Mets view 2-time Cy Young winner as backup plan to Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

Mar 26, 2022; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; The New York Mets logo stands in center field before the game against the Washington Nationals at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets are one of several teams that are hoping to sign star Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but they may have a notable fallback plan in place if they do not win the sweepstakes.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote on Tuesday that team executives around MLB believe the Mets will turn their attention toward Blake Snell if they are unable to sign Yamamoto.

Snell won his second Cy Young Award this year, becoming just the seventh pitcher in MLB history to capture the award in both the American and National League. The left-hander struggled badly over the first two months of the season before completely turning things around. Snell went 13-3 with a 1.20 ERA over his final 23 starts and finished the year 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA. His 32 starts were the most of his MLB career.

Many expect Snell to get roughly $200 million in free agency. That sounds like a lot for a 31-year-old pitcher who has only topped 180 innings twice in eight seasons, but he could benefit from the disappointment teams will experience after they miss out on Yamamoto.

Mets owner Steve Cohen is one of the richest owners in sports and has shown he is not afraid to spend. That did not work out when he gave huge money to Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, but he is clearly willing to try it again. Snell may wind up being one of the beneficiaries of that.