SAN DIEGO — Money was flying and the clock was spinning when Mets General Manager Billy Eppler emerged from his suite late Wednesday afternoon on the final day of the winter meetings to announce that Justin Verlander indeed had signed a two-year, $86.6 million deal with the club.
There was still plenty of work to be done, roster holes to fill, championship aspirations to chase. Would the Verlander deal leave enough in the owner Steven A. Cohen’s budget for Eppler to address some of those gaps in impactful ways?
“I think the biggest takeaway here is that Steve’s committed to winning,” Eppler said, and barely 24 hours later the club was in agreement to bring back outfielder Brandon Nimmo on an eight-year, $162 million contract.