6
2012
Stop Dragging My Heart Around…
An article by 
Adam Rubin at ESPN New York again points out why it’s hard to fathom the Mets making any considerable moves of note in light of the undeniable facts of their 2013 payroll obligations:
These six players alone total $79.5 million:
Santana $25.5 million + $5.5 million buyout = $31 million
Bay $16 million + $3 million buyout = $19 million
David Wright $15 million
Frank Francisco $6.5 million
R.A. Dickey $5 million
Jonathon Niese $3 millionAnd that means, on a $100 million payroll, the other 19 players can average no more than $1.08 million a player. (And that’s highly generous figure, since you use more than 25 players during a season because of DL trips. Add to that players such as Ike Davis potentially making $2.5 million to $3 million as a first-time arbitration-eligible player and the money evaporates quickly.)
The minimum salary for 2013 is $490,000.
It’s the reality of this situation that makes it difficult to believe there will be any of the wholesale changes we keep hearing about.
They have four trade chips in Wright, Dickey, Davis and Niese. That’s it. About the only thing Alderson has said that I take at face value is that he won’t trade Wheeler or Harvey. You can bank on that.
But how is he going to fill 15 spots with $10 million dollars?
I say 15 spots because Murphy, Davis, Thole and Parnell will all be tendered and eat up about $10 million in the process.
The math don’t add up. None of this adds up.
You’re gonna have to trade two of the four trade chips just to field a 25-man roster next season. And I believe Ike Davis and R.A. Dickey will be the first ones to go.
Otherwise he has to put Wheeler and Harvey on the table and I just don’t see him doing that.
Numbers don’t lie. So it’s difficult for me to resolve what Alderson is saying about the offseason plan in light of the mounting evidence against him.
It’s impossible for him to execute what he says he will do within the confines of a $100 million dollar payroll budget.
He has to know that, but yet all his assertions go against the natural laws of physics and economics. If Pythagoras were alive, I’m sure he’d agree.
According to my figures and measurements, something’s not adding up…
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 26 | 18 | .591 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 22 | .511 | 3.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 24 | .467 | 5.5 |
| Mets | 17 | 25 | .405 | 8.0 |
| Marlins | 13 | 32 | .289 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/21/2013
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they did say it was 100 million plus or minus. he did say they spent 99 million this year after everything. so i mean if they go to 110, is that a big deal ? i think 110 will be the ultimate number. i dont think the owners will set a hard cap considering that the payroll will drop next year considerably with 50 million with bay and johan and theyll only spend probably half of that with the farm system churning out most of the pitching and there will be viable option in flores and some other prospects. so i dont think this is a story. adam rubin is thinking that there is a hard cap of 100 million. dont think thats the case, it will be fluid from 100-110 depending on trades.
He has a budget of $93-$95 and a cap of $100 that’s already been ascertained. Plus do not forget that includes what is spent on the draft (or not spent as was the case in 2012 where they opted not to spend an allotted $1.2M which they left on the table and now will only have $200K of that to rollover in 2013).
Numbers to lie. Look at DW stats and the impact he had for the ENTIRE season.
While they are not going to add, you do not have to subtract. Here’s why:
Starters
Santana 31MM
Dickey 5MM
Niese. 3MM
Harvey. .5
Gee. .5
Relievers
Francisco 6.5 MM
Parnell. 2MM
Hefner. .5MM
Edgin. .5MM
Carson. .5MM
Acosta. 1MM
Position players
Davis. 4MM
Murphy 2MM
Tejada. .5MM
Wright 15MM
Bay 19MM
Kirk N .5MM
Duda .5MM
Baxter. 1MM
Thole. 1MM
Shoppach. 1MM
Cedeno 1MM
Turner. 1MM
Hairston replacement. 1MM
Works out to around 97 MM. Just accept no real changes this year.
Old School,
I do not think some of the players you have here will make what you have them making.
Acosta, Thole, Turner and even Davis might make about half of what you have them making. That is if they are even on the team next year. Shopach or Thole or both are not going to be here.
It’s a broken record by now. Wright and Dickey, $20 MM. Ike and Niese, maybe $6MM. Santana and Bay, 50MM after next season.
