Stroman and Brach Expect to Stay With the 2021 Mets

Stroman and Brach Expect to Stay Put

First reported by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the New York Mets are planning to extend Marcus Stroman’s $18.9M contract prior to tomorrow night’s deadline. Assuming the Mets actually follow through with the offer, Marcus Stroman will have until November 10th to either accept or decline the contract. If he declines, he"ll risk either gaining or losing money in the free-agent market. With MLB claiming an $8.3B loss last season, this might not be the time to give up the bird in the hand.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that righty reliever Brad Brach has chosen to exercise his player option with the Mets for the 2021 season.

While the offer would be intriguing, it seems like Marcus Stroman would prefer to test the free agency market and find a long-term deal that would give him some financial security coming off his decision to opt-out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. 

There is also the possibility that new owner Steve Cohen and Marcus Stroman agree on a long-term deal. The Mets are in need of pitching due to the uncertainty of Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard for next season. For more information on pitchers that the Mets could sign in free agency, check out my previous article. 

With both the Mets and Blue Jays, Stroman recorded a 3.22 ERA and a 1.307 WHIP in 2019. He was also selected to participate in the All-Star game for that season.

Interestingly, there have also been some rumors claiming that Stroman would like to return to the Toronto Blue Jays, which would be an interesting scenario considering the bad blood between Stroman and Randal Grichuk.

Brad Brach Exercises Player Option

Additionally, right-handed reliever Brad Brach has exercised his player option of $2.075 million for the 2021 season. Brach, age 34, only appeared in 14 games in 2020, recording an ERA of 5.84, with a WHIP of 1.784.

If Brad Brach can replicate his numbers in Baltimore, where he was an All-Star in 2016, he will be a valuable addition to the Mets bullpen in 2021. As an Oriole (2014-2018), Brach had an ERA of 2.99 with a WHIP of 1.209.  

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