Relief pitcher Adam Ottavino explained why he chose to opt out of his contract with the New York Mets during a recent appearance on Foul Territory. Ottavino, who is currently a free agent, cited the Mets' “uncertainty” as the driving force behind his decision.

“To be clear, I wanted to stick with the Mets,” Ottavino said. “It is the best situation for me, being a New York guy. I loved my time with the Mets. It's just more of a function of… At the moment I had to make the decision, there's just too much uncertainty with the team. They hadn't hired a manager yet… they hadn't got any free agents yet. We kind of scuffled down the stretch.

“There was this narrative that the team wasn't going to try to compete this year. Obviously I'm not getting any younger. Tried to talk to David Stearns (Mets president of baseball operations) and get a little certainty on my end… From my perspective, I just didn't feel 100 percent certain of the direction the team was going to look like come spring training this year. So in that moment… it made sense for me to test the waters.”

Will Adam Ottavino return to the Mets in MLB free agency?

Ottavino is one of the better relief pitchers in the sport. At 38 years old, however, he clearly wants to win. The veteran reliever is likely drawing interest after a 2023 season that saw him record a 3.21 ERA across 66 games pitched. In 2022, Ottavino was even better, ultimately finishing the season with a sparkling 2.06 ERA.

Ottavino is not against the idea of returning to the Mets, but is “open” to “different outcomes”.

“I'd still like to be back there,” Ottavino continued. “But my mind is open to lots of different outcomes this time around. I feel like I'm on a year-to-year basis at this point with my age and everything so, I just don't want to sell myself short. I've still never won and I would like the opportunity to do that.”

If you are a contending team in need of relief pitching, you should be pursuing Adam Ottavino. He holds a career ERA of 3.42 and is a reliable option for any bullpen. He can pitch big innings if necessary, and has closing experience as well.

Returning to the Mets is a possibility, but Ottavino wants to make sure New York is trying to win in 2024.