If we can’t win next year, why aren’t we trading Wright and Dickey for more hitting prospects. That freed up 20MM could add some more MLB free agent talent as well. And yes, with the 50MM off the books next year, there’s Sandy Alderson’s precious payroll flexibility, and at the $95-100MM mid-market payroll we seem to want to keep.
The 100 Million is definite a hard cap. Capuano could have been kept for two years 5MM per. They let him go because they could not afford it.
There should be no reason why a big market team would have to operate in such fashion. Even though a few players make for most of the payroll, for a team like the Mets in the tri-state area, keeping the payroll at the (for instance) $125 million or so level would not be an issue.
It is, of course, because of the unusual fiscal hit the Wilpons took outside the organization. And as long as fans can see it in that light, instead of justifying these moves as part of Sandy’s “vision” or that these are moves Sandy would have made anyway even if he had the money to work with.
And if the Mets lost $70 million last year and will lose maybe $20 million this time around, how is ownership able to deal with the double whammy of losing close to $100 million these past two year and being able to begin paying off the debt that is coming up? As some have suggested, it is not because the Wilpons are broke but they do not have the capital resources at the time to operate the club competitively while taking care of that debt. Eventually they may will but that means that in the long term the Wilpons will come out OK in this but that for the next few years the players and the fans will not.
Like I said Yesterday Joey it’s like opening a Pizza Parlor that sells frozen Pizza right next to Ray’s pizza on 11th street!
Hi Metsie,
Actually DiGornio’s supreme pizza ain’t bad for a frozen one.
And in his next post, Joe brought it to our attention how they’ll get the ingredients to at least stay alive – the Wilpons I mean, not the team or the fans.
They could not have done this re-financing without Sandy Alderson handling it for them. That is why he is here.
Agree with all your points here.
I still say if the Wilpons didn’t find themselves in the financial straits they did with the Mets, SA would probably never have been the GM.
Hi Srt,
Of course Sandy wouldn’t. He would still be with the commissioner.
The is the type of individual the Wilpons needed, a graduate of the Harvard School of Law who worked with prestigious law firms on the west coast and handled numerous assignments with major league baseball in matters of contract negotiation, labor management, international affairs, etc. Alderson was the only type of individual who could have pulled off such re-financing agreements while downsizing the organization. Things like this do not happen over night but over long periods of time.
Selig admitted he wanted Alderson to be with the Mets because the Wilpons were victims of a financial fraud and did not bring this upon themselves. His business and legal background (as paraphrased above) kept the business solvent enough for the Wilpons to retain ownership. It won’t lead to resolving their problems but will make the debt situation manageable enough for the Wilpons not having to be forced to sell.
Re-financing and cutting operations to the bare minimum enough for the Wilpons to retain ownership is different than keeping the team competitive. That takes more than keeping operating expenses at bare minimum in order to pay off debt.
We have seen Sandy get caught in his own legal double-talk so often that his credibility has long been in question. And that includes the carefully devised spin that Sandy was hired for his baseball expertise which included his “vision” that the club could not be improved and thus we needed to start over. How else could the Mets justify the fire sale that was coming?
By telling us they hired the one who “revolutionized” the game in Oakland.
Joey D…..How else could the Mets justify the fire sale that was coming?
Exactly what fire sale are you speaking of here? You make it sound like he did what the Marlins did some years ago or what the Red Sox did this year. I’m really not seeing it. The reduction in payroll that’s been effected thus far have been positive moves. I only wish it could continue with unloading Bay and Santana.
Hi Watchman,
Since I was referring to Sandy from the beginning , that includes Beltran, KRod and not re-signing Reyes along with little brushfire sales like not re-signing Chris Capuano (whom Sandy liked but I didn’t). IF – and I mean IF – Sandy was true to his word when he said the money spent on these three would be used to spread out among a lot more others in 2012 – then I would believe they were baseball decisions and not those of cost cutting (i.e., fire sale).
Remember, when he came on board Sandy said it wasn’t the payroll itself as it was how the payroll was un-proportionately centered on just a few players whereas the same resources could be put to better use by acquiring many more good and less expensive players instead. But that was not the case – the money no longer being paid to those three players in 2011 was not used for anything going into 2012 but to reduce payroll.
