During the offseason, the New York Mets were connected to numerous rumors involving position players, starting pitchers, and just about every type of roster addition imaginable. With Steve Cohen leading the organization and the team coming off a disappointing season, it’s no surprise that the Mets were linked to nearly every available player—no matter how unrealistic. Sorry to the left-handed relievers from the far-off world M51-ULS-1b; it’s not personal, it’s simply a matter of distance.
Among all the speculation, the rumor Mets fans might be happiest never became reality involved Kris Bubic. No offense to him—he may technically be from Earth, even if he grew up in California—but he didn’t really fit what the Mets needed to accomplish during the offseason.
Reports tying the Mets to Bubic surfaced as late as mid-January, before the team ultimately acquired Freddy Peralta. While Bubic would have come at a lower price due to his more limited résumé and the same single year of team control, the bigger question is whether that cheaper cost would have truly been worth it.
Mets fans will be satisfied the team didn’t pay whatever price it would’ve cost to get Kris Bubic
The Mets gave up a lot to get Peralta. Luckily, it did come with Tobias Myers as well. He’ll help offset that payment as the Mets have several ways to use him in the coming years. That’s a big key to the trade, the pluralization of the number of 365 day intervals the Mets can have him around.
Not with Bubic. He’s a free agent after the 2026 season. He had an awesome 2025 season but it was limited to 20 starts. His 2.55 ERA, 3 BB/9 and 9 K/9 all look like he’s turning a corner in his career. It’s just too little for what the Mets actually needed.
Peralta is a contender to start on Opening Day with only Nolan McLean contending. Bubic? You’d give McLean the ball ahead of him with no questions asked.
This isn’t to discredit Bubic in any way. He is going to be a candidate to be an All-Star yet again in 2026. However, he’s coming off of a year where a rotator cuff injury shut him down in July.
The largest innings total he has ever logged is 130 from back in 2021. His career has been a much lighter version of what Garrett Crochet has done, suffering injuries and spending regular time in a relief role.
Without knowing the cost to get Bubic, we can’t fairly assess the situation completely. Regardless of that, it seems like Bubic would be someone the Mets couldn’t realistically depend on to survive through a full year without getting hurt or running into some of the same problems as David Peterson last year.
Peralta is the workhorse who’ll carry them. Bubic is a good complementary piece the Mets just don’t seem to have much room for. The Mets needed a proven arm, not a potential riser still trying to establish his place.
