Veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt is departing the New York Mets to join the Toronto Blue Jays on a three-year/$63 million deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
We had projected that Bassitt would land a three-year/$57 million deal in free agency, so this feels like a fair deal for both sides.
After a season with the Mets, the 33-year-old is heading back to the American League, where he had previously spent the bulk of his career, initially with the Chicago White Sox and largely with the Oakland Athletics.
The Blue Jays -- who won 92 games a season ago -- acquire a pitcher who has a 3.31 ERA and 3.75 FIP over 546 innings pitched since the start of the 2019 season.
Meanwhile, Bassitt joins Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker as pitchers to depart from the team that won 101 regular season games in 2022. Because both deGrom and Bassit declined qualifying offers, the Mets will receive draft compensation in return for them.
While the Mets have seen a trio of their starting rotation leave in free agency, they also inked future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander to a two-year/$86.66 million deal, Japanese star Kodai Senga to a five-year/$75 million deal and veteran lefty Jose Quintana to a two-year/$26 million deal. And they still have future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, who is likely to be their Opening Day starter in 2023.
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