading into free agency as we begin our descent into winter — which is one of the most entertaining times of the year for MLB.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Mets’ important offseason.
When does free agency begin?
Technically, players whose contracts expire at the end of the 2022 season officially became free agents on Sunday, the day after the conclusion of the World Series. However, they cannot sign with a new team until five days after the World Series ends, which would be on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. ET.
In the meantime, the teams who owned the free agents have an exclusive five-day negotiating period with the player in an attempt to retain them.
On top of that, the trade market is also officially open with the World Series ending, too.
What does the Mets’ free agency situation look like?
The Mets were looking at 14 notable players from their 101-win 2022 roster hitting the free-agent market this offseason, including major talents like starting pitchers Jacob deGrom and Chris Bassitt, closer Edwin Diaz, and center fielder Brandon Nimmo. That means they had five days to work out deals with unrestricted free agents like Nimmo and Diaz before other teams could step in and potentially poach them away from Queens.
They didn’t waste much time on Sunday, picking up Daniel Vogelbach’s option before signing Diaz to the first-ever nine-figure contract for a reliever in MLB history.
| Player | Position | Current 2023 Status |
| Jacob deGrom | SP | Opted out of contract (free agent) |
| Carlos Carrasco | SP | Unrestricted Free Agent |
| Edwin Diaz | Closer | Agreed to 5-year, $102 million deal Sunday |
| Chris Bassitt | SP | Mutual Option (Will opt out) |
| Trevor May | RP | Unrestricted Free Agent |
| Brandon Nimmo | CF | Unrestricted Free Agent |
| Taijuan Walker | SP | Opted out of contract (free agent) |
| Adam Ottavino | RP | Unrestricted Free Agent |
| Tyler Naquin | RF | Unrestricted Free Agent |
| Seth Lugo | RP | Unrestricted Free Agent |
| Trevor Williams | RP | Unrestricted Free Agent |
| Mychal Givens | RP | Mutual Option |
| Daniel Vogelbach | DH | Mets picked up $1.5 million club option Sunday |
| Tommy Hunter | RP | Unrestricted Free Agent |
It is already confirmed that deGrom will opt out of his player option to test the free-agent waters. It’s a sentiment he has held since spring training despite missing the first four months of the season due to injury.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner has maintained that he would like to stay with the Mets — an idea that has only gained more steam in recent days after Mark Canha spoke with Mike Puma of the New York Post.
“Jake told me he wants to come back, too, and he really likes it here, too,” Canha said. “I think Jake and Max [Scherzer] and[Chris] Bassitt have a really good friendship they have developed over this year and good professional relationship, too.”
Bassitt could very well join deGrom in free agency, especially after his comments on The Chris Rose Rotation podcast Saturday.
“Is a one-year evaluation of yourself worth it compared to a multi-year deal for this evaluation?,” Bassitt asked. “I would say, not to give it away, it’s kind of easy.”
For more on the Mets and their offseason outlook, visit AMNY.com
