Former New York Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler reportedly could receive a five-year, $100 million deal this offseason.
Zack Wheeler‘s tenure in Queens could very much be over this Winter.
The New York Mets recently extended a qualifying offer to the right-hander, one that he ended up rejecting. Wheeler will test the free-agent market and has been targeted by teams such as the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins.
But how large of a deal could Wheeler end up receiving? Apparently a huge one, at least according to Dan Hayes.
The reporter for The Athletic mentioned that Wheeler could ink something along the lines of a five-year contract worth around $100-110 million.
Heard from one rival exec today that the pitching market is going to be crazy in the first two tiers with Zack Wheeler fetching something like five years, $100-110 million. https://t.co/VidlMK4Cg4
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) November 27, 2019
Wheeler has submerged himself in a long line of free-agent pitchers this offseason. For numerous teams, he may be near the top of the wish list.
The Mets could still offer a new, long-term deal to the veteran righty. However, it’s unclear if anything will actually come to fruition with that.
If Wheeler returns to Queens, he’d be rejoining a pitching staff that includes Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Jacob deGrom. The latter just won his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award.
On the contrary, if he doesn’t return to Queens, his Mets tenure will conclude with a five-season run. Wheeler played in the majors from 2013-14 and then again from 2017-19.
This past season, he posted a record of 11-8 with an ERA of 3.96 and a WHIP of 1.259. He struck out 195 batters and walked 50 through 31 starts (195.1 total innings pitched).
