What now?
Where else can Steve Cohen put the $50 million per season that was earmarked for another star outfielder?
Kyle Tucker will not be a Met, choosing the Dodgers and the best shot at a title, a source confirmed, over Cohen’s gobs of short-term money and long-term stability with the Blue Jays.
The deal is for four years and $240 million, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported.
The Mets tried, lurking in the sweepstakes for the best bat of the winter and meeting virtually with him recently. They then offered a deal that would have made Tucker the third-highest paid player in baseball history by average annual value, behind only Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.
But around four years and roughly $50 million per was not enough to pry the former Astro and Cub from the two-time reigning champs and new home of Edwin Diaz.
The Mets are left needing at least one and maybe two outfielders and a starting pitcher, at minimum, during a winter that has been far more about subtractions (Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Díaz, Jeff McNeil) than additions.
Without Tucker’s money on the books, David Stearns & Co. can pivot to the outfield and rotation market through free agency or trades.
Cody Bellinger is the best outfielder available, though he is seeking the kind of long-term deal the Mets are hoping to avoid. There are several center fielders who theoretically could be pried through trade, including the Astros’ Jake Meyers, White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. and Rockies’ Brenton Doyle.
The best starter available in free agency is Framber Valdez, and perhaps the Mets would swoop in if his market does not develop as well as he hopes. There are plenty of other starters who could be moved through trade such as the Royals’ Kris Bubic, Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore, Brewers’ Freddy Peralta, Padres’ Nick Pivetta and Twins’ Joe Ryan.
The Mets, who have replaced their core by bringing in Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver thus far, remain a good team, Stearns insisted this week.
“We have elite talent at the top of our major league roster. We’ve got a very good farm system. And we’ve got a very good present-day major league team as we sit here today that’s going to get better before we get to Opening Day.”