The spin during the winter of 2010/11 to justify these possible upcoming moves was that by the club no longer retaining these few players we could in return use that savings to invest in even more players in return was for public consumption only.
Why else would others already be preparing themselves for the departures of Wright and Dickey if not for the experiences of the past?
“You make it sound like he did what the Marlins did some years ago or what the Red Sox did this year.”
Nope what Sandy did was worse! By doing it piecemeal and not all at once, he didn’t get a bunch of near ready prospects (in fact to date he got only one) the way those teams did so thier rebuild is accelerated due to the lack of having to wait for draft picks to develop they would have two waves of youth to promote.
Metsie…..
Nope what Sandy did was worse! By doing it piecemeal and not all at once, he didn’t get a bunch of near ready prospects (in fact to date he got only one) the way those teams did so thier rebuild is accelerated due to the lack of having to wait for draft picks to develop they would have two waves of youth to promote.
Actually I think when considering the players the Marlins and Red Sox had to move during the fire sales compared to the Mets, its comparing apples and oranges. They had productive players to move that were still performing effectively. The Mets on the other hand did not. I think they did the best they could with what they had to give up. When you have quality players to move, you get quality in return….its that simple. When you have high salaried garbage to move, then your lucky not to get garbage in return.
Reyes’ departure on the other hand was not the result of a fire sale. He was a free agent that the FO chose not to resign. Was that an indirect salary dump? Yes of course it was but he obviously was not in their plans or vision of the future. Obviously most fans want instant results. The state of this team when the FO took over was not even close to making moves that would transform into an instant winner. This FO office has a vision to build a winning team that will be sustainable year after year like the Braves of the 90′s. Its too early to tell whether or not they will be successful. We will start getting better insight to that when
a) we start seeing homegrown prospects performing solidly at the mojor league level and;
b) the FO starts spending again to compliment the young talent
I think by 2014 we will know the answers to these questions and tell whether this whole Alderson, Riccardi, DiPodesta was just a snow job.
I think your underselling ours and overselling thiers.
Red Sox gave away one really good player and two underperforming expensive guys.
Remember we lost Reyes, Beltran and K-Rod and quite possibly Wright and Dickey next.
If anyone agrees with trading Wright or Dickey for rebuilding purposes then those trades should have been made last year so you got a year closer to the eventual payoff of the kids you hope to get.
And when you look at the current holes we have you have to admit most are SELF INFLICTED holes.
What do we need? Go down the list!
Power RHB OFer – Wasn’t that Beltran?
Bullpen/Closer – What did K-Rod do again?
Leadoff/Speed – What did Reyes do for us when he was here?
We went from needing 1 OF to Three in half a season.
And needing Middle relief to an entire pen.
If this FO trades Wright or Dickey you know what we will get? ANother hole to look for in 2014 at 3B or SP.
So if anyone wants to trade either of those guys well the time to do that was last year so you were at least a year closer to the payoff than you will be if you trade them now.
There is only ONE instance of a fire sale ever working to rebuild a team and that was done by the Marlins, All at Once and all those kids they got made thier return to the WS that much faster because they didn’t have to wait for draft picks to go through the entire system.
The way I look at what Sandy has done he has cut salary but got not payroll flexibility from it…
Traded or let go Three All Starsa and only has Wheeler to show for all of that.
Has created more holes than he has solved and now many are proposing to create some more because they don’t think much of those Minor Leaguers that they keep claiming is the way to rebuild this franchise.
“But how is he going to fill 15 spots with $10 million dollars?”
Do the Math, Listen to what Sandy has said and the answer is easy…
KIDS!
League Minimum kids gets you 20 players for 10 Mil!
I predict that we will not sign BP arms the way we did last year and the shakeup there will consist of all those AAA pitchers we threw out there or have been mentioned as Pen arms. Unless of course we trade some to get some other cheap kid they like more.
The promised shakeup in the OF? Only if a trade is made will a new face appear there but very much more likely that you see Kirk and maybe even Den Dekker trolling the OF.
Sandy has said consistently that a team can’t carry more than 2 big paychecks on the roster. Well I think they are at the point where Wright and Dickey are those two paychecks. The rest is going to be filled in with kids we have or kids we traded what we have to get.
So much for the payroll flexability everyone thought they were getting.
