6
2010
Mets Always Seem To Pay More For Less (Updated)
An article by 
Last season, the Mets paid catcher Brian Schneider $10.3 million dollars for the 2008-2009 seasons. In those two seasons, Schneider compiled a total of 505 at-bats in which he batted .243 with 12 home runs, 62 RBIs and 42 runs scored. He has since signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for a two year $2.5 million dollar deal or about $8 million dollars less than what the Mets paid him.
Even Bengie Molina, who slugged 20 home runs and drove in 80 runners, signed for less than what the Mets paid Brian Schneider last season. In fact, the $4.5 million that Molina got from the Giants was the biggest annual salary of an catcher in the free agent market.
Jason Kendall (Royals) and Ivan Rodriguez (Nationals) both followed Molina with contracts that will pay them an annual salary of $3.0 MM, and Miguel Olivo (Rockies) is close behind after netting $2 MM.
The bottom has dropped out for backup catchers as well.
Last season, the Mets paid Ramon Castro $2.5 million dollars to backup Brian Schneider. Castro just re-signed with the White Sox for a $1 million dollar deal, less than half what the Mets paid him.
Now you may look at the contract that the Mets gave backup Henry Blanco and think the Mets got themselves a bargain at $750K for one year. But a closer look at the contract and all the hidden bonuses tells a completely different story.
I decided to do some math regarding Blanco’s contract based on the following information from the esteemed Cots Contracts.
1 year/$0.75M (2010) signed by NY Mets as a free agent 12/3/09
Performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 60, 65, 70, 75 and 80 starts; $75,000 each for 85, 90, 95, 100 starts.
Roster bonuses: $5,000 each for days 1-80; $4,500 each for days 81-135; $3,500 each for days 136-150.
* Full $0.7M in roster bonuses to be paid if Blanco is released for any reason other than right shoulder injury
Lets assume that Blanco stays healthy for the entire season. Now that it has become clear that the Mets will not add another starting catcher, lets also assume that as half of a Blanco/Santos tandem, Blanco should easily start in 75 games.
Base Salary – $750,000
Performance Bonus – $200,000 (Corrected)
Roster Bonus – $700,000 ($400,000 for first 80 days. $247,500 for next 55 days. $52,500 for next 15 days.)
Total salary: $1.65 million dollars ( If he appears in 85 games it jumps to $1.8 million dollars)
Big difference, huh?
By the way, did you notice the clause that if the Mets trade or release Blanco, they must pay him the full $700K roster bonus as long as it’s not because of a pre-existing shoulder injury…
If you could have gotten Miguel Olivo for only $500 K more, don’t you think the Mets should have absolutely jumped at the opportunity?
Olivo batted .249 (Blanco .235) with 23 home runs and 65 RBI’s last season and is seven years younger than Blanco and calls just as good a game.
It seems like just another case of the Mets paying more for less.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals | 26 | 18 | .591 | - |
| Braves | 26 | 20 | .565 | 1.0 |
| Mets | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Marlins | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 23 | 23 | .500 | 4.0 |
Last updated: 05/25/2012
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Not sure why you are blaming the Mets for Schneider’s contract when they only traded for him and it was the Nats who signed him to it. And do you know for a fact that none of the other contacts you compared Blanco’s have similar performance bonuses?
Yeah Joe D just liked to whine and complain about anything he can find.
Aye, why dont you defend all the positive pieces I write when I’m being labeled as a Mets fan apologist? The truth is that I am balanced and fair in my criticism and praise, but each one brings out the detractors.
Yeah def can’t call Joe D a whiner. He writes way to many Mets fluff pieces for my taste. Kidding. Seriously though, Joe has written several positive Mets pieces on this site. And other than the Bay signing there hasn’t been any positive news to write about.
But yeah he’s being to negative. Joe why don’t you write a piece about how great an owner Jeff Wilpon is. And that the way he runs the Mets should be a model for all franchises. We’re lucky to have this guy steering the ship. I think us fans should come together and do something nice for Jeff. Maybe do a “Jeff Wilpon Day” to celebrate all the joy he’s brought Mets fan.
You may not frequent this site as much as some of the regulars here, but if you did you would know how inaccurate your comment is. Joe might be the most positive Mets blogger on the web. He’s the one that usually calls out other sites for being too negative. You may want to reconsider your assessment.
I frequent this site daily.I think it has some interesting articles and perspectives SOMETIMES, and its pretty good to keep up with mets rumors. Been following for a years actually.
Its not just Joe D, but the site in general has become a bashing site for mets and mets management in general. Thats not what I came here to read.
And I have commented several times ony our positive informative pieces, but lately, they have just been complaints and negative stuff.
One of the reasons I liked this site was because it wasnt people like matthew cerrone. Dont get me wrong, I read his site, but I do not like his opinions most of the time, and do think he is on mets payroll. One minute he says something, the next minute he takes it back and agrees or disagrees with it depending on the perception of it.
I understand its being a frustrating last two years, but do not think the mets should be bashed constantly by their own fanbase. The media does do that a lot.
Yes, I am sure and checked it as I always do when doing a comparative piece.
Using wRC+ the past two years Blanco had seasons of 96 and 87 while Olivo had seasons of 102 and 88. Not much of a difference there. Also according to this attempt to judge C defense
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2009/10/13/1082419/2009-catcher-defense-filling-in Blanco is much better than Olvio.
