DALLAS — Mets officials were set to leave the Winter Meetings on Wednesday without a starting rotation addition, but remained active in the arms search.

To that end, president of baseball operations David Stearns met with the representative for free agent Nick Pivetta, according to an industry source, on the same day another pitcher of interest, Garrett Crochet, was traded from the White Sox to the Red Sox.

Pivetta, a right-hander, pitched to a 4.14 ERA in 27 appearances last season for the Red Sox. Pivetta, 31, finished with 172 strikeouts in 142 ²/₃ innings.

His strikeout rate of 28.9 percent ranked in MLB’s 88th percentile, according to Baseball Savant.

Pivetta declined a qualifying offer from the Red Sox worth $21.05 million, meaning the Mets would surrender a draft pick if they sign him.

The Mets have an opening for at least one more starting pitcher after adding Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to the rotation this offseason.

Three members of last season’s rotation — Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana — became free agents.

Severino signed with the A’s, but the Mets have shown interest in re-signing Manaea.

Crochet was dealt to the Red Sox for four prospects that ranked in the organization’s top 15, according to MLB Pipeline. The Mets were among the teams that engaged with the White Sox in trade talks for the left-hander Crochet.

“I think we were in constant discussion and had some back and forth,” Stearns said.

The White Sox sought a package of four prospects, according to sources, that would have included top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat.

“The balancing act in all of this is how much prospect value to give up for the near term and that’s always going to be a lot of judgment as part of that,” Stearns said. “Certainly there have been times when we have done it and we’ll continue to do it and there are times where the price just gets too steep for us and we choose to keep our prospect value.”

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Max Fried and Nathan Eovaldi were among the starting pitchers that came off the board during the Winter Meetings. If the Mets want a top-end starter, Corbin Burnes remains available, but Stearns in his two offseasons heading the front office hasn’t signed a pitcher to a megadeal. Stearns tried hard for Yoshinobu Yamamoto last winter, but the Japanese ace was a special case as a then 25-year-old.

The Mets remain interested in Japanese star Roki Sasaki, who isn’t eligible for a major league contract and can only be signed using international bonus pool money.

As it stands, the Mets (who more often than not are expected to employ a six-man rotation next season) have a starting pitching stable that includes Kodai Senga, Montas, Holmes and David Peterson. Others in the mix include Paul Blackburn, Tylor Megill and Jose Butto.

It’s clear the Mets could use another proven arm, but Stearns this week also said he doesn’t view another starting pitcher as a necessity. Stearns was asked again Wednesday about that assessment.

“We have options to fill out our major league rotation,” Stearns said. “And I certainly think it’s a possibility that we will continue to add. But if we were to go in as we are right now, I think we have options to fill our major league rotation that we would feel good about.”