If the door was cracked open even a little bit before for Yoenis Cespedes to re-sign with the Mets, it now appears to have been slammed shut.  The Mets are still looking to add a right-handed hitting outfielder, but it won’t be Cespedes, sources familiar with their thinking tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
The Mets are heading into 2016 with lefty bats in left field (Michael Conforto), right field (Curtis Granderson) and first base (Lucas Duda) and they’re eyeing right-handed bats as a complement to that, including Steve Pearce and others of that ilk, according to Heyman.  Of course, it’s not a huge surprise to hear that the Mets are moving on from Cespedes after their recent signing of Alejandro De Aza.
At some point this winter, the Mets offered a short term deal of perhaps “two or three” years for the Cuban slugger, sources tell Heyman.  Interestingly enough, they never got around to discussing dollars.  As Heyman notes, that probably wouldn’t have moved the needle one way or another anyway since Cespedes is widely expected to net a five- or six-year deal.  At the outset of the offseason, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Cespedes would net a six-year, $140MM deal.
Right now, it’s not immediately clear where Cespedes could land.  The Orioles and Angels have been linked to Cespedes, with the Tigers, Royals and Giants also being involved. The White Sox have also been mentioned as a possible suitor for the Roc Nation client as they have a need in left field.
Because of that clause in his contract that lead to him being a FA, they couldn’t resign him anyways, I thought?
If I remember correctly, he waived that clause.
But I think the actual clause said he couldn’t resign with the Mets for a certain number of days.
They did eliminate that clause, initiated by Cespedes. ….I’d say he WANTED to come back, but the stupid Muts will do what they want anyway. With very affordable pitching for several years to vome, they should have figured something out.
I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded going back, but he didn’t get rid of the clause solely to resign with the Mets. He got rid of the clause to get rid of the exclusive negotiating window so the Mets could be a part of his bidding war. As part of the clause, his current team had five days after the WS to try and get an extension done. If it didn’t happen, the team had to release him and by the CBA rules about releasing a guy, the releasing team wouldn’t have been able to sign him until March 15th.
He agreed to rework that clause prior to the end of the season. I assume he figured it would help the bidding war for his services
It was a release from the club at end of year rather than expiring contract. If clause had remained, he would have only had 5 days to negotiate with the Mets
The clause just made him a FA w/ no exclusive negotiating period for them…
The mets released him just before the season ended, basically circumvented the clause. Cespedes agreed to it though
How did the Mets release him before the season ended? In the ninth inning of the final game of the world series?
The season doesn’t officially end for another couple of days after the World Series. And I thought part of the clause was that the team Cespedes was on had to release him so they couldn’t offer him a QO. Obviously that becomes redundant after Detroit traded him, but I think the Mets had to release Cespedes as part of the clause.
They reworked the contract to get rid of the clause.
He threw out that part of his contract as long as the Mets agreed not to give him a QO or arb. Basically the two sides agreed to let him become a free agent at years end with no strings attached. Cespedes wanted to increase his marketability, thinking he could leverage Mets to get more money, and the Mets were like, eh why not?
Mets wouldn’t have been able to give him a QO anyway since he was traded mid-season. And I might be wrong but I don’t think international free agents would qualify for arbitration, I’m probably wrong but I don’t remember an international free agent signing, who wasn’t a teenager when he signed, having to go through the arb process.
Iris anyone with less than 6 years of mlb service time is arb eligible. I’m pretty sure that was the point of this weird contract in the first place, he signed for five years. That means he would have been arb eligible, so they agreed on a strange loophole type thing to avoid the arb and make him a free agent after 5 years. If he weren’t eligible for arb, then I don’t see why they would bother adding any of this awkward language. If anything, he would have had the Beltran type deal where the team agreed not to extend him an offer to statistics the draft compensation.
Jesse. So many autocorrects in this that make no sense. >.<
Mets better do something. That rotation is a waste if they have no offense to back it up.
Said every Met fan at this time last year.
And at this time last year, up until July, they were all 100% right when the Mets finally DID something big as the fans had been calling for as they are now…
Which is why people think it is odd that they don’t want to add the reason they had that offense last year.
You can’t keep giving away your prospect at the trade deadline.
Just LOL @ The Wilpons. LOL.
It’s “Wilponzis” to you, sir.
