When it comes to the free-agent starting-pitching market, Trevor Bauer is the crown jewel of the bunch this offseason.
The 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner is coming off a dominant showing in MLB’s shortened season, posting a 1.73 ERA, a 0.795 WHIP, and 100 strikeouts in 73 innings of work.
He is also as outspoken and entrepreneurial as they come, working on his brand off the field that features his own website, merchandise, and a strong presence on social media.
On Saturday night, the 29-year-old right-hander posted a video ranking the top-five most aggressive fan bases trying to recruit him.
For the New York Mets — who have been linked with Bauer for a majority of the offseason — their fans ranked second in the hurler’s books behind only the Los Angeles Angels.
“What a great time to be a Mets fan,” Bauer said. “So much excitement amongst the fan base right now. New ownership, you got some free-agent signings already.
“The fan base is super passionate right now, super excited, super energized.”
The fan base has been relentless on social media, pleading with the star to come to Queens where he’d join a pitching staff that already features two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman — and soon enough — Noah Syndergaard.
“The Mets fans feel like they can compete right now and will be better than the Yankees… that’s been fun to watch,” he said. “They have the bad photoshops, they have the good photoshops… they’re all over.
“I’ve seen them a lot. They’ve been in my mentions, all over the place… Not a day goes by when I don’t see many tweets about Bauer to the Mets.”
The Mets have been as active as any team in the majors so far this offseason. They bolstered their bullpen with the signing of Trevor May at the beginning of the month before a busy Saturday in which they nabbed catcher James McCann and a new general manager in Jared Porter.
