Can The Mets Spend? Should The Mets Spend If They Can?
Rob Piersall wrote an article over at metsmerizeonline.com detailing the Mets plans for the off season regarding spending. There is a lot of money that came off the books this past year ($50M). That said, statements by Mets GM Sandy Alderson seem to indicate there is some question as to whether the money will be re-invested back in the team.
Let us be clear. The Mets over the last 7 years have not been the biggest of spenders. They went through a rebuild which usually is accompanied by a reduction in payroll. Of course, the Mets situation was magnified because of the Wilpons' interaction with one, Bernie Madoff.
The truth is we really have no idea what the Mets financial situation is. With the Wilpons owning many different companies as it pertains to the baseball operations (Mets, Citi Field, SNY), it is hard to know where debt is and where it is not. We know they leveraged themselves greatly building Citi Field with bonds that were refinanced just a couple years ago. Two successful seasons helped attendance and SNY viewership but who knows how much in hock they still are?
Which brings me to the point of this article. From a financial standpoint, maybe the Wilpons cannot afford much of a payroll. Maybe the cash flow of the Mets is so poor that they are literally operating a close to break even. Of course, if this is true, the fact that SNY pays below market rates for carrying the Mets to alleviate the revenue sharing amount shows the shell game they are playing.
However, if the funds are there, Alderson is confronted with an interesting dilemma. This free agent class is awful. The talent is one of the worst that I can remember. The Mets have holes to fill yet there are not many great options out there. So let us look at what they need to do.
To start, the Mets need a bat. From my perspective, the best bat on the market is J.D. Martinez. I even advocated making him the number 1 target. Here is an article I wrote spelling out my thinking so I will not reiterate it here.
https://steemit.com/mets/@taskmaster4450/ny-mets-top-offseason-priority
This does not mean there are valid reasons for not pursuing Martinez or, even Jay Bruce. To get either of these guys is going to require a 3+ year deal. While there are questions about Michael Conforto, if he is healthy, signing either guy puts him in CF for the next 3 years. Conforto handled himself well in CF yet he is hardly a CF.
Therefore, maybe it makes more sense for the Mets to save some money and sign a guy like Granderson who, in all likelihood, will put up an .800 OPS, play much better defense than Martinez, and will take a one year deal. The last part is of particular importance since next year's FA class is outstanding.
We see the same situation on the IF. The Mets need a 3B and Moose is the best out there. His bat came around the last couple years while his defense sunk. That shouldnt scare the Mets since Alderson undervalues defense. Nevertheless, we are going to see Moose overpaid on a multi-year deal. Nunez ends up in the same boat.
We see the identical situation at 2B, SP, and the BP. The Mets need a mid-rotation starter and that is going to run $12M. They need to spend that. The BP requires more attention. That said, as much as I like Reed, is he worth $10M a year for 3 years? Not if he pitches like he did with the Red Sox. Relievers are an up and down bunch which makes multi-year deals for them very questionable.
I know fans are going to scream for the Mets to spend and many will blast them if they do not. It is a very tricky road when you are looking at hamburger meat in the prime rib section with the finest cuts of meat about to be delivered next week (yes that is a reference to Boras). Do you overpay for the hamburger or wait until the steak arrives? This is the situation Alderson finds himself in.
And to compound his problems, he stated the Mets intention is to content. Hence, he is the one setting the expectations. It is up to him to fulfill them.
This is going to be Alderson's toughest off season since he came to the Mets.
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