Second baseman Neil Walker will accept the Mets’ qualifying offer for the 2017 season, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Walker is now under control for 2017 at the set rate of $17.2MM and cannot be traded next year until June 15 without his consent.
Though that locks in Walker’s salary for the coming season, he and the Mets are still exploring mutual interest in a lengthier pact, according to Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter). It was reported over the weekend that the sides had yet to engage in “substantive” chats about a long-term arrangement, but it seems that could still be explored over the winter and spring to come.
By taking the one-year payday, Walker joins Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies in declining an opportunity to test the open market in preference of the security of the QO cash already on the table. Of course, both players had a chance to speak with other organizations before making their decisions, so they had at least a strong idea of the interest elsewhere.
Both unquestionably would have done better as true free agents, but entering the market after rejecting a qualifying offer would have required any signing team to part with a valued draft choice to add them. Even with the draft compensation attached, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted Walker to land three years at a $36MM guarantee. But there aren’t a lot of big spenders in search of a second baseman, and numerous intriguing trade targets also cloud the market, so there was a fair bit of risk involved.
Right up until the point that Walker’s season ended with back surgery, he had seemed a near-certain bet both to receive and reject a qualifying offer. But that situation halted his year and added some uncertainty, which may well have played into the decision. Indeed, it was not even clear that the Mets would issue the offer, though Walker seemed to progress well and is expected to be a full go for 2017.
The 31-year-old switch-hitter fit in well in New York, where he spent the 2016 season after being acquired from the Pirates as the replacement for the departing Daniel Murphy (who rejected a QO from New York this time last year). Over 458 plate appearances, he slashed a robust .282/.347/.476 with 23 home runs. That tied his career-best output in the long ball department despite the fact that he only played in 113 games.
For the Mets, it’s a good outcome. The team would have faced some uncertainty at second base without Walker, and might have been ended up taking on a longer-term commitment or giving up assets to strike a trade. He’ll play nearly everyday, though the right-handed-hitting Wilmer Flores (or another utility player) could spell him at times against left-handed pitching.
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That being said, Walker raked against southpaws in 2016 despite historically faring much better against right-handed pitching. He also made strides with the glove, at least in the eyes of defensive metrics. Walker frequently received rather poor marks, but last year UZR graded him as a high-quality fielder and DRS rated him as average. If he can keep up those trends, he’ll likely represent a strong value for the Mets once again in 2017.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Good decision, Neil.
I wonder if the Mets are happy about it.
Probably. If he has a good year then for sure.
So much for the Angels getting him
Dammit!
The three remaining angel fans are crying into their beers right about now haha.
Don’t know if you would have ever gotten him to sign with west coast team with his extended family on east cost.
It’s all good in Anaheim. Angels got dem highly regarded arms in AAA next year lol.
halosheaven.com/2016/11/14/13627070/angels-notes-i…
An A’s fan trying to talk smack. That is funny. If the A’s would have had Trout instead of the Angels, he would be a Yankee by now. Because the A’s never keep good players. And the A’s would have the shaft in the trade as well.
You say that and yet, Trout gonna go to the Yanks in two years anyways lol. The angels are bad now but when Trout leaves and you’re still paying 40yr old PooHoles 30 mil annually, that’s going to be fantastic =)
A’s fans need to not talk about other teams being bad. they are and always will be irrelevant with the things they’ve been doing lately
A’s fans should know all about poo – the dugouts swim in it.
If you are gonna talk smack, know the facts first…Trout is signed through the 2020 season.
At least we had a better record than chokeland lol at least you have the warriors and raiders(oh wait…)
Glad to have him back!
Me, too! That’s great news.
I’m glad, too.
Great guy, good player.
But, the Pirates never signed him because of his back.
So, he was smart to wait to try to hit the market healthy.
I don’t it was the back that lead to trade – it was the cost..
To Steve Adams:
Mets would have had no problem filling the position in-house with plenty options including Flores, Reyes, Rivera, Reynolds and perhaps later in the season – Cecchini.
Mets however are thrilled Walker’s back.
I wrote that, not Steve. There are options, yeah, but they aren’t very good ones. Flores/Reyes platoon would work, but they are better suited and more valuable being deployed in other spots.
Met’s fans be like bigmommamemes.com/u071/af06adb6-e2be-4517-88ff-0b4…
Yikes, this is bad news if you want Cespedes back. According to Sandy’s Philosophy of Almost Coming close but never quite paying for it, this will reduce the likelihood of Yoenes returning. $17 million dollars has to come out of someone else’s hide.. Dont forget Arb salaries foe Degrom, Addison reed and the others.
Colon and Niese are off the books. That alone is about 20M. Walker’s QO takes 5M of that. 15M for arb, if that much, and now you make the decision if you’re going to go after Cespedes. 27.5M was paid…offer that for 5 years and they may be in range. Grandy and Bruce are off the books next year, so that’s another 28M in the pot for the pitchers.
Winter optimist.
Good analysis. I don’t think this affects Cespedes signing. Mets knew going in that walker was possibly returning. Plus they already were willing to pay 3 for 75 million.
Maybe they can work something out with Bobby Bonilla. Perhaps stretch his pay out over another 20 years.
Mistake on the Part of the Mets , (Again) !
Disagree. 9 times out of 10, a player in this situation (in this horrible FA market no less) rejects the QO, tests the market, and probably scores a 3 year deal at decent aav. Yeah it sucks for the Mets to carry this risk on the books but I don’t think you can call them offering the QO a mistake.
