The Mets made New York's first splash after the MLB lockout was lifted, acquiring RHP Chris Bassitt from Oakland for two minor-leaguers, and the move is something GM Billy Eppler said came together "fairly quickly."
"We added another impact pitcher to the rotation, something we wanted to do and talked about doing," Eppler said. "We weren't able to answer it in free agency, so you kind of have to look at both markets and we were able to execute a deal and get something done fairly quickly with the A's."
Bassitt slots into a rotation that has Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer at the top and likely Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker behind him, and there is plenty of depth behind that group, most notably a trio that includes 2020 starters Tylor Megill, Trevor Williams, and David Peterson.
"I got to see him a good amount in the AL West, and the pitchability, the ability to suppress hard contact and pound the strike zone…there's a lot of things to like," Eppler said. "And, the person as a whole, learning what makes him tick, he seemed like a guy who would fit here and relish the chance to pitch in this rotation."
The Mets still do have some openings in the bullpen, even with the addition of Adam Ottavino on Sunday, but when it comes to the latter of those three and top prospect Thomas Szapucki, Eppler noted that they are still starters for now.
"Those guys are penciled in as starters. Regardless of how we ultimately will go, we still need to build their pitch volume, so they'll take starter turns early on, and we'll talk about that later," Eppler said.
It's unlikely the Mets will add anything more on the position player side, Eppler noting he's happy with what he has, but there are still some bullpen spots to look at, especially a lefty to replace Aaron Loup. More may come, but the GM is also confident I what is already in camp.
"We have some lefties that are going to be in camp here and remain open-minded to look at that group, too," Eppler said. "We signed Alex Claudio who's been extremely tough on left-handed hitters. He'll get a long look in camp and I'll always remain open-minded to adding where I think we can, but I don't want to force anything."
Not having to force anything is a luxury for Eppler in his first full season on the job, as is the fact that owner Steve Cohen has said he's comfortable far exceeding any luxury tax thresholds as long as what comes will help the Mets win.
"What that signals to me by and large is that he's always ready to listen to an opportunity, and what that makes me do is that I never unplug from the market," Eppler said. "I always want to know what's available, and if there are things, it's my duty to run it to him if it makes sense. We've had really good dialogue on a lot of our transactions all winter, and I think it's great. I've welcomed those conversations, and I'm appreciative I can run anything in his direction if we think it makes the team better."
"Players see him and think the world of him," manager Buck Showalter added. "He's curious and he wants to win. I've had some owners that were just…he wants to win, and we understand our job description. If you have a problem with it, you're probably in the wrong place."
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