Mets in endgame for Trevor Bauer, but no deal just yet: source
The Trevor Bauer sweepstakes has narrowed to two teams.
Bauer’s agent, Rachel Luba shared a vague, but simple message regarding her client’s options on Thursday: “Down to 2.”
Soon after, reports emerged the Mets and the Dodgers were the two finalists competing for Bauer’s attention. Then the wheel of what ifs and supposedlys started to spin.
Bauer, who turned 30 last month, has not agreed to a deal with the Mets just yet, the New York Daily News confirmed Thursday evening. The 2020 NL Cy Young winner could make a decision as soon as Friday, according to sources.
For now, here’s everything we know about the latest offer the Mets made:
WFAN’s Ed Coleman called into the “Carton & Roberts” show saying: “I think the Mets are very close and the one thing I think that separates them ... the Mets are willing to offer an opt out after one year and apparently the Dodgers, if they’re the other team, are not willing to do that.”
The Mets were thought to have offered Bauer a three-year deal worth more than $90 million, according to Coleman. Another report suggested the deal was three years and worth close to $100 million, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Those numbers, however, might also be too low. Another report suggested the offer was worth three or four years and $30 million a year, so about $90-$120 million depending on the length of the contract, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. That three to four year deal was also reported to have an average annual value of $32 million, according to CBS Sports’ Jim Bowden.
Before making Bauer an offer, the Mets also consulted Bauer’s former teammate in Cleveland, shortstop Francisco Lindor, who called Bauer a “good teammate,” according to Heyman.
What most of the reports have in common is the one-year opt out, the length of the deal — likely three years — and how much time will pass before Bauer makes a decision between accepting the Mets’ supposed new offer or waiting on the Dodgers: within 24 hours.
If Bauer joins the Mets, he’ll enter a team that, at least on paper, looks worth the hype — and a rotation that includes Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard (when he returns from Tommy John rehab), Carlos Carrasco and Marcus Stroman. If he goes to the Dodgers, he’ll have the benefit of playing for his hometown team (Bauer grew up in North Hollywood, Ca.), which also happens to be the reigning World Series champions, gunning to keep that title another year.
The Mets, however, “are increasingly confident that they will sign Trevor Bauer,” according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
