David Stearns will have a lot on his plate as he reshapes the Mets this offseason, but his toughest task might be rebuilding the starting rotation.
Following the trades of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the Mets have just two members of the 2023 rotation who should figure prominently in 2024 -- Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana.
They have a top of the rotation pitcher in Senga and someone who can pitch in the middle in Quintana, but they need to add another top of the rotation arm and at least one pitcher who can slot in the middle or back of the rotation.
If New York acquires three pitchers, they'll have David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, Jose Butto, Mike Vasil, and others as valuable depth.
If the Mets add just two pitchers, perhaps one of the above arms rounds out the rotation as the No. 5.
Either way, these five names should be on Stearns' wish list...
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
You won't find Blake Snell or Aaron Nola on this list because I simply don't think they'll come close to providing enough value to justify the contracts they'll get entering their age-31 seasons.
The main concerns with Snell are his inability to pitch deep into games and the fact that he's pitched more than 130 innings just twice in his eight-year career.
The main concern with Nola is that he's been mediocre two of the last three seasons but is likely to get paid like an ace.
There are no such concerns with Yamamoto.