NY Mets quietly tracked ex-Phillies pitcher before he landed with an AL club

The New York Mets have evaluated a wide range of players on the market, but in this particular case, they were believed to have explored the possibility of pursuing Ranger Suárez following his departure from the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Before they were acquired by the Red Sox, Johan Oviedo and Ranger Suárez were viewed by David Stearns as options for the Mets’ rotation,” Crory wrote on X, referencing a Joel Sherman article for The New York Post.

Before signing his five-year, $130 million deal with the Red Sox and officially closing the book on his eight-year run with the Phillies, Suárez had also drawn reported interest from other teams, including the Atlanta Braves.

So what comes next for the Mets after failing to land Suárez?

Despite letting another arm slip away, the Mets still have options on the market. One of them is Framber Valdez, who was mentioned as a potential Mets target just ten days ago on MLB Network Radio.

“They need to get him [Valdez] in the rotation, they need some predictability in that rotation,” Steve Phillips said, adding that the return of pitchers such as Sean Manaea would significantly improve the team’s performance from the mound.

However, now that the Mets have acquired Freddy Peralta, it appears unlikely that they will pursue Valdez. “Rival executives expect the Baltimore Orioles to be the next team to pluck a front-line starter from the free-agent market now that the New York Mets are out of the mix after acquiring Freddy Peralta,” Bob Nightengale wrote.