The Mets are under new management, and that means that their free agent philosophy may be more aggressive than what fans have been used to seeing.
On Tuesday, Mets president Sandy Alderson was asked on WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” about whether or not Trevor Bauer would be a good fit for the Mets in New York.
“I actually think Bauer would be a great personality in New York,” Alderson said. “The kind of guy that fans would endorse. We’re in the entertainment business.”
Bauer saw the quote on Twitter and responded with a facetious reply.
“Nah…baseball isn’t entertainment,” he wrote. “It’s boring and personality isn’t allowed. And this Bauer guy is going to be terrible in the New York media. Big head case. Couldn’t handle it.”
Bauer, the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award this year, was clearly being sarcastic and taking a shot at critics who say he would not be a good fit in New York as well as those who bemoan players who embrace their personalities.
The 29-year-old right-hander is often criticized over his tweeting and outspokenness, which sometimes borders on the eccentric.
In 2019 with the Cleveland Indians, Bauer chucked a ball from the mound over the center field wall out of frustration when he was being taken out of the game. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds days later.
Yet, Bauer is unquestionably the best free agent pitcher and arguably best free agent on the market this winter. New owner Steve Cohen, who was introduced on Tuesday in a press conference, acknowledged the team needs more pitching behind Jacob deGrom, who Cohen said was the best pitcher in the game.
DeGrom has won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in the NL, but may get dethroned by Bauer, who had a league-leading 1.73 ERA with 100 strikeouts over 73 innings and two complete game shutouts.
Earlier on Tuesday, the hat store Lids announced Bauer as its first MLB brand ambassador and he was coincidentally wearing a Mets hat (with other hats on top) in the promotional picture.
Perhaps an omen? We’ll just have to wait patiently to find out.
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