The meta have trade chips. Repeat: the mets have trade chips. You’ve listed four players on the major league squad as their only trade chips. Why? Since when do trades have to only include major leaguers? Actually, most big time players are traded for minor league prospects.
The problem is in actually acquiring someone who fits into their budget. Alderson can easily acquire a great player using some minor league pitching, even without adding a Wheeler or Fulmer in the deal. They have great young arms in their system.
But he’ll have to find a team with a surplus in young, cheap outfield talent that matches up with the Mets young, cheap pitching prospects. The deal San Diego made last off season with the reds stands out.
There must be some teams heavy with young outfielders out there that Sandy can deal with. The Mets have trade chips Joe.
Gorski, Mazzoni, Tapia, Lara, Familia, Mejia, Mateo, Gnoa, Leathersich, Carson…are all attractive arms.
Verret, Koralek, Pill, Holt , Fraser, Goedell are all decent PTBNL candidates. Heck Dillion Gee, despite his injury is an attractive piece.
Point is, they have trade chips despite what Mr. D or anyone else says.
I agree, there are young ready outfielders like Peter Bourjos from Angels, Ben Revere from Twins, Anthony Gose from Toronto and even Emilio Bonafacio from Marlins who might be available due to to many outfielders for their team. All these guys can play CF and lead off.
Trade that young pitching for what?? You’re not getting high impact talent for any of our young pitching not named (Wheeler, Harvey, or Fulmer). If that’s the case, please don’t trade just to trade. If you want impact hitting prospects, you move Wright, Dickey, Ike, or Niese.
Like I said above, Wright or Dickey should be the only trade chips we put out there.
tapia has a lot of value… he throws 95-98 with good command. he could probably get back an above average outfielder.
This isn’t specifically aimed at you Hank so don’t take it too personally.
But I see a lot of people holding Wheeler and Harvey untouchable but can’t wait to get rid of Wright Dickey Ike or Niese…
Well there really is no point in keeping any of them if you intend to trade those guys Wheeler and Harvey are not enough on thier own to win ballgames!
And trading a Flores (IF) for a similar hitting kid in the OF is not a hard deal to make provided the team who needs IF also has a glut of OF!
Madoffenomics!
These guys learned good. The Wilpons remind me of the Three Card Monty guys you run into
in Manhattan. SA makes a great crowd shill BTW. “Hey I just won big time!!!!”
Keep your eyes on the cards folks!
Hank, did you see what the cubs sent the Padres for Anthony Rizzo? The prospect was the equivilant of a Familia type pitching prospect. Rizzo was and is a legit impact talent. Trades can always be made. Sometimes you just need to recognized your strengths, and find a team who happens to be in need of what you have in surplus.
Either way, 2013 is a wash. We must all recognized that. So, that means 2014 is our new goal. Well, by then Dickey surely won’t be the same force he is now. Also, his value will never be this high. So, knowing this, Sandy must trade him for the help at catcher or in the outfield that this team absolutely needs to compete in 2014.
David is different. He’s the franchise presently. Our Seaver. Also, he will be productive still when the Mets are legitimately looking to compete for a division in 2014. He must be signed.
Don’t think they haven’t thought about this very scenario. They have and I think this is the quickest and most coat affective way to move forward while also keeping the fans somewhat happy in the short term.
Remember, they have the depth to survive without Dickey. In ’14, he’ll be nearly 40 and considering what they’ve already paid him, what he’s produced for that cash, and what he could get then via a trade…he is very much the greatest player to come into this franchise in the last five years.
Well, there’s more than one way to skin a cat, no pun intended.
It’s important that the organization does not fall prey to panic moves to accommodate the fan base. We can be competitive next year without altering the roster to a great extent. Sandy will have much more financial flexibility after 2013, so patience is in order. Wright and Dickey certainly should receive new contracts that do not constrain the organization next year.
SP Pool – Dickey, Harvey, Niese, Gee, Santana, Pelfrey, Wheeler, Familia, Mejia, Hefner
Relief Pool – Francisco, Parnell, Rauch, E. Ramirez, Familia, Mejia, Edgin, Carson, Hefner
Infield – Wright, Tejada, Murphy, Davis
Outfield Pool – Duda, Baxter, Niewenhuis, Hairston (?)
