22
2013
Will Ike Davis Still Be Here When The Winning Starts?
An article by 
I saw a comment on one of the threads this morning that floated the possibility that Ike Davis won’t be around when the Mets start contending again.
ESPN’s Jason Martinez believes the Mets will approach the team’s only legitimate 30+ home run hitter with a deal for a contract extension at some point this year or next. The question of whether the Mets should or should not extend Davis was hotly debated in a mailbag post you can read here.
Now that the Mets have avoided arbitration with Davis and both sides agreed on a one-year deal worth $3.2 million dollars, the plot thickens somewhat.
Davis gets a hefty raise from the $500K he earned last season. It’s the first step to a four year process that will take his salary to the $15 million dollar a year range by 2016. Even the $7-8 million dollars he most likely will earn in 2014 sounds like a tough nut to crack for a team who hasn’t doled out that much cash annually in a new contract to a player in many years. Not counting their franchise player David Wright who just cashed in for $142 million through 2020, Jason Bay was actually the last of the Mohicans.
So will the Mets open their wallets and pay Ike Davis at a level commensurate with what other first basemen at his offensive and defensive production get paid?
I don’t think so.
I have yet to see any evidence that this front office will pay any player not named Wright at current market value levels. It’s not in their DNA. And the only reason they gave Wright that money is because they believe they would make it all back in spades with fans who pay to see him. Imagine home attendance in 2013 without him…
Last season I saw what looked like the start of a whisper campaign against Ike Davis which was quickly snuffed out by Davis himself a day later. But the fact remains that someone from the team did feed that malarkey to Adam Rubin. He didn’t just whisk it out of thin air.
I’ve discussed the Mets and their whisper campaigns ad nauseam on this site over the years. This is how the Mets work. It’s how they operate. It always begins with a hint of trouble in paradise and months later it resurfaces and eventually snowballs into a chain reaction that ends with that player’s ouster.
I alluded to whisper campaigns for that lazy, selfish, money-grubbing bum Jose Reyes. I mentioned it again for that negative, agitating, clubhouse cancer Angel Pagan. And most recently I again warned of it for that self promotional, no-class, ego-maniac R.A. Dickey. Each time I was met with the criticism that I was reading too much into things. And yet a week or two later each player was gone along with the accompanying jeers and sneers from many fans who were once devoted – just they way the front office wanted it.
In the words of Colonel John Hannibal Smith, ”I love it when a plan comes together.”
Watching Ike Davis this season will be exciting. But that excitement will be short-lived and could eventually become bittersweet if he were to – lets say – win a home run crown in 2013 or lead the National League in slugging.
Winning baseball awards and hardware can be a dangerous thing for a Met these days. It could spell his doom and his demise in exchange for more prospects.
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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Well he could be our Best performer in 2013…
And we all know what happens when you are the best performer on the year…
You get sent away because god forbid there should be a reason to keep a guy that will blow up your excuse for not spending money!
Jerseymet said it and I agree….
Both Niese and Davis could be gone before Wheeler even gets here.
Will Ike Davis Still Be Here When The Winning Starts?”
well, if it’s in 2015 then, maybe?? If SA is still the GM, then no. he’ll be dealt as according to SA he won’t be worth the contract he’ll demand regardless. Which makes the DW deal more mindboggling to me.. If the team will be contending again in 2015, then you can only imagine how much DW will have in the tank, by then he’ll be entering 33 years of age with his best year way past him and making $20 million per season. SMH
Hi Joe,
Ike has the capacity to be a glamour player. If he has 20 home runs by the All Star break: Sandy could trade him for a ransom. The key to Ike is he is under control for 3 more years.. Give him a Niese type contract right now to enhance his trade value.
Jeez, if Ike can play into his 90′s that would be great.
There is a striking resemblance between John Hannibal Smith and Sandy…
And wouldn’t extending Niese like they did be proof non-Wright personnel can be extended? It will come down to the type of year Ike is having this year and if someone comes out of the woodwork to try and trade for him. I can certainly see them extend Ike out past his arb years. Maybe a mid season extension.
Proof? That they will get an extention yes…That the extention is done to keep them? No….
The extention on Niese was as much about keeping his cost down and trade value up than anything to do with their desire to keep him.
