Starting pitcher Luis Severino will reject the New York Mets’ qualifying offer, Newsday’s Tim Healey reported on Tuesday.
A qualifying offer this offseason is worth one year and $21.05 million. Severino and the Mets can still negotiate a new deal, but by making him the qualifying offer, the Mets will receive a draft pick as compensation if Severino signs elsewhere.
Severino, 30, had a solid bounce-back year for the Mets after his career appeared to have cratered at the end of his tenure with the New York Yankees. In 31 starts, Severino posted a 3.91 ERA and 1.242 WHIP with 166 hits allowed in 188 innings pitched.
The numbers aren’t exactly electric, but it’s a dramatic improvement from his 6.65 ERA in 2023 across town. One of the main reasons for the improvement: Severino cut his home run rate in half, from 2.3 per nine innings in 2023 to 1.1 in 2024. He also allowed far fewer hits overall (8.2 per nine innings compared to 11.4).
Severino signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Mets last winter, giving him a chance to revive his career and enter free agency again this year in search of a bigger payday.
Luis Severino is taking a risk by not accepting the Mets’ qualifying offer
Most MLB players reject their qualifying offers — they’re often made as a mere formality, in order for the team to receive draft pick compensation. Look no further than Juan Soto, who turned down the Yankees’ $21.05 million offer on Tuesday. No one in their right mind would have expected Soto to take it, but the Yankees offered anyway as their own insurance.
But it may have made sense for Severino to accept the offer. The former ace hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2018 and injuries have continuously hampered his career. With a ton of starting pitching hitting the open market this winter, there’s no guarantee Severino will make more money — with the Mets or someone else — by pursuing a deal in free agency.
Had Severino accepted the offer, he would have locked in an $8 million raise from last year and would have another year to prove he’s still the guy who dominated the American League in the late 2010s. Severino, however, is probably looking for some security in the form of a multi-year contract. He probably won’t get anything beyond two or three years, but that deal could net him considerably more than the qualifying offer.
MLB Trade Rumors published its free agent predictions earlier this month and projected Severino to be worth three years and $51 million. If that’s the range he ends up in, then Severino will have made a wise decision.
The post Luis Severino makes $21.05 million qualifying offer decision appeared first on ClutchPoints.