The QA is determined by taking the average of all the highest salaries in baseball. which is 17.2 million. Walker and others are not in that category and he is coming off injury. So good for him, but he isn’t a 17 million dollar player One thing the Mets don’t need is another question mark in their players, they have the walking wounded to begin with. I would rather have a player like Fowler or Reddick for 15 million for 4 years in the outfield.
He may or may not be a $17 million dollar player, that is going to be decided by his health more than his talent. That being said, even when you overpay for a player who accepts the QO it is only a one year commitment and the roster remains flexible moving forward. Especially considering the Mets best prospect (Amed Rosario) is coming fast and will be in AAA this season. He would push Cabrera to 2B, as they have him on what appears to be a bargain team option for $8.5 million in 2018. They also have Cecchini in the middle infield picture as well so this gives two good young players another year to develop.
Over a full season, Walker was a 5.3 fWAR player last year, that’s definitely worth $17M. You need those. At worst, he’s a 2.5-3.5 WAR guy, those are also arguably worth that much. Walker’s a good player coming off a career year, Mets should be excited.
No at worst he’s David Wright, no worry they get 85 from the insurance!
Walker 5.3 WAR that’s Arenardo, Pedroia, Murphy, Kinzler, and Dozier. I don’t think so, even if he’s healthy.
Mixed bag for the Mets. Puzzling for Walker. If his back goes out, he loses out on some decent security. In this market, someone would have given him 3 or 4 years.
Not sure if you can blame the Mets for offering the QO. Walker was coming off a terrific season (shortened but still), so all signs pointed to him testing the market and getting a decent offer. But now the Mets have decent risk on their hands. If Walker gets injured before he’s eligible to be traded, that’s $17MM down the drain. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.
maybe walker will make a come “back”
If the Wilpons do not revert back to the Coupons, certainly makes them deeper by presumably putting Reyes on the BENCH which is crazy since he is a better option than Wright. I figured they would just move Jose to 2B,
17.4M is a BOAT-LOAD of money for a over 30 year old about to have back surgery, something I can talk as an expert on as I have had 3, and when they were in my playing days, it TOTALLY changed my game, range, swing, and power.
They have 2 things to do, MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH to resign Yo or the entire lineup will have less HRs than Cespedes and Harper or Cespedes and Headley (assuming DC and the Bronx are the two most likely to sign him based on Vegas odds).
Yo is +120 to stay with the Mets and +200 to land in DC and +800 to go to the Bronx.
I doubt he would be a Yankee, as the neon arm sleeve, smoking in the tunnel between innings will not fly in the Yankee organization.
So I am a bit worried that paying someone whose FMV is really more like 8M a year, NOT more than double, that they won’t go the extra mile for Yo.
Yo costs 4 years 115-120M, which is basically just extending his current salary another 4 years, AND HE WOULD STILL BE YOUNGER AT THE END THAN GRANDERSON WHEN THE METS SIGNED HIM.
Well I got that one right, but I missed on Bautista when I said “To me personally, I’d agree that Walker and Bautista SHOULD accept. I’m not sure however that they will accept.”
I’d like to see Walker return and have a decent season for the Mets.
I HOPE YOU ARE RIGHT! But 5 years of being in the bottom 75% in payroll when they play in the biggest market with LOYAL fans. If they LOSE Yo, the hit at the gate will probably equal what it would cost him to lock him at age 30-34. Beltran got 7 years and looking back it was a great investment. Even if they give Yo another 4 years with an option, that only gets him to age 34/35. The Nats will open at 5/140, no doubt, same with San Fran. I think the Mets will never go more than 4 with an option. He would probably take maybe 10% less. If SF doesn’t go 6 years $180, they should bring him back.
Wright+Duda maybe be a negative to the lineup as I trust Reyes-Loney on the corners more. Walker puts Reyes on the bench, and I still believe his enthusiasm, and ability to still swipe bags. I DONT want Grandy leading off again as he was on FIRE when they dropped him to 5 or anywhere BEHIND Cespedes.
My point is Cespedes affects not just his production, he affects whoever is in the 3 and 5 holes. They can survive with Grandy in CF as Yo is more injury prone in CF and probably will NOT return if he is asked to play CF on a regular basis. Maybe once every 10 days.
Not sure about Washington making any offers at all. They are having (MASN) money issues of their own right now, they’re not on austerity but their GM has said they may have to sit this FA season out, in terms of big multi year deals. They are also back loaded up to their teeth with the Scherzer and Strasburg contracts, I don’t see them as a suitor although I could be wrong. A big contract offer to Cespedes would mean that Harper is 100% gone so there’s that too.
This pic makes him look nutty
So Walker gives them the power numbers not too many second basemen show. That will allow them to use Flores as needed where needed even at 3rd, or have him split some time at second and split some time at third with TJ Rivera.
Smart move by Walker. He locks up high AAV for this year, doesn’t have to rush back if he has a health set-back, and if he’s going to be FA next year, he will be judged by his fully healthy portion of the year. What he’s done is earn half of a 3/36 contract in a single year. Unless he absolutely craters,. he will get more than that after the season. Or, the Met’s can extend him.
I think this is great. The Mets can’t afford long term commitments anymore. They get a known quantity without the commitment. They also have the depth to have Reyes and Flores sub for Wright and Walker if/when they get hurt.
You have to look at replacement cost. A guy like Brandon Phillips would’ve cost a prospect and the 1 year deal that was close to the QO value. A Sean Rodriguez probably would’ve required a two year deal with possibly a higher total commitment than the $17M. Utley was probably never a realistic option for several reasons.
Ultimately I could’ve lived with Reyes/Flores at 2B but this is a nice turn of events.
bummer.
I’m a Mets fan. I’ll take his 27 HR over 160 games assuming he’s healthy.
Would have been fine with Rivera/Reyes platoon at 2B