Pelfrey was making 5.6 Mil last year and he wasn’t as good as Niese.
Niese is making 3 Mil this year, 5 Mil next, 7 MIl and 9 MIl.
He could have easily got 5 Mil in arb this year and with another tick up 9+ Mil next year…
So they saved money….Now the issue is do they keep him at the discounted rate or just trade him for more kids and go sign some scrap heap guy to save even more cash?
Things you must remember here decisions are all about the MONEY not the baseball…
Even Sandy’s supporters agree that the REAL excuse for what we have done is MONEY.
And here we are in our third consecutive offseason and we still can’t afford to build….Meaning we will likely continue to purge our best performers every year for more hope and can kicking while the Wilpons dine on steak.
“The extention on Niese was as much about keeping his cost down and trade value up than anything to do with their desire to keep him.”
I can’t totally agree with that. Keeping cost down, yes. Trade value up, i guess. High trade value is always a good thing. That said, I’m sure they want to keep Niese and on the cheap as best they can. The idea they only signed him to kick him to the curb for prospects is a little silly.
Well the phrase “ON THE CHEAP” is a relative term here….
To me and you Niese is cheap…
to Sandy 9 MIl is too much to pay a Cy Young Pitcher!
LOL
If Sandy lasts here (I doubt it) I don’t expect to see Niese here much past his 7 Mil season….
He will trade him while the price is high (assuming he doesn’t implode of course) and take the kids because there is only one thing Sandy loves even more than money…and thats kids.
By trading Niese he gets both!
He won’t be able to refuse and for sure won’t sign him to a 2nd gen contract so will trade him before that point comes.
It all boils down to whether you believe that the current process is part of digging out from the financial mess the Mets found themselves in or that this is the new normal for the Mets.
Well when you cut a third of your payroll and still can’t afford to get the OF you need you have to ask belief or not we were in a hole and we are still DIGGING….
When you keep digging while your in a hole the hole only gets deeper.
Only thing that can get us out of this supposed financial mess is to creaqte a team people want to come see THIS year….otherwise your just perpetuating the problem until 2 or 3 years from now when you keep telling them thats when we will be relevant again.
Part of the reason the Mets are in such a deep hole is because they spent a boatload of money bringing in guys that people did not in fact pay to see. You can pretend all you want but the Mets attendance and SNY revenue has been going down even with the likes of Dickey, Bay, Santana, Reyes and Beltran. They aren’t going that route again until they are on solid financial ground.
There is a baseline of revenue the Mets have calculated they will receive this year and thats what they are going to spend. Period. Arguing about it isn’t going to change their minds.
They didn’t lose money in 2009….WITH the Salaries….
They lost 50 Mil in 2010 but didn’t have Beltran as a draw for half the season…and no 5th Starter thanks to Perez and Maine not Beltran and Reyes…
They then lost 70 Mil after losing the draw from K-Rod and Beltran from July on because our GM gave up on the season in July and cost himself Ticket sales from Aug and Sept.
Those Salaries were GONE.. ..55 Mil cut from salary in 2012….
We lost 23 Mil….
Do the math….Santana comes off the books they MIGHT break even if they let him go and buy him out….
That leaves the 10 Mil they save on Bay that they are paying this year….
Tell us how much OF is that going to buy you next offseason?
And then what? Where will the find the money to create this winner?
ANSWER TRADE NIESE and DAVIS and hurt attendance further by kicking the can another 4 years down the line waiting for the kids he gets for them….
I did do the math. So did the Mets. There is no way in hell that there ticket sales dropped off by the amount you suggested because Beltran and K-Rod weren’t in the lineup.
Here are the 2009 numbers.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/33/baseball-valuations-10_The-Business-Of-Baseball_Rank.html
Here is 2010.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/33/baseball-valuations-11_rank.html
I guess your not too good at Math or picking years….
Avg per game attendance 2011 Start til July 28th (Day Beltran got traded) 32,095
Avg Per game Attendacne the rest of the way 30,785
A drop of 1,310 Tickets PER GAME!
Add up the cost of a Ticket and Food plus Parking….
Multiply by that number and tell me you don’t lose a hell of a lot of money once Beltran and K-Rod are gone!
Now go do the same thing for 2010 as any use of 2009 numbers is skewed by the opening of a new stadium.
