Zack Britton could be switching New York teams after an injury-riddled 2022 season. MLB insider Jon Heyman reported that the New York Mets were among the teams to show the former closer some interest this offseason.
Heyman also noted that there's a relationship with Britton and Mets manager Buck Showalter.
Heyman tweeted:
"Mets are among teams to have shown interest in Zack Britton. He had his alltime great closer year in Baltimore with Buck [Showalter] managing and also has a close relationship with new Mets coach Dom Chiti."
The Mets just struck out on Carlos Correa, too. They had agreed to a deal after the San Francisco Giants backed out due to injury concerns. The Mets swooped in, but found the same concerns.
Eventually, after three weeks of contact, Correa re-signed with the Minnesota Twins after all.
Mets owner Steve Cohen spent without abandon and adding Correa was a big move to potentially put the team over the top. Now that that isn't happening, the team must pivot and it appears they are looking at Britton now.
The Mets are still one of the best teams in baseball, but none of the free agents left rival the talent of Correa. They will probably begin shoring up positions, much like it seems they're doing with Britton in the bullpen.
Zack Britton career stats
For several years with the Baltimore Orioles, Zack Britton was the best and most dominant reliever in the league. In 2016, Britton recorded the lowest ERA for a pitcher with 50 innings with a stunning 0.54 ERA.
However, it has been several years and several injuries since then, but he's still had a stellar career. For his career, he has a 3.13 ERA and a 9.8 fWAR over 12 big league seasons.
He's 35 and certainly doesn't have as much as he did the first time he played with Showalter, but when he's been healthy in the past he's proven to still be an effective groundball reliever.
It might be one of his final stops, but the Mets would do well to think about adding him for this season.