The one position group we all know the New York Mets will be targeting this winter is starting pitching. While the Mets have a strong young core of hurlers in Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton, there’s a need for at least two quality veteran starters to join the rotation to help this club get back to the postseason.

Tarik Skubal is obviously the crown jewel of free agency, and a name that every Mets fan wants to lead the rotation in 2027. However, the Mets will need to sign a mid-tier free agent or explore the trade market.

If the Mets go the trade route, one starting pitcher who looked like an ideal target, especially if they failed to sign Skubal, was Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Drew Rasmussen. The 31-year-old Rasmussen has become one of baseball’s best pitchers over the last two years and was instrumental in helping the Rays get to the World Series.

With Rasmussen having a $20 million club option for 2027, and knowing the Rays' history, it seemed like a target for a team like the Mets, who are desperate to bring aboard a veteran ace to pair with McLean.

Well, Tampa Bay has other ideas after their World Series defeat, and those don’t involve trading Rasmussen, much to the dismay of the Mets and other teams who need starting pitching.

“(It’s) not a declarative this, that, whatever, but I can sit here very confidently and say that every intention right now is thinking about ‘Ras’ anchoring our rotation and how to make this team better going into next year,” Rays President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander said (h/t Marc Tompkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

“We want to have ‘Ras back. We’re going into this offseason when you were that close to where we were; it’s hard to think we’ll be closer if ‘Ras’ isn’t part of the team,” Neander added.

Mets' Drew Rasmussen trade dreams get a dose of reality

It’s not surprising to see the Rays POBO make that declaration, especially with Tampa Bay’s success in 2026 and Rasmussen’s impact. Now, granted, as we mentioned earlier, you can’t fault fans or outlets for speculating that Rasmussen could be a trade candidate since they exercised his $20 million option, making him a valuable trade chip.

The Mets, who recently did business with the Rays ahead of the trade deadline for Freddy Peralta, have a healthy farm system and a couple of players on the major league roster that they could use in a hypothetical deal for Rasmussen.

That said, those dreams have quickly faded, and now Mets POBO David Stearns must consider other trade options like Joe Ryan, who has ties to Derek Falvey, who is now in New York’s front office, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, or MacKenzie Gore. Among those names, Ryan has a resume that could compare to Rasmussen, with two straight All-Star appearances and a 3.79 career ERA. 

And Ryan would be a nice offseason addition and could easily pair with McLean at the top of New York’s starting rotation. The Mets could still sign another mid-tier starter like Michael Soroka or Tyler Mahle, which would give them a complete rotation for next season.

Needless to say, we’ll see what happens in the coming days and weeks as the trade market and free-agent frenzy should absolutely heat up with a looming lockout on the horizon.