Hi Metsie,
Found the attached which only further proves your point and with good explanation as to why 2012 attendance figures are so misleading when it comes to the actual revenue being brought in..
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2012/08/6385785/mets-ticket-sales-are-looking-dire-too
Notice the author mentions all the emails he received by the Mets encouraging him to go to the ballpark to see Jose Reyes? Even after not wanting to re-sign him they still were exploiting him to sell tickets. Have to admire their marketing – they don’t miss a trick!
Did some rough projected calculations of my own. Remember that estimated $241 spending per fan that appeared in that article I posted a few weeks back (the Mets being the fifth most costly game experience in the majors)? Well, multiply that by 1,310 x the 40 games after KRod was sent and that represents a hypothetical loss of $12,628,400 in which they could have pocketed. But had the Mets stayed in the wild card hunt through let us say early September, it is not far fetched they could have drawn an extra 1,310 fans per game instead (more important games in August would have counteracted the lower attendance that would have come nevertheless those last few weeks in the season.
So 2,620 x $241 per game and that comes up to $25,256,800 that could have been made instead of $12,628,400 that was lost.
Even if the Mets were just an 85 game winner that season, the fact that if neither Beltran or KRod were traded there would not have been such a backlash that simply turned many from coming and just having a good time watching their team play. As the article points out, the attendance figures for 2012 to that date were very misleading as far as revenue was concerned.
Very well said…i got some of those see Reyes calls. Cancelled my season tickets the minute they lied to us about him and let him walk. Get numerous calls and emails to get the same seats even now. They are hemorraging money because they have no stars, an underwater stadium and a GM who is here to do little but cut costs and pray for a better day. When they had stars they contended and they made money. Pretty simple. People payed to see Reyes.
On another note, i think some of the people on this site don’t appreciate how much financial abuse the Wilpons have let loose on this team. They are not poor but the Mets are. The stadium built by our “unsophisticated owners” was so mispriced it is hard to put into words. Building a small stadium – with limited luxury boxes – as a shrine to their beloved Dodgers to feed their own ego has left the Mets with little room for error. That SNY is a separate investment shows how owners really view the team. It is a hobby that gets them into better parties and country clubs. Without the Mets Jeff and Fred Wilpon are just another bunch of Madoff enabling real estate investors. This is their toy.
Lord Bud has sent bean counter Sandy to save the sinking met ship….and the torture continues.
Hi Jon,
Well said too and I appreciate you bringing into it your own personal experience.
If this ownership just showed a respect for the average Met fan instead of indifference by pricing them (more made by less) or treating them with disdain by excluding them from entering half the entrances, blocking a large slice of left field for those in the promenade so to have an expensive restaurant below, escalators that don’t go to the top, etc, we might have been more sympathetic to the plight they found themselves in due to Madoff.
Hi Boomer,
I thought besides division races, there was something called a wildcard.
The one thing people seem to forget around here is it is HOPE that sells tickets….
The odd thing is those who seem to have hope in the FUTURE and FO don’t seem to be buying based on that hope….These are many of the same folks that say WInning draws attendance but the truth is winning just increases the HOPE and it’s the hope that sells it.
Just as the hope following the Perdo and Beltran signings spurred a run on season tickets because everyone had hope of seeing a good team before a single game was played..The WInning also gives the same hope of seeing a good game for a ticket to a game that hasn’t been played yet.
But when you constantly tell fans well be HOPEFUL that in 4 years the team will be a good one they will wait those 4 years to go and buy the tickets because thats when the HOPE says it is worth buying….
Thanks for that Link Joey….
It does support what I have been saying for awhile….I once did a very conservative estimate that for every 160K of attendance you make roughly 20Mil. They came out with slightly less requiring 250K to get 25Mil. Not sure if thats because of the reduced Ticket prices of last year or other factors but it does essentially say the same thing that anything north of 160K of attendance pays for a pretty good player…
What is missing is that August is also one of the best drawing months for baseball (Sept Playoff season excepted), Not every team has a good September but anyone within a sniff of a playoffs will have a great August. no team is mathematically eliminated in August (See Cards GB Atlanta in 2011!) and when your GM comes onto TV and says We aren’t going to win a thing your pretty much telling people to find something else to do in August….
