Mets Reportedly Make Near-Record Offer To Trevor Bauer

Like every employee everywhere, Trevor Bauer is looking to get paid, and it appears the New York Mets are trying to make his dreams a reality.

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Mets have offered the free agent starter a contract that would make him one of MLB's highest-paid players.

"The deal would approach -- but not eclipse -- New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole’s $36 million average value on his nine-year, $324 million contract signed a year ago, and it would be much shorter in length, said the (source), who was granted anonymity because of the on-going negotiations," Nightengale reported.

The offer was made "in recent weeks," Nightengale added, and the Mets have stayed in touch with Bauer since then. It's still not known if anyone else has made an offer to Bauer, or if anyone has, whether that offer approaches the one made by the Mets.

Others, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, are undoubtedly interested, as OutKick's Gary Sheffield Jr recently relayed.

Bauer was fantastic for the Cincinnati Reds in baseball’s shortened season, finishing with an NL-best 1.73 ERA and winning the NL Cy Young award. He recorded 100 strikeouts, compared to just 17 walks and two shutouts.

One thing we do know about Bauer, though, is he won't be returning to the Reds.

“For us, at this point, we’ve lost Trevor Bauer and are trying to figure out how to fill that fifth starter spot,” Reds GM Nick Krall recently told Cincinnati radio station 700-WLW. “Can we create some competition if we don’t fill it another way?”