Mets lose Luis Severino to Athletics on three-year, $67 million deal, source says

The inevitable breaking up of the 2024 Mets has begun.

Luis Severino, a key player in the production and the personality of the Mets during their run to the brink of the World Series last season, agreed to a stunning three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics, a source confirmed Thursday. His is the largest contract in that franchise’s history.

The Mets stayed in touch with Severino in recent weeks and a reunion remained possible, according to a person familiar with their activity, but they never pursued him aggressively. Although they still have a couple of holes in their starting rotation, they opted not to fill one of them with Severino, who followed his way-better-than-expected season with a way-better-than-expected offseason.

The righthander’s decision to join the A’s — who no longer are based in Oakland and are due to play in a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California, for the next three seasons while their still-theoretical stadium in Las Vegas is constructed — marked the end of a lengthy tenure in New York. He spent his first nine seasons with the Yankees (he did not pitch in 2020) before signing with the Mets around this time last year.

After news of his new deal broke, Severino posted on his social media accounts a photo of himself wearing a black Mets uniform — his favorite of their several getups — tipping his cap as he walked off the field.

“Thank you New York @mets fans for all the support all year long,” wrote Severino, who will turn 31 in February. “Thank you Mets staff and front office for everything. I will forever be grateful for an incredible season.”

The Mets will visit Severino and the A’s for a three-game series April 11-13.

Severino is the first of what likely will be a bunch of departures from the most recent iteration of the Mets. Their biggest in-house free-agent question is first baseman Pete Alonso, whose aim of landing a nine-figure contract with the Mets or another club seems to be on the back burner while the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers wait on a decision from Juan Soto.

Also on the open market: lefthanders Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana, infielder/Latin pop star Jose Iglesias, outfielder/DH Jesse Winker, DH J.D. Martinez, centerfielder Harrison Bader and relievers Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton and Adam Ottavino.

Severino’s departure is another notable checkpoint in the Mets’ quest to become a destination for one-year project pitchers. His stay in Queens became a best-case scenario for all parties, a result the Mets hope to repeat regularly in the years to come: a good season and bonus draft pick for the Mets, a great subsequent contract for the pitcher.

He was the first such acquisition, brought aboard on a one-year, $13 million contract early last offseason. At the time, Severino was among the worst pitchers in baseball. The Mets’ thinking then: If he returns to anything resembling his old form, that’s a win. If not, oh, well, it’s a low-risk, one-year commitment.

The Mets wound up helping Severino revive his career with a very solid — and, just as importantly, healthy — season. He had a 3.91 ERA and 1.24 WHIP and proved able to take the ball each turn in the rotation, compiling 182 innings in 31 starts. He was reliable on his start days and a fun-loving, easygoing presence on the others.

“He had a great year. We want him back,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said in early November, when the Mets gave him the qualifying offer (one year, $21.05 million). “This is the first step in that process. We’ll see where it goes.”

Because Severino declined the qualifying offer and signed with another team, the Mets will receive an extra draft pick (after the fourth round) in 2025.

Manaea, who also had a strong year and also declined the qualifying offer, is likely to similarly cash in soon. In the same vein, the Mets signed Frankie Montas to a two-year, $34 million deal — which looked expensive at the time but suddenly seems like a discount — this week.

Severino’s deal broke the Athletics’ record for richest outlay. The previous largest: $66 million (over six years) guaranteed to Eric Chavez. That was 2004. Chavez now is the Mets’ hitting coach.

By Tim Healey

timothy.healey@newsday.com@timbhealey

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.