A majority of the offseason buzz regarding the future of New York Mets pitching will understandably be surrounding Jacob deGrom. But a bulk of the organization’s 2022 starting rotation — Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, and Chris Bassitt — are facing option years in their contract that will dictate their MLB futures whether that be in Queens or elsewhere.
What is the status of their options and will that make it harder or easier to ensure a return to the Mets in 2023? We take a look.
Carlos Carrasco
- 2023 contract status: Team Option
- Cost: $14 million
The overarching question regarding Carrasco’s future with the Mets is a simple one: Is he worth that kind of money?
A lot of this may be contingent on the Mets’ confidence on whether or not they’ll be able to bring back deGrom and whether or not they’d be willing to pay that fee for a veteran right-hander who would be slotted as a No. 4 starter in the rotation.
Carrasco rebounded well enough in his second year with the Mets after coming over from Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor trade. He threw 152 innings across 29 starts, going 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA and 1.329 WHIP. He’ll be 36 in what could once again be a veteran-laden rotation and there could be younger options that either provide more bang for your buck (Carlos Rodon) or are cheaper (Tyler Anderson) than Carrasco.
They’ll have five days after the World Series to decide what they want to do with him.
Taijuan Walker
- 2023 contract status: Player Option
- Cost: $6 million (base)
It would be rather shocking to see the right-handed Walker opt into the $6 million player option on his deal that would hold off unrestricted free agency until the winter of 2023-24.
The 30-year-old has overcome Tommy John surgery to prove that he could still be a serviceable mid-to-bottom option in a starting rotation around the majors, which means he’s obviously worth more than that $6 million — even if he has dealt with some second-half issues during his two years in Queens.
After the wheels fell off down the stretch last season to mar an All-Star 2021 season, went 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.195 WHIP across 157.1 innings pitched.
Expect to see him hit the open market this offseason.
Chris Bassitt
- 2023 contract status: Mutual Option
- Cost: $19 million
You could make the argument that Bassitt was the Mets’ most valuable pitcher in 2022 after being acquired from the Oakland Athletics.
Going 15-9 with a 3.42 ERA and a career-high 167 strikeouts, he led all Mets starters with 181.2 innings pitched.
He should be just as much a priority to bring back as deGrom is, which might read like an odd sentiment — but retaining him is imperative to keep any semblance of rotational depth intact in 2023.
It won’t come as much of a surprise if the Mets opt in on their end of the mutual option, but will Bassitt want to see if he can make a few more dollars on the market? He certainly holds New York in high regard.
“There isn’t a harder city in our country to play a sport,” he said during the Wild Card round earlier this month. “New York is an absolute gauntlet every night. Mentally, I thought I was mentally tough enough to handle New York. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be playing for a team like the Mets because I’ve proven to myself that I can handle it. You can handle the scrutiny, you can handle the boos, all that stuff.”
