Not to spoil James McCann’s arrival in New York, but some executives and agents believe the Mets blew it by not signing J.T. Realmuto and that Realmuto blew it by not signing with the Mets.
Free agency ebbs and flows, and sometimes a team and player operate on different timelines, preventing them from lining up. That seems to be what happened with the Mets and Realmuto. The Mets wanted to move more quickly than Realmuto, and when it became apparent an agreement could not be reached, they struck a four-year, $40.6 million deal with McCann instead.
Realmuto is believed to be seeking a guarantee approximately three times that amount, and the Mets were the team most likely to offer that money. For the Mets, too, the match seemed perfect. Some rival execs view Realmuto as the best at his position by the widest margin of any player in the game.
That point is debatable. McCann, 30, is nine months older than Realmuto, and his track record is not as long,…
