Why is the price for starting pitching soaring on the free agent market? New York Mets assistant GM John Ricco has a funny theory.
Speaking from the MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville, Ricco had this to say about the starting pitching market:
#Mets' John Ricco with the quip of the day on why everyone is desperate to acquire pitching: “Because they all looked how good we were.”
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) December 7, 2015
It may be cocky, but he’s not wrong.
The Mets have an excellent young staff full of pitchers like Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz. Having all those pitchers at controlled costs is almost unfair, especially when you see players like David Price and Zack Greinke signing for over $200 million. That’s a major advantage to hold.
Jeff Samardzija got $90 million from the Giants; Mike Leake is set to get probably close to that; and Johnny Cueto will likely get a lot more than both of them. It’s really nice to be the Mets and all set with your starting rotation while everyone is chasing you.
