2
2012
If I Were David Wright, I’d Wait To Sign Extension
An article by 
At seasons end Dickey called he and Wright a “package deal”. He is right, they should be.
Obviously I am not David Wright, but if I were I would wait until I saw some improvements to the current ballclub before signing any extension Lately we have been hearing about the Mets quest to make David a “Met for life”. David may have grown up a Mets fan, but that does not mean he still doesn’t have the desire to win and have success during his Major League career.
I’m sure being drafted by the Mets was a dream come true for David, but I am also sure this is not how he envisioned things going after the tremendous 2006 season.
David is going to get paid whether it be by the Mets or somebody else. He will be a rich man with no worries in that department. The question will be, will he ever win anything here in New York? To me that would be the question I would be asking myself right now if I was him.
The Mets have made plenty of empty promises over the years. They have had miss after miss with our high end prospects. They have had great seasons end epic collapses. They have had controversy, and yes they have even had a little success from time to time.
The fact of the matter is, the next contract David signs will be the biggest decision of his professional career. He is 30 years old and in the middle of his prime. He will be signing the biggest deal he will ever get as a professional ballplayer. If he signs an extension for 6-8 years, he will be in his mid-late thirties when it ends.
As of today Wright is on a club with no support, and currently one that is still a few years away from possibly becoming serious contenders.
Is he willing to wait until he is 33-35 to be able to make a run? Does Wright want to toil away in 4th or 5th place while Washington, Atlanta and Philly battle for NL East supremacy?
If I were Wright I would make Sandy Alderson show me that he is serious about building a wining ball club. I would want to see serious negotiations with R.A. Dickey end in a contract signing. I would want, and expect to see some quality additions to address the weaknesses the team had in 2012. Once I saw that actually happen, only then would I consider signing on the dotted line.
Don’t get me wrong, I want Wright here more than anything else. All I’m saying is that if I were a player about to sign the last contract of my career, and winning a World Series was one of my most important goals, I’d think twice before I commit myself to any team – especially one that has finished in fourth place in four straight seasons.
About the Author: Dan Valis
I am a staff writer for Mets Merized Online. I am a Mets team analyst with a focus on the minor league system, as well as the major league club. I am a lifelong New Yorker who was born and raised to be a Mets fan. The ups and downs of being a Mets fan is what makes following this team so much fun, but at times so frustrating. You can follow me on Twitter @BgAppleMetsTalk.
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Conference Call between David Wright and the Met front office
Sandy Alderson: David, I promise you, if you sign this 120 mil 6 year extension…I promise you as GM of the Mets we will lead you back to the promise land.
David: What is the promised land Sandy…?
Fred: I can answer that, hey Champ its Freddy…your good old friend that rescued you from a life of poverty
David: I had 9 other clubs willing to draft me in 2001 Mr. Wilpon…
Fred: I know, but we wanted you more than they did…and we want you more than they do now, I have never wanted anyone to be in my family more in my life than you
Jeff: Dad, what about me
Fred: Shhhhhh…this is what Dave Howard told me to say…you know you are always my favorite Jeffy
David: Ok, Mr. Wilpon, I’m going on 30…I’m not getting any younger…My dream as a kid was to be a world series winner….If I sign this deal, I feel like you are not going to be able to afford to have the guys around me that i need to win
Sandy: This is where I come in, I have a very capable staff of Ivy League graduates who have mastered calculus and can see good value in players the rest of the league can’t.
David: So how does that explain Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez
Sandy: We fired that intern who suggested we make that trade. Accountability is key here.
David: So who are you targeting for catchers this off-season?
Sandy: Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, Matt Weiters and Yadier Molina
David: ( hangs up phone )
That was great!!! We have nothing left but to humor ourselves with this helpless situation and that was great.
