Mets rumors: David Stearns hesitant to give Framber Valdez, other starting pitchers big money

Despite a dire re-tweak being needed, New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is reportedly “reluctant” to dole out big money for free-agent starting pitchers.

Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported that Stearns’ usual philosophy has resurfaced this winter, which could potentially hinder the Mets’ prospects of building a legitimate and dependable rotation.

New York has been continuously linked to former Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez, with previous reports suggesting a deal that could exceed $200 million over six years. Zac Gallen, Ranger Suarez, Michael King, and Tatsuya Imai, who is making the jump from Japan to North America this offseason, are also notable names that are on the open market.

But Stearns has never been one to break out the checkbook for starting pitching. It was something he shied away from during his time with the mid-market Milwaukee Brewers, and that remains unchanged despite adopting a significantly larger payroll under Steve Cohen. Instead, the Mets have more often than not brought in reclamation projects, such as Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, and Clay Holmes, over the last two years, with drastically varying results.

Instead, it seems that the Mets’ best hope for upgrades in the rotation will be the trade market, which was the more likely of options, anyway. It allows Stearns to bring on high-upside pitching while dealing from the strength of a deep farm system and player pool, rather than further straining a payroll that has annually exceeded the multiple tiers of Major League Baseball’s competitive balance tax.

While Detroit Tigers ace and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is the white whale of the winter, the Marlins are likely to shop former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, while the Brewers have opened the door on trading their top arm, Freddy Peralta.

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