Bench Pool – Turner, Baxter, Thole, Cedeno
Catchers – Thole, ShoppachGenerally, we have fewer question marks going into next year as we did last off season. The organization is no longer under the filthy cloud cast by the Madoff scandal. The team’s financial state is stable, if not healthy just yet. Clearly, we are a year away from true financial flexibility.
Our starting pitching and bullpen are more stable than this time last year. We have a much better idea of what we have and what we need, which is very little in this arena. I loved theway his situation was handled mid-season & wish Duda’s situation was handled similarly.
Our infield is very solid. DW and Tejada both had full, healthy seasons. Murphy settled in a 2nd base, worked through 2 slumps and finished strong in the field and at the plate, notwithstanding his subpar series against Miami. One would expect Ike to be pick up from where he left off, and likely hit for a higher average next season.
The outfield and catching positions are truly substandard and that’s where Sandy needs to earn his salary. We could spin trade possibilities until the cows come home – let’s see what he does. It might be interesting.
I regard Terry Collins as a positive influence in this respect. He knows all of the ball players, and they appear to like and respect him. I truly hope the coaches drop an organizational philosophy when it comes to hitting. Let Tejada work the count, but please let Duda attack early and often. None of us can stomach another season of watching fastballs zip over the middle of the plate while a slugger passively looks on.
I think Alderson is learning to trust Met fans a little more. He’s not quite a cryptic when he speaks and he understands Met fans will tolerate growing pains, as long as we’re…growing. He’ll never be Donnie Walsh, but he appears to grasp and implement the imperatives for long-term success.
Hi Tommy2cat,
One thing I never thought this front office would do would be to make a deal to accommodate the fans until I remembered Sandy’s “good day” last winter.
Have to disagree with you about Sandy Alderson understanding what it takes to implement long-term success other than in terms of business. I think he better grasps what fans want to hear and knows how to use that to sidetrack from the reality of the situation.
Too many in MMO who believed Sandy was being honest about his focus being on what was best for the team now concede his focus was what was good for the ownership. Bud Selig always refers to the Wilpons and them being financial victims when talking about why he urged Sandy Alderson to apply and take the job.
Hi Joey – I agree that Sandy doesn’t have the baseball acumen of, say, Pat Gillick. But we trust that he’s not going to squander young talent, pursue players or offer contracts that will hamstring the organization as did his predecessors Duquette and Minaya.
As time goes by, I think we’ll understand better that Sandy’s inaction on Reyes was necessitated by limited funds and ownership preferences, and that he brooked the criticism to take heat off the Wilpons.
Everything is relative – if you want to make a stick longer or shorter, find another stick to compare it to… When we compare where we are from this time last year, man, what a difference! Wright is back to being himself, Dickey is through the roof and both preach loyalty to our organization. Tejada & Murphy are settled in at SS & 2nd base, and Ike appears to have found himself. Our rotation is sound, Parnell and Rauch have taken strong steps forward and we’ve appeared to find usable pieces from within our system to supplement our bullpen needs.
Here’s a thought – we know that 2013′s roster will mimic 2012′s to a good extent. Why don’t we attempt to acquire young RH hitting outfield prospects such as the Giants Gary Brown and Toronto’s Jake Marisnick. It may not take much more that Duda & Mejia to acquire one of the two. If it works, great, and if it doesn’t, we’ll have the financial flexibility to resolve our outfield deficits after 2013.
Sandy’s primary task is to provide an improved version of 2012 for next year, much like we experienced up to the All Star break, but over the course of an entire season. He needs to temper our expectations, much like Donnie Walsh, to enhance his credibility while our current roster develops and our financial situation improves. We’re really not that far off. It’s critical that we maintain a positive attitude as we move forward.
Trading dickey, Ike or Niese does not give you enough financial flexibility to upgrade the team. it is either trade Wright or increase the payroll. If not those two, it will be another year like the last.
i don’t think all of the criticism of Alderson is fair. he is being a good company man, doing his job in a very difficult situation. Our team is broke!! and the bay and johan contracts are killing us.
If one finally accepts that Mets ownership is a) going to do everything it can to keep the franchise and b) is currently unable to invest more money into the team than the total of Mets revenue + SNY profits, then the roughly 100 million $ payroll is something to expect for the next couple of years – unless revenue suddenly picks up with a better product on the field.