I am curious to see what Pearce gets. Is a team paying for his 2014 numbers or his career numbers. He did hit 15 HR last year but his OBP was down nearly 100 points from 2014.
this is where the angels should step in and snag him, I know they need a lefty bat but Cespedes would be perfect in that line up with a healthy trout and when Pujols comes back.
I’m kinda surprised that there are soo many FA OFers still on the market at Xmas….it seems like the players and agents are getting greedy b/c they know how much money is available in tv contracts but owners are all trying to keep prices down…
Kinda like how Arte said he was willing to go over the luxury tax for the right players and now they are standing pat
Maybe the right player(s) are no longer available? Arte did NOT say that he would make foolishly high bids to land the right player.
Maybe the right player(s) are being negotiated with and it simply isn’t public knowledge yet. Maybe they are waiting out the field to see if a FA gets desperate.
At the end of the day, I find it really strange that Angel fans are clamoring for something, just anything, to get done. The reason we are in this current mess is because of that mentality. We MUST get a slugger so we sign Hamilton. We MUST grab a big name so we sign Pujols.
The only thing the team MUST do now is create a plan and stick to it. Cespedes comes with all sorts of question marks. I wouldn’t want him at $25M/year over 5-6 years. No way, no how. The guy would need to average over 3 fWAR/season to justify that contract. That was exactly what he averaged between 2012 and 2014. And it would have been what he averaged once you regress his absurd 2 month stretch in 2015.
So, during his peak years he averaged the absolute minimum production to break even. Now you want to pay him from 31-36 to perform at the same level? That’s crazy IMO.
Well said. I think we should be more upset about us taking a chance on guys like nava when Hwang and Kim are as in expensive with much higher opinion. It would seem to me that the only bat with enough upside to justify such a commitment would be Upton.
1,000% correct. Angels fans can’t decide on anything. First they want to trade the farm for a big bat. Then when they make trades they go nuts over trading the farm. Then they get that big bat, and then can’t stop crying about spending so much money for the sake of it. And then they turn around and want the Angels to spend even more money just for the sake of it. I’m a die hard Angels fan myself, but it’s things like that that make their fan base the most difficult for me to talk to. The Angels don’t need another big bat. They need a table setter with speed and good defense in LF, preferably a lefty.
Angels fans need to stop twisting what Arte said. He never promised anything and fans should’ve learned by now that the Angels always say they can’t, and then they swoop in and sign Albert Pujols…
Go team by team and you’re not going to see a bunch of teams that have all this expected spending capacity that they’re just choosing not to spend. Most teams are up around their budgets and there are way too many quality free agents available for them all to get paid what they feel they deserve or what sites like this projected. This class was just too big and strong to be supported by the market. Also too many QO free agents for them all to get signed, something this site and everyone else neglects.
If this class is too big, what does that say for the class of 2018 when there will be a TON of talent available?
I feel like a lot of big market teams are getting ready for 2018. They free agent class will be huge and contracts will near double by then
Phillies will have money to burn come 2018.
I wouldn’t say its too big, just that the big spenders are basically out. The Yankees are saving space for the 2018 free agent class and are trying to get younger, the Red Sox made their big signings and will still probably be part of the 2018 free agent class and the Dodgers aren’t signing every single guy since they are trying to drop their luxury tax. Giants already made their big signings for the year (if you want to consider them a big market team, which they kind of are in my opinion, although just barely), the Angels aren’t trying to go over the tax and the Tigers/Phillies are in some sense rebuilding. While the Phillies are doing a full scale rebuild, the Tigers are already tied down to multiple bad contracts/expensive contracts. Those are 7 teams who usually spend big, out of the bidding, restricting the market.
Just to clarify, the Dodgers are about as far away from signing every single guy as imaginable. To date, they have signed only one single guy, and only barely that. Maybe they are keeping their powder dry for some big splash with the free agents remaining on the market. Remains to be seen.
Come’on Tigers, bring him back, show us you are serious about 2016!
It’s silly to even bring the Tigers up in reference to him. They have already stated that they will NOT be in on any other major signing. The media continues to ignore this.
That’s a shame, because they could really use Upton or Cespedes.
Tigers would have to pay Cespedes 2.5-3X’s the $$$ and for several years more to sign Cespedes than go with Maybin/Collins. He will not be 2.5 to 3 times better than what Maybin/Collins will bring to LF if you look at the 2016 Projections. He will hit 10-12 more HR and produce 20-25 more RBIs and that is not worth another $20-25MM. contract.