David Wright was a lifelong Orioles fan and his favorite player of all time was Cal Ripken. He was never a lifelong Mets fan and signing with them was not a dream come true, it’s what every college kid says after they are drafted. The only thing he liked about the Mets was the Norfolk Tides who played their home games 15 minutes away from him. They could have easily been the Phillies AAA affiliate.
As to your argument, if he doesn’t hear key words and key players as being signed as part of the plan, he is not going to stick around because of Wheeler, Nimmo and Cecchini unless he is paid market value or more. The more money you throw at a free agent the less of a priority winning becomes.
Wright will be back. He’s as loyal as they come and he loves playing here.
LOL
Michael Baron has entered the building
Great! We really could use a pitching analyst here.
A pitching analyst / 3B stalker.
At this point Michael Baron will be scoping out DW’s dirty laundry in hopes of finding some funky underwear he can wear on his face at night before he goes to bed
Is that better or worse than doing it for some minor league catcher that probably won’t even make it to the bigs?
Right because pointing out the fact that Juan Centeno has far superior defensive numbers and comparable offensive numbers to the other Met catching prospects is the same thing as taking pictures of David Wright and posting them up on the internet every chance i get, including the inside of his hat…TWICE…in 1 season…
Baseball is a business. The Mets will not bind themselves into another bad contract that goes 7 or 8 years. They will make him a fair offer: 4-5 years at 15 or 16 mill. per year. If he signs, fine. If not the Mets will deal him with the hopes of bringing in an infusion of youth.
David Wright is a good player. He is not a superstar. I’d love to see them sign him but it has to be at a reasonable dollar amount. Trading him for outfield help or more pitching is not a bad option.
Sure they will. The Wilpons will pay him superstar money because it is not a smart thing to do. Opening the checkbook was never Fred’s problem…check the payroll over the last 6 years. Smart spending? Well that is not the Mets forte.
Wright is going to get his money and he will get it from the Mets. The sad thing is it is a bad deal for the organization. Wright is a good player but not a superstar.
As for the epic collapses, Wright was in the middle of all of them.
I cant blame him for the collapses in 07/08
in 07/08, Had the Wilpons not handcuffed Omar in getting relief help, we win 3 straight division titles
pretty funny, just.
As I posted a few days ago, everybody assumes wright wants to come back. David has said he wants to win and he needs to see proof that the mets are serious before he signs. If he and dickey are dealt there is no drawing card and the place will really empty out. That might not be such a bad thing in the long run for us but wilponzi is a survivor and will try his best to keep his main attraction in queens. Hell, he might even find a few extra million to sign a decent FA
There are 2 things the wilpons need
1 – Time to rebuild the system within
2 – The wisdom and humility to stay out of operations
Since they have neither one of these, its only a matter of time before they sell due to poor attendance
If David Wright is going to hold off on the extension to monitor what the team does to build a winner this next year…….he may as well just tell them to trade him now because I don’t see the team being able to do anything convincing this off season and into next year.
I would want David to remain a Met along with R.A. but as both players have seen, the team has been stripped down around them the last two years and no help was provided when they could have used it as well.
Let’s not fool ourselves, the Mets are not going anywhere since the Wilpons are not going anywhere either. Sandy has no plans other than to keep the team solvent for his bosses. The payroll is the least of his concerns for if their financial problems were to be resolved by reducing that payroll by $25 or $30 million there would be no problem to begin with.
If I were David Wright, I would not re-sign with the Mets unless there was an opt out clause in the contract, after say 2015. That would and should give Alderson and the Wilpons enough time to build a real championship contending team around him. If by that time they dont, I’d opt out and sign with a real contender.
You can’t get through just one post without mentioning the highly untested Centeno. THe guy isn’t a legit prospect. Just a backup with a good glove.
actually if u were following along…i didnt bring him up…Donal did
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Donal November 1, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Is that better or worse than doing it for some minor league catcher that probably won’t even make it to the bigs?
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Totally agree with you Dan. He’d be a fool not to talk to other teams and weigh his options.