Mets Rumors: Jake Arrieta Drawing Interest After Failed Trevor Bauer Pursuit

The New York Mets are interested in free agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, per Andy Martino of SNY.

The Mets are in pursuit of pitching and rounding out their bench, per Martino, who also noted that the team is in the mix on free agent outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. 

Martino also clarified that there is "nothing close" on Arrieta at the moment.

Arrieta, who turns 35 in March, went 4-4 with a 5.08 ERA and 1.51 WHIP last season for the Philadelphia Phillies. He struck out 32 batters in 44.1 innings.

He was once one of MLB's best pitchers in the mid-2010s, going 50-19 with a 2.42 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 593 punchouts in 583.0 frames from 2014-2016 for the Chicago Cubs. He earned the National League's Cy Young award in 2015, authored a pair of no-hitters and won the 2016 World Series as well.

The right-hander has regressed each year statistically ever since, culminating in last year's performance. Still, Arietta managed to turn back the clock on a few occasions, notably tossing six shutout innings and striking out six against the NL East champion Atlanta Braves.

The Mets need some answers to fill out their rotation. One of them won't be ex-free agent ace Trevor Bauer, who chose the Mets as one of his two finalists before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As of now, the top three figure to be Jacob DeGrom, Carlos Carrasco and Marcus Stroman. David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi are the top candidates to fill out the back end, but Arrieta could very well take a spot if the Mets agree to a deal.