They said the same thing the year they signed Prince Fielder. Things change. Like when Prince’s market was starting to slip, Tigers swooped in with an at-market offer which Boras immediately took out of fear he wouldn’t get anything better
Actually, there is conflicting reports comming out of Detroit. While you are correct that Avila, the gm, said that the Tigers wouldn’t be in on any of the big names, mike illich stated clearly that he would spend the money if a situation presented itself to build a champion.
I wish more teams were owned by guys like illitch. An old very rich guy who only wants to win a championship. He would give away a million hot and ready pizzas for a ring.
That’s only $5 million. Every owner in every sport would give away $5 million for a championship.
Except for Loria. That guy sucks.
My feeling would be hurt I would not go back to the Tigers or the Mets Cepeda might have to give up some years on the table .He will get paid if greed don’t set in.
The Sfgiants shouldnt be listed among possible suiters for Cespedes. There is a higher chance that I will be the next US president than Giants getting Cespedes, and no I’m not running. Point is that SF spent too much on pitching (220M ish) to sign Cespedes. The Giants do want a similar LF talent-wise, but it will come via trade.
Giants don’t even have 50M left to spend, and It would take over 150M to net Cespedes.
the giants might go after somebody like parra or alex rios
Both are possible. Giants have tried for both of them in the past. Though my guess is Cespedes will be a Royal, and the Giants will trade for the next Casey Macghee type, for LF. They will resort back to Gregor Blanco by May.
no way the royals can afford Cespedes, I said the angels should go after him but Arte Moreno said they are staying put
The Royals can’t afford Gordon why would they be able to afford Cespedes?
Think the Giants will get Upton for LF, tbh.
Upton is on record saying he doesn’t like hitting in AT&T, not only that but the Giants aren’t going to make three large, flashy commitments in one off season.
@Matt Rox “Giants don’t even have 50M left to spend, and It would take over 150M to net Cespedes.”
That’s not how spending works. The “not even 50M left to spend” is strictly about 2016, while the “150M to net Cespedes” is in regards to his entire contract, spread out over x-amount of years. They won’t be paying him $50M a year.
They are….read it again. ….
Not sure why I can’t edit my comment above. But…..Giants are mentioned in the article as potential suitors for Cespedes……that’s what I responded to….lol
I would bet that the odds for you becoming President are much greater than 1 out of 30.
Cespedes is going to end up somewhere we least expect it, probably the white sox.Its taking time for his market to settle he’s over 30 and there’s still other big free agent OF’s out there.He will probably end up around what Pablo Sandoval got last year 5 years and between 90-110 Million, higher than that is a way overpay.
You think Cespedes will only get 90-110 Million, in this market? Even if he waits till say late February to sign, he won’t get any less than 150 million and more likely over 200.
He will get less than 150 million, the number of teams handing out these + 150 million contracts is dwindling. The market eventually goes back down.Everyone thought James Shields was going to get over a 100 million last year, and eventually his market Settled.No MLB executive is going to give a 30 year old outfielder who had one great year a 150 million, let alone 200, heyward didn’t even get that!
It could be argued that Heyward has yet to have even one great year. But I’m not opening that can of worms here.
the longer he has to wait, the lower the $ amount, the shorter the term and he can say goodbye to opt out clauses. If he doesnt sign within 2 weeks he may not get 100 million
There is a 0% chance he gets near 200 million, let alone over it. Hes gonna be lucky to get 150 at this point and probably won’t even hit that.
Braves90 is right about around $110 million. 5/110 or 5/120 would be my guess.
Very funny, @ sigurd. And @rayray is right. Since Heyward basically got 200M without any season remotely as good as Cespedes, then why would he settle for any less? The Cespedes camp should start the bidding at 190M but aim higher, IMO.
Cespedes is like what, only 2, maybe 3 years older than Heyward. But way better player.
On what basis are you arguing that Cespedes is a “way better player”? Heywards WAR is ~ 40% higher (22;2 to 15.8) and he is 4 years younger. Cespede’s contract is likely to be 50-60% of Heywards AAV. He will be lucky to get 110. Cespedes is a “way flashier player” but the numbers suggest he is not way better and in fact is arguably demonstrably worse.
the white sox could use a bat like his or alex gordon, they also need a right handed pitcher, their rotation is too left handed heavy
I think the White Sox are the only team that has NOT denied interest in him. It would hardly be a surprise.