However, it doesn’t make sense for ownership to force the current FO into a major rebuilding ( btw, even if it’s never been announced officially, this team basically has essentially been rebuilding over the past couple of years, just not in terms of tearing everything down at once) as it’s in their own interest to have a profitable and good product on the field.
Thus, unless RA and Wright expect to be overcompensated for being patient until there’s plenty of payroll flexibility for 2014 again, I expect both to sign extensions by November. Not only to make sure you have a core group of players under control but also from a PR standpoint.
My guess:
On top of Wright’s 2013 option at 16 million $ he gets another 2 years at 20 million, plus 4 more years of 22 million to make it something like 7-years, 144 million overall.
RA on top of the 2013 option should get 17 million for both 2014 and 2015 and maybe an option for 2016 at 17 or a 1 million $ buyout to make it 40 to 56 million overall.
As for 2013, the front office will need to be creative. However, while I don’t see Niese, Harvey, Wheeler and Tejada getting traded, Ike may well be if ist gets another power bat ( Reddick ?) back. Likewise, young players such as Mejia, McHugh, Nieuwenhuis, W. Flores or Valdespin could all get moved for other young players who fit in better.
Also, one may get creative with the Bay contract – like sending him to Seattle for strong defensive CF Franklin Gutierrez (6 million in 2013) and UT player Chone Figgins (9,5 million) and throwing in a young player or two with upside to make ist worthwhile for SEA.
All in all, 2013 will be about finally coming up with a homegrown bullpen and turning the rotation into an asset while at the same time shooting for .500 while hoping for 85 wins in 2013 and then being able to spend for 2014 with a goal of 90 wins.
I am very please to see that another fan is thinking like me, due to payroll situation, best thing to do is trade headaches with other teams headaches while filling ur needs and their needs. Seattle has Chone Figgins and Franklyn Gutierrez for around 16 millions and they need power hitters in their lineup, Lucas Duda,Jason Bay and Josh Thole for FIggins,Gutierrez and Jaslo. could work for both teams. The trade will help us fill 3 holes catcher, center field and a lead off left fielder, if it works fine, if it don’t at least we improve the team defense. your thoughts.
Is it a fact that the 2 buyouts for Santana and Bay for next year’s payroll? If so, why? It could mean an extra 8.5 MM for 2013 to spend
and ofcourse 8.5 MM less to spend for 2014.
For next year’s problems. What we have when we do nothing at all.
1B Davis
2B Murphy
SS Tejada
3B Wright
C Thole
LF Bay/Duda
CF Kirk
RF Baxter
SP Dickey
SP Niese
SP Harvey
SP Santana
SP Gee
Bullpen
Fransisco
Edgin
Parnell
Acosta
Carson
Hefner
Bench
Turner
Bay/Duda
OF #5 (righthanded)
C #2 (righthanded)
IF #2
IF #3
To me Davis, Tejada, Niese and Harvey are not for trade. Those 4 and Gee, Wheeler, Mejia and Familia would make a nice core. I would start Mejia and Familia in AAA so they
can develope as a starter. You can always shift them to the BP. But they and Mchugh are nice arms for injuries.
That would leave Wright and Dickey I would try to trade.
Dickey (and Thole to be his personal catcher) for Marisnick and a young starting pitcher. ( Sanchez, Syndergaard, Nicolino (my pick becasue he is lefthanded) or Norris).
Toronto has SP ( Sanchez, Syndergaard and Norris) coming but not next year. So this means they just need a (great) pitcher
for a year and after 2013 those 3 young arms can take over.
When Wright leaves I would put Flores at 3B. So you can trade Wright for whatever you need. What teams do need 3B help? Braves so the Braves can develop Terdoslavich for 2014.
And I would trade Wright for Bethancourt (Braves got Mccann) and a few cheap and under control arms. And if it would take $$ on Wright’s contract to get the best possible deal
I would also do that.
So depending on how much money you have to pay the Braves for the best possible trade you could have the buyouts from Bay and Santana and Dickey’s option. That’s 13 MM.you can save.
