There have been a lot of conflicting reports lately regarding the future of Trevor Bauer, arguably the biggest name in Major League Baseball free agency after most stars already secured a new deal.
Bauer is coming off the best season of his career and even though it was a shortened season, his numbers during his 11 starts - including a 100-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio - are widely impressive.
That's why there have been several teams tied to the controversial superstar over the past couple of months, although he's yet to make a decision about what team is worthy of acquiring his services.
Steve Matz Trade Gives New York Mets A Bigger Chance To Sign Trevor Bauer
Then again, now that the New York Mets traded away LHP Steve Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays in return for prospects, the belief is that they're clearing some payroll space to make a run at Bauer, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand:
"The Matz trade doesn’t mean that Trevor Bauer will definitely be signing with the Mets, but it certainly opens the door wider. Mets now have an additional $5.2 million of payroll space, not to mention a vacancy in the rotation," Feinsand said.
"One of the Mets' biggest barriers to signing Bauer has been the $210 million competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold. Prior to the Matz deal, New York's tax figure was sitting roughly $27 million below that threshold, per Roster Resource," added the report.
The word around the league is that the Mets are prepared to make Bauer one of the highest earners in the world with a deal that could come pretty close to Gerrit Cole's with the New York Yankees, although they're also trying to work out a contract extension with Francisco Lindor and Michael Conforto, so money could be tight at Queens.