Can see the White Sox being in on him. He makes a lot of sense back in Oakland too, but no one’s sure if he wants to go back there or if Beane/Wolff will bow down to the narrative that despite him stinking, he “held the lineup together” and was the sole reason why the team fell apart in the 2nd half of 2014, even though its a team game and Donaldson stunk even worse in the 2nd half. Last I checked hitters aren’t allowed to hit for each other, so the narrative of one hitter equalling an entire offense is dumb to me.
People aren’t going to take your comments seriously when you reference the possibility of Oakland signing a 30 year old to a $150m contract.
If the white sox got one of the outfielders left, along with a right handed pitcher, they could be a contender.
The mets act like they don’t understand the concepts of economics and free markets. This was the we tried excuse that they always use. We are not stupid. All revenue goes to finance the wilpons debt. Screw them. I’m not spending a dime on this team until they sell the mets. They think we are idiots
What are you trying to get across here? That you and other Mets fans see them not spending heavily and will now decide to cripple the team by not attending or watching games or buying merchandise? Don’t especially want to call anyone an idiot but if the Wilpons think that they may be right…
He’s saying that he (and every other Mets fan) has seen and heard this script used numerous times over the years, particularly at times when the team is legitimately ready to contend, but always leaving them one or 2 key players short. Seems like they “try” to sign guys so often without ever even making an official offer (think back to Jose Reyes as a great example) that they’re more interested in getting participation trophies than the championship trophy… And witnessing it happen seemingly every time your team is close to being very good, and having it break your heart as the team teases you by being competitive but never quite good enough to win it all (at least within the past 30 years), perhaps you might understand why this may leave a lifelong loyal fan feeling a bit frustrated and quite jaded. Yes, it’s a bit reactionary to say you’ll boycott the team, but I can fully understand where he’s coming from as I’ve considered it myself over the past 5 years, and especially now that the team is so close, yet no REAL upgrades have been made when we couldn’t even hold together the type of team that got us to the Series this past season- one with a legitimate power hitter in the middle of the lineup. So to answer your question, THAT is what he’s getting at.
Oh, to have been born a Yankees fan…
Reyes was a great example? They were nowhere near ready to contend at the time his contract was up for extension. He was getting older and his game is based on speed. He plays a position that typically does not age well either. He has a long history of injuries as well. They had a number of reasons not to bring him back, but the team being two pieces away from contention and unwilling/unable to spend is NOT one of them.
They only did one thing incorrectly with the Reyes situation: they should have traded him to maximize the value. The team apparently, decided that his value would be better spent with the draft pick compensation and the extra money at the gate because he was still in uniform. As a fan, I do not agree, but that IS their decision to make and not mine.
Pearce would be perfect for that Mets team, they should get him immediately.
You must be a Nationals fan
This guy is a winner. The Mets wouldn’t have made it to the World Series without him. They need him more than most teams–and can afford him better than most teams, too.
Enjoy third place next year, Mets fans.
Behind who? The Nats I assume would be one team, but it’s not like the NL East is possibly the worst/least competitive division in the league right now. The Braves and Phillies are rebuilding, so its unlikely, but possible, they could be contenders. The Marlins are a mess every year so contending isn’t a guarantee for them either. Even with their restricted spending and curious signings that didn’t address needs/holes, the Mets are still in good position to finish 2nd in the NL East.
Yeah, Cespedes’ sub-.600 postseason OPS was the biggest reason for them making the playoffs. His defense was fantastic too, as he only cost the Mets like, what, 2-3 runs in the World Series? And don’t forget his baserunning, getting doubled off first to end a comeback attempt. What an invaluable player.
And don’t give me that spiel about how he carried them in the regular season. Facing bottom five competition in a completely healthy lineup was a bigger cause for their success than Cespedes was. Do you only do your sports reading on ESPN?
