Astros predicted to lose ace to Mets on new $160 million blockbuster contract originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

With the New York Mets losing multiple free agents over the past day and a half, there’s plenty that has to happen in Queens for them to become the team they expect to be moving forward.

For the Houston Astros and Framber Valdez, that might mean the Mets trying to poach the left-hander away from Houston.

As of now, it seems very unlikely that the Astros and Valdez will reunite, so going to a team like the Mets makes a lot of sense.

Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball believes that will be the case and predicted Valdez to land a five-year, $160 million deal in New York.

“My original prediction for Framber Valdez was that he was going to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays because my gut told me they would aggressively pursue a top starter. They did in fact pursue a top starter, it was just Dylan Cease, not Framber Valdez… Instead, we have to find a new home for Valdez. And I can’t help but think maybe that home is in an even bigger market with the New York Mets.

“The Mets are clearly in the market for a top arm, and could be shopping prospects for Freddy Peralta or Joe Ryan as we speak,” he wrote.

Valdez makes a lot of sense for a team like the Mets, but as of now, it remains uncertain what New York is going to do in free agency.

Reports indicated they didn’t even offer Pete Alonso a contract because he was too expensive, so $160 million for Valdez might simply be out of their range.