Luis Severino may not be the only former Yankees player the Mets are bringing across town.
The New York Mets made their first big move of the offseason, signing Luis Severino to a one-year contract worth $13 million. Normally, one-year deals come with minimal risk, but in Severino’s case, a pitcher with a long injury history and a disastrous year, it’s natural for Mets fans to have at least some concern.
The uptrend is very clear. At best, Severino is an All-Star pitcher and would fit perfectly in the middle of the Mets’ rotation. However, to put it bluntly, he is a guy who rarely takes the ball away, and he posted a 6.65 ERA in 19 games with the Yankees last season.
Severino is not the first former Yankee to join the Mets organization this offseason, as the Mets have named former Yankees relief coach Carlos Mendoza the team’s new manager.
This could become a new trend as more former Yankees come to Queens along with Severino. These three former Yankees should generate interest from David Stearns.
1) Jordan Montgomery
We should have known he was going to be here. Jordan Montgomery spent the first five and a half seasons of his career in pinstripes before being traded to the Cardinals at the 2022 trade deadline.
Since leaving the Yankees, Montgomery has developed into a legitimate front lineman. Last season, he was traded from St. Louis to the Rangers, and not only helped the Rangers reach the playoffs, but was one of the key players in winning the World Series.
Montgomery became a free agent at the perfect time and is off to what is arguably his best season yet. That’s always a bit of a concern, but there’s good reason to believe the southpaw can be the front-line starter who can get the innings this team desperately needs.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is clearly the best Mets player considering his youth, and while he doesn’t have a qualifying offer, Montgomery is definitely right behind him. The qualifying offer leaves an arm like Blake Snell out of the equation, and Montgomery doesn’t have an arm.
The Mets can sign him without forfeiting draft compensation.
The former Yankee could slide into second place in the rotation behind Kodai Senga and provide the veteran influence and reliability this rotation needs.
2) David Robertson
David Robertson was with the Met more recently than the Yankees, but his career began in the Bronx. Robertson spent the first seven years of his career with the Yankees, eventually taking over as the team’s closer in place of the great Mariano Rivera. From there, he stopped pitching multiple times in the final minutes of games, eventually signing with the Mets for the 2023 season.
As a Met, Robertson was everything they hoped for. He appeared in 40 games and pitched 44 innings with a 2.05 ERA, becoming the team’s primary closer in the absence of Edwin Diaz.
Robertson struggled after New York sent him to Miami at the trade deadline, but his strong performance (1.74 ERA in September) helped the Marlins make an unexpected postseason appearance.
It remains to be seen whether Robertson will seriously consider returning after the Mets traded him, but he will be eligible again. This team will need to bring in multiple replacements, as we don’t even know who else will be on the Opening Day roster besides Edwin Diaz, Brooks Lally, and Drew Smith.
He might be 38 years old, but Robertson clearly has something left in the tank. The Mets bringing him back for another season to help a depleted bullpen in the vision they had thought of before the 2023 season as Edwin Diaz’s set-up man would be wise.
3) Harrison Bader
Harrison Bader was the player the Yankees acquired when they sent Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals, so it’d be ironic if the Mets brought them both to Queens. Bader was a long-time Cardinal before his year in the Bronx. He’s had his ups and downs throughout his career, and his time with the Yankees was no exception.
He was limited to just 14 regular season games with the Yankees last season as he was recovering from injury, but in the postseason he became somewhat of a folk hero, carrying them to an ALCS appearance. This past season Bader missed time due to injury (as he often does) and took a bit of a step back offensively.
With the Yankees out of contention they placed Bader on waivers where he’d eventually get picked up by the Reds. His offensive numbers weren’t great, as he slashed .232/.274/.348 with seven home runs and 40 RBI, but this is still an intriguing player the Mets should consider.
As things stand right now, the Mets don’t have a fourth outfielder. Yes, D.J. Stewart is capable in the corners, but he’s not the traditional fourth outfielder who can play all three outfield spots. Bader on the other hand, is one of the better defensive center fielders in the game. That’s where his game shines.
The Mets are known to sign the speedy defensive-minded fourth outfielder as they seem to do it every year, but Bader would provide a bit more with the bat than those guys. He’s not the best hitter in the world, but he’s not an automatic out either. Bringing the 29-year-old New York native to Queens to be the team’s fourth outfielder who’d also be a capable fill-in if a starter went down makes a lot of sense.
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