The New York Mets made two big additions to their starting rotation this winter. They also brought back Sean Manaea. However, they could still use a true ace to lead the way.
The Mets signed Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to join their rotation. However, they seem to lack a real No. 1 starter, despite how good Manaea was to end the year. While listing “last minute” trades the Mets should pursue, FanSided’s Tim Boyle urged the team to trade for Minnesota Twins starter Pablo López.
“Lopez doesn’t have a single season in his career with more than 3 walks per 9 and he has consistently averaged around a strikeout per inning or more,” wrote Boyle. “Not quite an ace in the way we normally look at the term, he’s a very good number one who’d give the Mets rotation the kind of legitimacy they lack with certain players.”
López signed a four-year, $73 million deal with the Twins in 2024. He had a down year last season, pitching to a 4.08 ERA. However, in 2023 he was an All-Star with a 3.66 ERA. If he bounces back he could be a real leader for the Mets rotation.
“This isn’t the same guy you may remember the Mets beating up plenty in the past during his days with the Miami Marlins,” wrote Boyle. “Despite a .07 point difference in ERA from the Marlins to the Twins, Lopez is much more a rocksteady starting pitcher. He has logged 185+ innings in both years in Minnesota. His dazzling 2023 season earned him, get this, a seventh-place finish in the AL Cy Young vote—the same placement King did last year for the Padres in the NL.”
The Mets are banking on Clay Holmes working in the rotation. They may want to add a starting pitcher as insurance in case the move does not work and Holmes finds himself back in the bullpen.
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