If the Mets are serious about building a rotation that can stand up to October pressure, the first move starts with Tarik Skubal. But even if New York lands the two-time Cy Young winner, the job won’t be finished. The Mets would still need another arm, and that’s where the trade market comes in.
There are a few different ways they could attack it, but three names stand out as fits to pair with Skubal and deepen the staff: Logan Webb, Emerson Hancock and Drew Rasmussen.
Webb is the big swing. A deal for the San Francisco Giants right-hander would give the Mets a true one-two punch at the top of the rotation.
He’s coming off a down year on a struggling Giants club, but from 2022-2025 he finished in the top 11 in the NL Cy Young race every season. At his peak, Webb has been worth 5.6 bWAR, and he’s averaged 3.8 bWAR over his career.
In New York, he’d slot in as the No. 2 starter behind Skubal and push Nolan McLean to No. 3.
The contract matters here too: Webb has two more years of control and $47 million left on the five-year, $90 million extension he signed with San Francisco. That could look like a bargain if the Mets can get him.
The Giants weren’t willing to move him during the season, but that stance could shift this winter if the offer is right.
Hancock is the more controllable option, and that makes him a logical name for a team thinking beyond one season. The Seattle Mariners right-hander has four years of control remaining and won’t hit free agency until 2031.
Last season, the 27-year-old went 7-8 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 4.00 FIP, 109 ERA+, 126 strikeouts and 2.7 bWAR across 25 starts and 138.2 innings. Seattle has a surplus of young starting pitching, and the Mariners were open to moving Hancock at the trade deadline, so the possibility could resurface this offseason.
Rasmussen is the toughest get, but he belongs on the Mets’ radar anyway. The Tampa Bay Rays just exercised his $20 million club option for 2027, and he’d be a major boost if New York could pry him loose.
Still, that feels like a long shot. Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander recently told reporters the club plans to keep Rasmussen to anchor its rotation.
He also comes with only one year of control, which adds another layer of risk for the Mets after what happened when they went down that road with Freddy Peralta last year and it back fired. Even so, Rasmussen is worth the call.
If the Mets want to stack their rotation around Skubal, they should at least see whether Tampa Bay will listen.
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