The New York Mets are one of the favorites to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto in MLB free agency. New York wants to add starting pitching, and they understand that Yamamoto is receiving plenty of interest. Team executives reportedly believe that the Mets will pivot to Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, if Yamamoto signs elsewhere, according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic.

Snell has an interesting free agency market. On one hand, as aforementioned, he won the NL Cy Young this past season. Snell led the league in ERA with a sparkling 2.25 mark and recorded 234 strikeouts.

Some teams are hesitant to sign him, though. In fact, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have been linked to almost every free agent, are rumored to not be interested in Snell. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball when's on his game, but if Snell doesn't have a feel for the strike zone then there is a chance of disaster.

The left-handed pitcher led the league in walks this past season as well, surrendering 99 base-on-balls. This led to plenty of high-stress pitches and traffic on the bases. Snell's inconsistency is reason for concern.

Still, signing Snell would come with plenty of upside. He's a true superstar when he's going right. The Mets' primary focus remains on signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto but Snell is someone to keep an eye on.

Mets' free agency has been mostly quiet

Padres' Blake Snell next to the Mets logo.

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The Mets have made some smaller moves so far in free agency. New York was one of the most discussed teams an offseason ago, however. They spent heavily but the results failed to show themselves in 2023 as the ball club missed the playoffs and were sellers ahead of the trade deadline in early August.

So now, New York must decide if they want to try to build a winner and compete once again, or enter a rebuild. Based on the reports, it appears that the Mets are trying to compete still. Winning the NL East will prove to be a challenge with the Atlanta Braves leading the way, but New York isn't backing down.

They will continue to display interest in stars as the offseason continues on.