Whatever your reason for hating Cespedes, no matter how blind your fandom has left you, I watched nearly every game last season, and that guy was HUGE for them. Just the confidence he brought every single day to the hitters around him and to the pitchers knowing that runs would no longer be at a premium, that alone was something they’ll be missing greatly this year. It makes me wonder just how many games you actually watched. He had a clutch homer or hit in seemingly every game for a good 2-3 week span at one point. But you’re probably the type of person who loved seeing Campbell and Mayberry Jr. in the heart of the lineup simply because they had a Mets uniform on and to you that meant they were great guys. Please give Cespedes his due credit for legitimizing that lineup even while going cold for most of the post season. Something guys like Wright and Duda clearly could not do when the games started to really matter
I watched nearly every game as well, and attended every single game in Atlanta in September, two of the games Yo homered in. I’m not disputing how good he was. He was phenomenal during that little stretch. But if you really think a one month run against the worst competition in the MLB (14 of his 17 HRs as a Met came against the Rockies, Phillies and Braves, 1 other came off of the trainwreck that was Drew Storen) is indicative of the type of player Yo is, you’re ignoring the rest of his career. He’s an above average guy, but he just doesn’t make enough consistent contact or walk enough to validate these claims that he’s a “game changer.” NO ONE was calling him that before that ridiculous month-long stretch with the Mets. There’s a reason the Mets aren’t paying him like a superstar…. because he’s only produced like a superstar for ONE MONTH IN HIS ENTIRE CAREER.
He simply isn’t a 6-7 WAR player, and he’s not a CF, which is where the Mets will play him. If he could play CF at an even average level, I’d probably throw 5 years/100 mil at him. But he’s a sieve out there. Add to that his uncharacteristically high BABIP and a HR/FB rate that will undoubtedly regress, and you have an above average player. Nothing more.
Steamer’s projections (granted, you can’t put all that much stock into them) has Cespedes’ 2016 looking like this: .266/.312/.473, 111 wRC+ with 27 homers and a 3.1 WAR. Would you give that player 6/140 (aka, 1/6 of the Mets’ budget)?
mets were never seriously interested in Yoenis.
I heard the mets excuse for not spending was there weren’t any true centerfielders that blew them away. I feel the real reason goes something along the lines of 7.5 MM for Colon.
What true CF is worth what they’d cost?
Fowler at 4/50ish, while also surrendering their first rounder for the second straight year? The same Fowler who has averaged a bit over -11 DRS in CF the last four seasons.
Span, who wants a long term deal coming off a very concerning surgery AND no other CF to take time away from him (which the Mets have in Lagares)?
Cespedes? Can’t play CF and is going to cash in tremendously because of a one month stretch.
Who else really is there that’s worth what they’d cost? No one. Bart has nothing to do with their budget for the OF. If anything, the De Aza signing is a bigger factor.
The problem with not signing Cespedes is that we have no real threats anywhere in their lineup. Maybe the Mets thought that depth was the reason why they had douche success in the second half but it wasn’t. Cespedes got hot and opposing pitchers feared facing him with runners on. Those hitting before him and after him saw a lot more fastballs and pitches In the zone because he was also a threat to steal .Now while it’s possible the Mets can have 7+ players that hit double digit hrs this season none of those guys will shake a pitcher up like Cespedes did. There are no power bats coming up through the system any time soon and they already moved their expendable assets last season in deals including the trade for Cespedes . So how and when do they resolve the issue of not having a power RH bat ??
They could still trade some sort of Wheeler/Montero/Nimmo to get a bat. They have different values, but are young enough to be valued as prospects still.
Why are the White Sox in on Cespedes as their LF. They have Melky playing LF currently. Now if he is getting moved to DH.. Where does LaRoche play?
We knew this already so stop making it into a story. Heyman and co. just want to make it into something because of the recent de Aza signing which was just a Kirk replacement (upgrade, too) and wanted to make that into a story too to lash out at the Mets.
I don’t understand people freaking out and hopping on the “Mets are cheap” bandwagon. If Cespedes was the player they needed, I’m sure they’d be signing him. It’s not for a lack of funds (maybe it factors in but it isn’t the main deterrent), it’s just a bad fit for the team.
Cespedes is an elite fielding LF who depends a lot on his power and has no on-base skills, coming off a career season in a contract year that was buoyed by fluky, unsustainable rates which mostly came during a little over a month span against about the worst competition you could face. When you put him in CF, where the Mets would need him, his defense falls apart due to his lack of range and atrocious route-reading, When he faces all star caliber pitching, he’s very clearly overmatched (see: 2015 playoffs). He’s still a good player, probably 3-4 WAR, and maybe he “figured it out” as I’ve read so often from people trying desperately to make the case for a guy that is going to be overpaid for what we’ve come to expect from him, but it’s more likely that he just feasted on bad pitching in extremely hitter friendly parks.
