Mets leave Winter Meetings with four new pitchers, but still have holes in lineup

SAN DIEGO — The Mets are leaving the Winter Meetings with four new pitchers but have yet to find a center fielder or address the lack of power in the lineup.

The first in-person Winter Meetings since 2019 did not lack theatrics between the Yankees’ pursuit of Aaron Judge and the huge contracts handed out to pitchers like Taijuan Walker and Jameson Taillon. For the Mets, it was a chance to replace Jacob deGrom in the rotation and add some much-needed depth, as well as add to the bullpen.

The Mets closed out the meetings Wednesday afternoon by selecting Zach Greene from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft, a right-handed reliever who posted a 9-0 record and a 3.42 ERA for Triple-A Scranton last season. As required by the draft, the Mets have to carry Greene on the 26-man roster for the season. In order to remove him from the roster, he would have to be placed on outright waivers. Should he clear, the Mets would have to offer him back to the Yankees for $50,000 (half the cost of the Rule 5 selection).

Greene was the fourth pitcher acquired this week, with earlier acquisitions of Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana and Brooks Raley. The payroll is nearing the $300 million range and there is still work to be done.

Brandon Nimmo is still on the market, though that could change soon now that Judge has agreed to a contract with the Yankees. Judge had a direct effect on the outfield market and now that he’s off the board we may start to see some movement. The San Francisco Giants, the runners-up in the Judge sweepstakes, could pivot to an outfielder like Nimmo.

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Even the Yankees, who have a need in left field and promised Judge they would build a championship team around him, could be players for Nimmo. The Yankees have struggled to find a true leadoff hitter to put in front of Judge or to keep one healthy. General manager Brian Cashman said he would love to have Andrew Benintendi back and the Mets have had some interest in him as well.

The Winter Meetings were a success, but the offseason is far from over.