Luis Severino flew under the radar of most teams last offseason. Several years removed from his best seasons due in large part to injuries, the New York Mets got as much out of him as anyone could’ve expected. He finished the year 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA and a maybe most important of all, 182 innings pitched.

Excellent at times with few, if any, lengthy stretches where he looked awful, finding gems like him on the free agent market remains a goal of this front office. No one more closely matches where Severino was last year as Walker Buehler.

The same age as Severino was when he entered free agency, Buehler is several years removed from his best days, too. It’s not as distant with 2021 being his last full year (and what a year it was!). It’s this reason and his presence on the World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers which won’t have him slipping so easily to the Mets.

MLB rumors about Walker Buehler suggest he’s not going to be pitching for the Mets

The Mets honed in on Severino quickly and before the MLB Winter Meetings even took place, they had an agreement in place. Buehler’s free agency seems to be much more high-profile. Despite going 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA last season in his 16 starts, teams understand how good he can be. In fact, recent MLB rumors have pointed toward the Atlanta Braves as a suitor.

From a Mets perspective, we can easily relate Buehler to Severino. Braves fans might view him as this year’s version of Chris Sale whom they successfully picked up in a trade with the Boston Red Sox last season only to see him win the National League Triple Crown for pitchers.

Spoiler alert: he’s going to win the Cy Young, too.

A part of the reason why MLB rumors have teams high on Buehler could be in part because of all of the success from last year’s class of questionable pitchers. Severino and Sale weren’t alone. There were questions about Sean Manaea. Jack Flaherty had an excellent year after getting roughed up plenty in 2023. All fliers in one way or another, the idea of adding Buehler for a shorter period than a more coveted commodity like Corbin Burnes will have plenty of teams circling like vultures.

There has yet to be any indication of the Mets actually pursuing Buehler and maybe for good reason. They still need to learn the fate of Severino and Manaea. Both were given a qualifying offer which the former could conceivably accept. This is a team in need of an ace and Buehler isn’t the lockdown number one starter he can be.

It would be a bit of a shock to see Buehler and his high profile end up with the Mets. Far too many other teams are already sending their love letters. Good for them. We have bigger fish to reel in.