If he wasn’t going to cost an upwards of $100 mil over at least 5 seasons, I may be okay with the idea of bringing him back. But when you look at what he’s reportedly been asking (which is why NO OTHER TEAM has signed him yet) and pair it with his career stats minus his fluky Mets tenure and fit with the Mets, it just doesn’t make sense. Do you other Mets’ fans really want a 34 year old Cespedes making $22 mil to be the reason they don’t resign a Harvey or deGrom? Didn’t think so.
The book on Cespedes is deep enough that nobody is going to pay him based on a few months of one season. The reality is he’s going to get paid as a power-hitting outfielders at his age get paid. We could argue about whether that skill is overvalued in the game — but whether it is has long been treated as a premium skill, not so much.
That’s all I’m saying. My point might have gotten lost, but Yo is very good. But he’s looking to get paid at a borderline elite rate, and he just isn’t worth it. No one was even considering him for $100 mil before this season, yet a one month run against minor league caliber pitchers makes him a $100+ mil guy? Please.
Paying a 30 year old LF 20+ mil for at least half a decade who’s only above average offensive skill is his power has NEVER worked out well before, so I don’t see why people will think it will now.
The elite rate is inflating year after year, and so is the price of everyone else. I suspect he will get what he is seeking, or somewhere very near that upscale neighborhood. Arguing that he is not worth that much or that the contract is unlikely to work out is kind of besides the point. Someone will probably pay it. I’m always surprised when others are so surprised when it happens.
Oh, I’m sure he’ll get his money. Some team (I’m guessing Baltimore or LAA) will get desperate and take the plunge. My argument isn’t necessarily against Cespedes the player, and lesser players are getting paid like all stars regularly now, my argument is against Cespedes being a fit for the Mets.
Also, this “Mets have no offense” narrative is ridiculous too. They may not have a ton of big name guys or star caliber boppers, but they still have a good amount of very good hitters. Mets with 130+ wRC+ in 2015: Granderson, d’Arnaud, Duda, Conforto, Wright. Throw in Walker (career wRC+ of 114) to effectively replace Murph’s offense and upgrade his defense, as well as Cabrera (103 career wRC+) who has a worst case scenario of about average offensive production for a SS. Flores and Tejeda also gave league-average offensive production for SS’ last year. They also have Nimmo and Cecchini waiting in AAA if they need them. I understand the concern, but I also see an offense ten times better than the start of last year that, if it even produces average offense, will be carried by the dominant pitching. These players could get hurt and/or totally regress, but so could any other player, so etching that prediction in stone is just wrong.
Sounds like the Orioles are the front runners
How can this be a headline every other day? They have said this from the time they traded for him…
Maybe a Mets fan can answer a question for me? How long has Moreno owned the Mets? It was 6 or 7 years the Mets had one of the top five largest payrolls in baseball and now its difficult for the Mets FO to even restock the vending machines. Is this a different FO?
Not a Mets fan but I can tell you that Moreno has never owned the Mets. The Fred Wilpon is the majority owners of the Mets. He acquired the franchise in 2002. He has sold some interest in the club and is willing to sell even more.
The Mets payroll has fluctuated since Wilpon took over. They have historically been on the higher side (though not the Yankees/Red Sox level even at their peak). They also have had some lean years (really since 2012 to present).
Alderson was brought in for the 2011 season. He has overseen the transformation of the club from the high payroll team of 2011 through the rebuild. He took over from Omar Minaya.
Of course, the Angels have Moreno. They appear to be far more financially constrained than the Mets are today. This is due in large part to bad contracts/trades. 3 huge mistakes in particular – the Vernon Wells trade and the signing of Pujols and Hamilton. Without those three deals, this is a very different team with more financial flexibility. To compensate for the bad deals the Angels have been forced to trade some of their best minor league talent. They are now saddled with maybe the worst minor league system in baseball.
The Mets ownership was also caught up in the Bernie Madoff financial scandal and lost a big chunk of money about 5 or 6 years ago. Not coincidentally, that’s when they stopped spending as much on payroll.