You already have $51 million (Santana 25.5, Bay 16, Francisco 6.5, Niese 3). So assume you got to pay Wright $ 9 million that would leave $ 30 million when having a $ 90 million
payroll. I would never give up my 1st round pick to sign any free agent but for that $ 30 Million you can trade a lot. Or pick up a lot of guys on a 1 year deal to fix the holes you
have after trading Wright and Dickey (and Thole). 2 catchers and perhaps a 3rd baseman (perhaps Murphy and get a proven 2nd baseman)?
So far we have for 2014
1B Davis
2B Murphy
SS Tejada
3B Flores
C Bethancourt
LF Duda
CF Kirk
RF Marisnick
SP Harvey
SP Niese
SP Gee
SP Wheeler
SP Nicolino
CL Mejia
SU Familia
BP Edgin
BP Parnell
BP Carson
Perhaps Duda can figure it out in 2013 to play LF. If not, well the money is there.
When Mejia and/or Familia can make it as starter you got a nice little extra to trade next winter.
And what about getting Ike to sign a long term (team friendly) contract like they did with Niese last winter?
actually…
Johan has 5 mil deferred in 2013…and the 5 mil buyout + Bay’s 3 mil buyout = 13 million MORE they COULD spend for the 2013 payroll…
what they also neglect to mention is that the deferred money to Bonilla, Saberhagen, Beltran, and Santana was placed in the stock market…back when they were investing with Madoff…
so the 1.5 % interest rate they were supposed to pay the player was backed by the damn near guarenteed interest rates they were getting with Bernie…
THATS why they offered those deals to them in the first place…
what they DONT report to you is how much money they made off of Bonilla’s 20 mil investment…
but they’ll cry and moan about having to pay Bonilla 1 mil per year for the next 20 years…making him out to be the bad guy for the public…meanwhile they are chopping it up over shrimp and lobsters laughing at met fans
“When the Mets negotiated their larger contracts with star players they sometimes adopted the strategy of placing deferred money owed the players with Mr. Madoff’s investment firm. They would have to pay the player, but the owners of the club would be able to make money for themselves in the meantime. … The former employees of the Mets said substantial aspects of the club’s financial operations seemed to flow through, or wind up with, Mr. Madoff. … Bobby Bonilla was among the players who had their deferred money put with Mr. Madoff, one former employee said. … And when the costs of disability insurance spiked, the former employee recalled, the Mets began to self insure. They did it by investing premiums with Mr. Madoff, he said.”
~ The New York Times
Hi Just,
EXCELLENT!
How could anyone think that the owners were so irresponsible that they didn’t think they could afford such contracts at the time and make profit nevertheless. They had the advantage of being in the biggest market in the country and the revenue such advantage yields. In addition, that higher payroll, when compared to the overall picture of income and expense – which includes SNY either directly or indirectly – makes those extra millions seem like petty cash.
Using that money wisely, of course, is another issue. But we are talking about the financial aspects of being able to enter into such contract agreements.
What the Wilpons, of course, did not expect was the Madoff scandal. What they also didn’t expect was for fans, either in the form of season ticket holders or those who go once or twice a year, rejecting being forced having to pay such high prices and in a sense saying “enough is enough”. And the reason being is that we all understood the Wilpons – with SNY – could still make plenty of profit in a smaller capacity park while keeping ticket prices more affordable. They just wanted to max out the fan base as much as they could and we knew that they were giving us the shaft.
Absolutely pathetic. Maybe Fred, Jeff and Saul should have a bake sale outside of City Field. Go Nats!!!
I never heard of the buyout clause of a players contract being used as a payroll barometer for current year, I’m not sure why we’re adding it. I wouldn’t use the Santana/ Bay final year buyout vs our payroll. Also I love Dickey but I would let him play out 2013 on his current contract, use the money to obtain a player(s), and roll the dice we can sign him after the season.
I think they’ll be able to obtain a veteran OF Inexpensively , a player who would rather play everyday then try to squeeze extra money in an unfavorable situation.
I’d attempt to trade any any or all of Familia, Mejia, McHugh, Gee to add a reliable everyday player maybe that could play cf and another of position. And we NEED to address our catching situation with urgency and get at least one relief pitcher..
It’s possible our starting pitching is sick next year and carries us but I really hope they make some prudent offseason moves it will be hard to watch the same guys attempt to win cause of payroll issues