The Mets' search for bullpen help has the team at least exploring the cap market.
Tanner Scott, considered the top reliever on the free-agent market, recently spoke with team officials, a league source confirmed Tuesday.
Scott, 30, pitched to a 1.75 ERA with 22 saves in 72 games with the Marlins and Padres last season.
The left-hander would fill two needs for the Mets, who do not have a proven left-hander and could use another high-leverage arm to join Edwin Diaz.
Returning relievers for the Mets include Diaz, Reed Jarrett and Jose Boto (who is also likely to start the rotation) Sean Reed Foley, Denil Nunez and Huascar Brazuban.
Both Reid Foley and Nunez suffered injuries that kept them out of the equation in the second half of last season.
Lefty Danny Young was effective for a long stretch last season, but struggled later in the year.
The Mets also added several relievers on minor league deals.
The Mets' meeting with Scott was first reported by The Athletic.
The Mets have focused mostly on the starting lineup and rotation up to this point, but the market is still full of proven relievers.
Scott would likely need a multi-year contract, the kind of commitment that President of Baseball Operations David Stearns avoided last winter in Assembling Baseball.
Stearns signed Jake Diekman, Jorge Lopez and Adam Ottavino last offseason as free agent assistants.
Of that group, only Ottavino lasted a full season with the club, spending most of it in a low-impact role.
But Stearns reinvented the bullpen as the season progressed by trading for Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek in particular.
Both veteran right-handers, who are free agents, helped boost the Mets' bullpen during the team's postseason run that ended with a loss to the Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS.
Besides Scott, the top end of the relief market includes names like Jeff Hoffman, David Robertson, Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates, and Carlos Estevez.
Certified lefties include Andrew Chaffin and AJ Minter.
Last season, Scott was the best in MLB at limiting exit velocity (84.3 mph average), according to Statcast.
He averaged 97 mph with his four-seam fastball and complemented it with a slider that produced a swing-and-miss 38.8 percent of the time.
Stearns took a conservative approach to the rotation, re-signing Sean Manea and adding free agents Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes.
Scott, if signed, would become the team's top prospect this offseason.
