There was a time in the last 24 hours of the negotiation in which the Mets believed they had reached an agreement with Trevor Bauer, three sources told The Post. They believe the terms have been approved by both sides and that they are working with one of his agents, Jon Fetterolf, to finalize the details.
But no term sheet was signed – more formally a key element was agreed upon to commemorate a contract – and there were the Dodgers.
And by Thursday night, the Dodgers had jumped from slant to jump, starting one last push that would result in them landing the best starter in free agencies on Friday. Los Angeles realizes that it’s close to an even bid between the Dodgers and Mets that Bauer would prefer his roots in Southern California and the Dodgers’ near-certain championship fight program and modern camping program.
The Mets offered a $ 105 million three-year deal worth $ 80 million if Bauer elected it after two years. But they were worried that even if they were the first in overall money, they were second in the place Bauer wanted to be, plus the Mets were worried he might not particularly prefer New York. The Dodgers deal for which Bauer terminated his deal was at $ 102 million for three years, with $ 85 million available during the first two years, though possibly with deferral that would lower the current value.
According to a source, Sandy Alderson, president of Mets, who has been involved with three organizations for the past four decades, felt he had never reached the level of negotiations and had not finalized the agreement.
Both Fetterolf and Alderson said they would not comment on the details of the negotiations.