MLB Rumors: NY Mets ruin any chance of signing Shohei Ohtani at trade deadline

The Mets were always a dark horse in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. Now, Ohtani feels even more out of reach than before.

Why would Shohei Ohtani go from a losing team to another losing team? He wouldn’t.

Mets fans already took a knife to the heart when they caught wind of Billy Eppler’s plans, as revealed by Max Scherzer in a bombshell interview with The Athletic. The gist of Scherzer’s conversation with Eppler was that the Mets were in a rebuild. Eppler’s vision for the Mets as a serious championship contending team is for 2025 at the earliest, leaning toward 2026.

Eppler said 2024 would be more of a “transitory” year, which all but squashes rumors of a certain Japanese phenom coming to CitiField.

In a busy MLB trade deadline, the Mets dealt veterans Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, along with a few other pieces, to essentially turn undesirable salary dumps into a decent prospect haul.

That’s one potentially sustainable way to do business; however, the team won’t be attracting ring-chasing superstars anytime soon.

Earlier this summer, Ohtani provided a list of preferences for his future team, and at the top of the list was a very simple sentiment: He wants to win.

Mets fumble the opportunity to land Shohei Ohtani

Ahead of the final days of the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Angels chose to hold onto Ohtani rather than shop him. Ohtani is on track to hit free agency after the 2023 season, at which point he can sit back, relax, and watch the richest teams throw money at him.

As a free agent, he’ll have the power to choose his next team, and even if Steve Cohen drops literal buckets of hundred-dollar bills on him, Ohtani won’t be going to the Mets. He shouldn’t, not with the very visible smoke rising from New York’s front office.

In theory, the Mets’ long-term “repurposing” plans sound feasible. They will work on developing their youth now after receiving three top-five prospects in their deadline deals: Luisangel Acuña from the Rangers, and Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford from the Astros.

By 2025 and 2026, New York’s rising stars (Baty, Alvarez) will hopefully be playing the best baseball of their careers, and their current stars (Alonso, Lindor) should still be around to flex their offensive muscles.

Then again, in theory, the Mets’ initial plan for 2023 also sounded feasible. The plan just hinged on the consistent production from additions like Scherzer and Verlander, as well as their high-paid players performing up to par. There’s always going to be a wrinkle.

Delaying the Mets’ competitive timeline a few years back will make fans cry now and smile later. Losing the chance to sign Ohtani will just make fans cry. Such is life, and such is baseball.