Seems like a lot of baseball fans are jaded. I’m not a mets fan and even I saw this playing out just like it did. They showed interest in Cespedes but never had any real intention on signing him. The Mets have the best pitching staff in baseball. Those starters are all young work horses that can flat out pitch. They lose in the World Series and in the off season they lose 2 of their top 3 offensive players and to replace them they get an often injured second baseman and the hope that the rest of the crew can pick up what they lost. If Wright and Walker are on the field together for 30 games I will be stunned. The Mets are cheap people. They play in New York City and had a winning team go to the World Series and instead of investing the added revenue back into the team like the Cubs did they sit back and watch other teams get better. They can’t expect the Nationals to have as many injuries this year and with the Nats also have a competent manager they should be a better team. I get that they decided to let Conforto play left but they never looked to upgrade at any other position.
LOL, in what world is Dusty Baker a “competent manager?”
Also, you can’t bring up the Nats’ injury woes without mentioning the Mets’. Duda missed time, Muph missed time, Wright and d’Arnaud missed essentially the entire season, Cuddyer missed time. That’s just the offense, and regardless of what you think of those players, they’re massive improvements over the replacements, such as Eric Campbell, John Mayberry, Darrell Ceciliani, Kevin Plawecki, and Captain Kirk. Pitching injuries include Wheeler, Matz, Mejia (before the suspension), Blevins, Edgin, and Montero among other less important pieces.
Also, how is Neil Walker injury prone? He’s averaged 135 games and 562 plate appearances per season since he took over full time for the Pirates. He hasn’t had under 530 plate appearcnes in a season since his first season, 2010.
Please, enough with the false narratives.
It seems the Mets are putting a lot of faith in Conforto. Not the worst idea but still troubling to not have a backup plan. Pearce would be a decent signing.
Still, Cabrera is an upgrade and Walker may turn out to be one as well. Their biggest worry in my eyes is the health of their pitching staff.
Wow, rationality. A much welcomed sight. As much as I love Conforto, it is a bit scary that it’s all on him in LF next year. I have total faith considering how brilliant he was in his MLB stint this year, but anything can happen with a rookie/sophomore. I’m also very much hoping for a Pearce signing, at the very least he can add some pop and versatility to the lineup.
People have totally discounted the Cabrera and Walker moves, but they’re the kind of depth moves that successful teams make. They may not move the neede much, but if nothing else, they have an insurance policy in place in case of any injuries.
I’m amazed at how the Wilpon’s continue to operate. They have the best starting 5 pitchers in the game; maybe the best ever. They have a window of maybe 3 or 4 years before all will be gone. They’re never signing any of them.
So for this short period of time they need to surround these aces with a couple of Major League hitters. Both Murphy and Cespedes their best hitters are now gone. Why? Because they won’t pay them or anyone.
This is the worst ownership of all time. They should be forced to sell the team or fans should blackball coming to CitiField. What a disgrace!
LOL. Murph is an above average hitter who is one of the worst defenders in the game at the positions he plays. His defensive woes have blown as many games as his bat has helped win. He was barely the Mets’ fifth best hitter last year, let alone their best – in fact, factor in all players with at least 170 plate appearances and Murph had the 7th highest wRC+ this past season for the Mets.. They currently have a top 30 pick for him, and replaced him with a better overall player who has also provided more combined value in his 6 full-time seasons (2.7 fWAR per year) than Murph has in his six full-time seasons (2.2 fWAR per year). Plus, with replacing Murph with Walker by trading Niese, they opened up more room for other depth moves (regardless how you feel, Cabrera and De Aza > Ruben and Kirk) as well as gives the Mets another chance at a compensatory pick next year when Walker becomes a free agent. Throwing a tantrum because the Mets replaced Murph with a better player AND got an extra first rounder AND gave themselves more room financially is just ridiculous.
The Wilpons are awful, I’m not arguing for them. But the front office has made some shrewd moves this offseason and are staying away from the big money, long term contracts for a reason – a lack of fit and/or lack of value.
You mention the fact that they probably won’t be able to pay their pitchers (the Dodgers couldn’t afford to keep all of this current staff together) but then want the Mets to give into Cespedes’ insane demands that would have him making $20+ mil when guys like Harvey and deGrom are up for extensions.
Be consistent, man. Think long term if you’re going to complain about the long term implications.
The Cardinals need him. They don’t have enough proven offensive players. Too many question marks. This one player would change all of that.