Right after posting I realized that Blanco did get significantly less PA than Olivo which makes it a bit more difficult to judge. I think that Blanco will have a “good” year barring injuries. However, I do believe in general the Mets tend to pay more for less, just not really in this case in my opinion.
Good points, but while Olivo was signed as a starting catcher, Blanco was signed as a backup.
Well I don’t know about Olivo being signed as a starter. I think he’ll be given the shot but Chris Iannetta is superior in both sides of the game. Blanco was signed as back up but he may end up getting more starting time than Olivo with the way things are going. I would personally love to trade for Chris Iannetta but no chance that happens.
Catch,1B, and 2B,does anyone think we can compete? And oh yeah, Pagan in CF instead of Beltran. It’s going to be another long season unless most of the if’s come through.
I dont see how you came across your computations. Does he get $5,000 for the period of 1-80 games? That’s the way I read it. You calculated it as $5k for each day and I dont believe thats the case.
The calculations are correct. Actually, if you look at the asterick by Cots Contract’s info, he explains the clause where all $700G is payable if he is traded or released.
remember, they first agreed to pay him 1.5 guaranteed… it was only after concern for his injury that they renegotiated half of the contract as incentives
aye, I totally agree with you on MB. What really drives me nuts is when he starts a rumor like Barajas yesterday and he gets his name splattered on rotoworld or MLBTR. Then the very next day he debunks his own rumor. Plus as you say he flip flops on what he says worse than a politician.
You have already answered someone else that “the calculations are correct” so I apologize for my lack of understanding when I ask for clarification on the point “Total salary: $1.55 million dollars ( If he appears in 85 games it jumps to $1.675 million dollars).”
The reason I ask is because your quote is “appears in” and the contract refers to “starts.” I apologize if I’m just missing something you’ve already explained.
For me the bottom line is, for less than $2 million the Mets got a back up catcher with a stellar defensive reputation who was specifically recruited last year to the Padres by Kevin Towers and Paul DePodesta to be a tutor for Nick Hundley on the recommendation of Greg Maddux for whom he served as a personal catcher for many years. He is here now at least in part at the request of Johan Santana whose career numbers with Blanco behind the plate are better than his “normal” career numbers. So hopefully Blanco is here to tutor Thole and be Santana’s personal catcher. Frankly if Johan wants a $2 million security blanket I have no issue with that.
GravediggerHebner, with regard to the roster bonus it just goes by days on 25 man roster or DL. The performance bonus is based on starts. I figured he should be good for 75 if the catching situation remains unchanged. I don’t have a problem with Blanco and agree with your rationale, but being that his days are now behind him, I didn’t see why the Mets felt it neccesary to almost triple his 2009 salary.
Tripled? Is that a record? I never heard of a 38-year old baseball player getting triple what he made at 37. Yikes!
Joe yours are fair, rational and reasonable points, and thank you for taking the time to help me understand the contract machinations.
Wow, sometimes I am amazed that you all don’t see the truth. The catching position has been set for months. A platoon of Blanco and Santos in the majors and Coste mentoring Thole in Buffalo. There was never a serious offer for Molina. Are you people that easy to fool? Wake up!
If Blanco was brought here with the notion the he would mentor Santos and Thole, then I’m all for it. I like the thought process. Remember what Ricky Henderson did for Roger Cedeno in 1999? It was like magic. Mentoring is very, very important.
I would like to believe that Santos and Thole could be brought along with Blanco as the mentor. I really like Santos’ grit and ability to hit to all fields and bear down at the plate during crunch time. Thole is just a hitting machine. He has gap power that I don’t think most fans appreciate.
My expectations for 2010 are not very high. If we can duplicate 1984 – as a team on the rise – then I’ll be very happy. I’m really glad we didn’t overpay for an over-the-hill catcher (Molina) and I’m really glad we didn’t overpay for middle-of-the rotation pitchers when we are stocked with them, anyway.
What I’d like from our regulars:
A healthy Reyes and Pagan
A productive Bay, Wright & Francouer
A developing Santos & Thole under Blanco’s tutelage
A determined Murphy & Castillo
A solid contribution from Chris Carter & Gary Matthews, Jr.
A mid-June return by Beltran
And…guys from AAA knocking at the door.
What I’d like from our pitchers:
A healthy Santana, Maine, Ollie, Niese, Nieve & Escobar
A solid rebound by Pelfrey & Parnell
A toned-down K-Rod
A lefty complement to Feliciano
That’s an awful long list of wants. I hope you won’t be disappointed when it blows up.
Let me understand this bonus situation with Blanco. 1. He gets an extra $700K if he hangs around on the roster and doesn’t even play. 2. Should the Mets cut him, his bonus $ immediately go in the money and get paid out. So what kind of incentive pay is that? He gets the $700K one way or the other and if he actually plays, he can get up to another $200K for performance. The only thing variable there is the $200K, everything else is guaranteed. Oh yeah, if his shoulder sucks and they cut him for that, the roster incentive doesn’t get paid. So this is simply shoulder protection for the Mets. Essentially Omar has painted the Mets into a corner with Blanco’s pay with an out depending on the state of his shoulder. But if his hamstring blows out, he’s fine and the Mets pay out the roster bonus even though he’s DL’d for the season. Sounds like basically a stupid deal for the Mets, but probably the only one that’s acceptable to the player’s union. Blanco is essentially to be paid for doing nothing, but hanging around. He gets $1.55M for doing nothing and up to $200K for actually playing games. Sweet!