Nov
29
2012

Morning Thoughts: BJ Upton, Wright’s Contract And His Potential Play

An article by Satish Ram

10 Comments

Is David Wright on his way out of town or is he walking into a huge contract extension?

Here are a few talking points as this Thursday morning rolls around.

So, by now, you have heard that the Braves have inked BJ Upton to a five year deal worth approximately $75.25 MM, with the .25 million obviously being the deal breaker for BJ. It got me thinking about contracts for a number of reasons. Upton took a much more reasonable deal than I thought he could have commanded, but his value might have been hampered by the fact that the Braves had to give up their first-rounder to grab him. Even though he does not hit for a high average, he plays pretty good defense and steals a healthy amount of bases. However, the contract works out to about 15 million a year, and for a potential 30/30 guy each year with a contract ending at age 33, this seems extremely team friendly.
Does it bother you that the Mets have not been linked to Josh Hamilton or Zack Greinke? I am not trying to throw salt on wounds here, but if you only followed Mets blogs, you would not even know they were free agents. Speaking of big name pitchers though, anyone a fan of Dan Haren?
If we do hypothetically sign Wright to a lengthy extension, say 7/130 for the sake of argument, what does that say about the future of Wilmer Flores? Should he be shipped off immediately after an extension or should we keep him, expecting Wright to decline?
In 2008, Miguel Cabrera agreed to an eight-year deal worth $158.3 MM. After making $11.3 in 2008, the contract pays him an average of $19 MM through 2016. Zimmerman was inked to a six-year extension worth $100 MM, and there was a seventh-year option added on at the value of $24 MM. Evan Longoria got a similar deal, and the deferred payments used for some of his contract are being brought up in talks with Wright. It was not so long ago that Wright used to be considered better than all three of these players – in fact, Longoria was not even in the picture! But looking ahead, if we sign Wright to a mega-deal, will we be getting the worst of these four players with the highest paid contract?
If we trade David Wright, this year is going to be filled with stop gaps as we try to cope. How opposed are you to a name like Stephen Drew? And with Brandon League, my top relief pitching target on the market this offseason headed to LA, are there any other names really worth looking at or should we expect to deal with in-house options? I would not mind Soria, or even Mike Adams or JP Howell on one year deals.

Minor notes: Mike Piazza IS on the Hall of Fame ballot for this year’s vote, along with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Remember, 75% of the vote gets you in. You can find the full list by clicking here. In other Mets news, Jon Niese is scheduled for a minor heart oblation surgery around Christmas, and is getting married in January.

About the Author: Satish Ram

I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.

10 Comments + Add Comment

BadBadLeroyBrown November 29, 2012 at 9:09 am

According to Andy Martino the Mets made their best offer to Wright which is 8yrs/$140M deal….Which includes the $16M he will be owed this coming season….So its essentially a 7yr/$124M Deal…In my opinion IF this report is TRUE it is Way too much!
BadBadLeroyBrown November 29, 2012 at 9:10 am

According to Andy Martino the Mets made their best offer to Wright which is 8yrs/$140M deal….Which includes the $16M he will be owed this coming season….So its essentially a 7yr/$124M Deal…In my opinion IF this report is TRUE it is Way too much!

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/offer-wright-alley-article-1.1209909
srt November 29, 2012 at 9:13 am

‘Does it bother you that the Mets have not been linked to Josh Hamilton or Zack Greinke?’

>> Not in the slightest.

‘If we do hypothetically sign Wright to a lengthy extension, say 7/130 for the sake of argument, what does that say about the future of Wilmer Flores?’

>> Since it apparently looks like the Wright deal is going through – just working on details – I think they should consider trading Flores if he cannot play second. Reports I’m reading is his defense at 2nd will be questionable and probably adequate at best. Only question is, will his bat make up for it? Will his power translate to the MLs? If we could get a creditable OF prospect back, I’d do it.

‘But looking ahead, if we sign Wright to a mega-deal, will we be getting the worst of these four players with the highest paid contract?’

>> Not according to the analysis they did on MLB.tv yesterday. Their conclusion is he’s well worth that money. That apparently is not the only outlet in favor if this extension for Wright.

Hope all goes well for Niese on that minor surgery for his heart arrhythmia and his upcoming marriage.
- Satish Ram November 29, 2012 at 12:03 pm
  
  Thanks for the comment, srt.
  
  You’re not a fan of Hamilton or Greinke? I’d trade Flores for a strong OFer or a catching prospect, although the latter are more rare. I think BBLB makes a good point in saying that he has more value to us than other teams, however.
  
  I’m not sure if I would agree with the idea that he is worth ALL the money, but I understand the argument being made. However, ranking Longoria / Wright / Cabrera / Zimmerman going forward, where would you put David?
Barry Duchan November 29, 2012 at 9:23 am

Maybe Wright is thinking “Do I really want to be the face of a franchise that seems to be going nowhere ? Do I want to get booed in front of small crowds everytime I make an error or strike out with the bases loaded ? Do I want to play for a team with no reasonable chance to even contend for a wild-card spot ? Is money everything or do I want to play on a team that has a chance to win and couldn’t I get that money next year from one of those teams ?”
- BadBadLeroyBrown November 29, 2012 at 9:33 am
  
  Its all about MONEY!!!!! Everything else is window dressing
  - taskmaster4450 November 29, 2012 at 10:09 am
    
    Very true words.
  - Satish Ram November 29, 2012 at 12:03 pm
    
    Sad but true.
BadBadLeroyBrown November 29, 2012 at 9:32 am

“If we do hypothetically sign Wright to a lengthy extension, say 7/130 for the sake of argument, what does that say about the future of Wilmer Flores? Should he be shipped off immediately after an extension or should we keep him, expecting Wright to decline?”

–I dont think the Mets trade Wilmer because he doesnt have that great a value in a trade. He’s worth more to us than he is to other teams. Seeing that this Front office doesnt value defense as others and maintain that they want to form a team with power hitters throughout. I think they keep Wilmer and if he continues to hit like he has promote him to 2B in the Majors. Especially with Murphy Arbitration Eligible this year and for the next 3 years.

After-all if they do trade Wilmer what would that be saying about there perceived plan to build from within the farm system?
Alex68 November 29, 2012 at 10:18 am

I mean, this is just very sad news.. Why overpay for this guy when we can trade him and get more value for him than anything else we have to trade for. Not only we can get good enough prospects, but we saved $16 million in the process this year alone and $18+ million for years to come instead of watching this overrated/chokeartist/ghostofsecondhalves player financially strap us the same way bay did to us..

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	25	18	.581	-
Nationals	23	21	.523	2.5
Phillies	21	23	.477	4.5
Mets	17	24	.415	7.0
Marlins	12	32	.273	13.5

Last updated: 05/19/2013

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