5 best free agents available after Shohei Ohtani deal and where they’ll sign

2. Blake Snell will sign with the New York Mets

Rumor has it the New York Mets will turn their attention toward Blake Snell if Yoshinobu Yamamoto lands elsewhere. Snell won his second Cy Young award with the San Diego Padres last season, going 14-9 in 32 starts with a 2.25 ERA and 1.189 WHIP. Steve Cohen has the deepest pockets of any MLB owner and the Mets' top priority is to rebuild the pitching staff after trading Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the deadline.

Snell doesn't come without flaws — primarily his ghastly 13.3 walk percentage, which lands in the MLB's fourth percentile — but he is arguably the best pitcher on the market in terms of immediate productivity. He landed in the 94th percentile for strikeout rate (31.5) and the 98th percentile for whiff percentage (37.3), picking off batters with 95.5 MPH heat and a potent collection of off-speed pitches.

He is, without a doubt, a needle-mover. Snell is no spring chicken at 31 years old, but he offers longevity that Scherzer and Verlander never did. The Mets have espoused a desired competitive window that opens in 2025, which Snell should be amply prepared to contribute to.

Snell would join Kodai Senga atop the Mets' rotation, forming a solid foundation for the future. His contract could creep north of $200 million and he will have no shortage of interested parties, but the Mets are clearly willing to splurge on top-shelf pitching. Last offseason served as a prime example, and there's reason to believe the front office will carry a similar approach into the new year.