Mark Simon, ESPN Staff 9y

Burning Questions: Who will be the Mets' biggest competitors in free agency?

The problem for the New York Mets this offseason is that their needs coincide with the needs of other teams.

Knowing the competition is an important part of decision-making, so we’ve culled out-of-town media reports and surveyed a few of our colleagues on who looms as the Mets' top competitors.

Here’s a quick look at those teams most likely to pursue the two areas of greatest need for the Mets:

Shortstop

New York Yankees

You may have heard the New York Yankees need to replace Derek Jeter. They could do so internally with Brendan Ryan if they wish. But more likely, they’ll go outside the organization.

There was speculation that the guy the Yankees were targeting was J.J. Hardy, who is now off the market, having re-signed with the Baltimore Orioles.

ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand is guessing that the Yankees will go for a buy-low deal on Stephen Drew (perhaps saving their money to bid for Jon Lester or Max Scherzer). So that’s good news for the Mets if they want to be in the hunt for Hanley Ramirez, Asdrubal Cabrera or Jed Lowrie.

The Mets would have an edge over the Yankees in the trade market, as their farm system ranks in ESPN Insider Keith Law’s top four at last check. The Yankees have few young players to trade, unless they decide to put Dellin Betances into a trade (we’d be surprised).

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics traded their top prospect, shortstop Addison Russell, to get Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, knowing that their current shortstop, Lowrie, is a free agent.

Athletics general manager Billy Beane tends to like creative, low-cost solutions, so we’d anticipate him pursuing many of the same options that the Mets do.

Los Angeles Dodgers

With new management in place, it will be interesting to see what the Dodgers do at shortstop, given that Hanley Ramirez is a free agent. Buster Olney listed shortstop first among the player-personnel items on the to-do list for Andrew Friedman, the team's new president of baseball operations.

There is talk that the Dodgers' payroll will come down a bit and that Friedman will be careful in his spending, but the Dodgers certainly have the capability to outbid the Mets on anyone they wish.

Power hitting

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners could be a problem for the Mets this offseason. Manager Lloyd McClendon has already said the team needs a No. 4 hitter to pair with second baseman Robinson Cano and third baseman Kyle Seager. That could be filled with an outfielder under certain circumstances (Mariners outfielders are currently Dustin Ackley, Michael Saunders.

The Mariners have both the money and the young talent (pitchers Taijuan Walker and James Paxton make for good trade bait) to get the players they want.

Early speculation from local media is that the Mariners will make a big push for the best hitter in free agency, Victor Martinez, who doesn’t figure to be in the Mets' plans. But if they fail to land him, an educated guess at other pursuits could match those of the Mets.

Cincinnati Reds

When I surveyed my colleagues on this subject, the Cincinnati Reds came up on everyone’s list after what was a frustrating 2014.

The good news from a Mets perspective is that they can probably be competitive in bidding against the Reds. Cincinnati has $48 million for 2015 committed to two players coming off major injuries (Joey Votto and Homer Bailey) and two others coming off down offensive seasons (Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce). All four are signed through at least 2016.

The Reds may be a more intriguing trade partner than a competitor for the Mets if they’re willing to part with Bruce, as it might allow them the money to try to sign pitcher Johnny Cueto, who could be a free agent after the 2015 season.

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers had a payroll upward of $160 million in 2014 and one-quarter of that comes off the books with the pending free agency of Scherzer, Martinez and Torii Hunter (the latter of whom is contemplating retirement, for anyone thinking he’d be on the Mets' wish list).

Given owner Mike Ilitch’s seemingly bottomless pockets and general manager Dave Dombrowski’s history of spending, we’d expect the Tigers to go after the biggest names and also prioritize re-signing David Price and adding to their bullpen. But if a big bat became available, we’d expect them to pursue it.

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox have a good chunk of money to spend and are also thought to be looking for an impact bat, given the departures of Adam Dunn, Alejandro De Aza and Paul Konerko.

This is a team that has philosophically not been shy about taking shots at obtaining big names during the regimes of general managers Ken Williams and Rick Hahn, but it’s also one that has a good number of holes.

The White Sox have needs in both their starting rotation and the bullpen (David Robertson would make an interesting target) that could occupy some of their spending. It depends on what that management team chooses to prioritize.

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