They lost 316,935K in Attendance from 2010-2012…
How high might that attendance in 2010 have been if everyone knew Beltran was healthy and starting off the season? Could have made anywhere from 8-16 Mil more that year. Which would have left them with a loss of around 34 Mil instead of 50 Mil.
Instead they cut 18Mil (and considering what Beltran signed for just 13 Mil) of Salary And they saved a grand total of 3 Mil when all was said and done…
That doesn’t even count what they might have made if Beltran was hitting all those HRs for US instead of the Cards and had vaulted us past the Nats in the standing in Late June Early July.
Put an attendance value on THAT and you see we lost WAY more money than we saved by making decisions based on SPENDING not on what that spending could generate in reveue.
What many here do not get is no one says controlling spending is a BAD thing…You should always try and get the most bang for your buck and purge high salaries that don’t pay for themselves and generate revenue for you…
But thats not what we did…All the Salary we have purged since the start of 2011 has been the guys that actually generate enough income to pay for themselves and more.
Hi Metsie,
Any time. BTW, what do you think of my rough math estimates that $25,256,800 could have been made instead of just $12,628,400 that the drop in attendance cost them?
I think it may even be a little low in fact…
I once did a rough calculation and came to the answer for every 160K of Attendance you made 25 Mil.
If thats one is correct then your number should be somehere near 35-45 Mil….
But it doesn’t matter which one is right we are still talking the price of a Pujols in Salary that would make even more money than the 13 Million Beltran got!
Hi Metsie,
I purposly wanted to keep it low so to make the point that even a very conservative estimate shows a tremendous amount of potential money could have been made. Of course, to pursue that path does mean taking a financial risk and I think Sandy was more confident taking the more guaranteed route of cutting back instead.
I get it….
Truth is there is no right or wrong answer here….
If the two estimates are that close then even if the reality is somewhere in between the point we are making is made in the end….
Yeah, my math is fine. But your reading comprehension stinks.
The attendance dropped off because the team was out of contention. On July 27, 2011 (the actual day Beltran was traded though MLB rules prevented him from formally accepting the trade until the 28th) the Mets were 52 – 51 and 13.5 games out of first. Thats the real reason that Beltran was traded, the team was going nowhere.
But they were still obligated to pick up a heft portion of Beltran’s remaining salary for 2011 because nobody was going to give up a prospect as good as Wheeler and pay the remaining $6.5 million of Beltran’s contract for a 60 game rental.
The problem with you guys who just hit around tossing insults at people who don’t agree with you and insist that if we just went back to the good old days of bringing in high priced FAs is you seem to forget the good old days didn’t work.
Not just free agents but major league trades like Mike Jacobs for Carlos Delgado….seems like a good one to me.
Also, it doesnt really mater how many games you are out of first place. Certainly didn’t matter to the Cards who won the World Series as the wild card that year and were only a few games in front of us at that point. They didn’t give up
Boomer,
You are totally correct in your assessment of the money situation that has enveloped this team as well as the blatant fact that the team was going nowhere even with Reyes and Beltran.
Unfortunately, the “haters” and the so called (LMAO) experts here refuse to accept the facts and will twist statistics to promote their insanity. Before Sandy traded away Carlos Beltran our .500 record was accomplished with mirrors that were going to be shattered because our pitching was horrible. Santana was hurting, Pelfrey was “Pelfrey” and the bullpen was erratic at best. That spells disaster for the last two months of any season.
Sandy Alderson was brought here to save this team for the owners! In retrospect we as fans would be elated if Fred had been forced to sell the team but it didn’t happen and it won’t because Sandy has done just what was needed. by slashing payroll and at the same time replenishing the roster with younger and salary controlled players. By being prudent these last couple of years the balance sheet on team finances is starting to level off. Another year will tell the story as Santana will be off the books and our future stars continue to mature.
As you emphatically stated…the old ways didn’t work and the owners have decided that they will no longer make the same mistakes by opening their wallets for the quick fix acquisitions when the team is not quite ready to compete for a whole season!
Keep up the good thought and comments. Your kind of contributions to this site are why I stay here amidst the insanity that 3-4 know it all guys keep churning out!
The Mets were only two games behind n contention as the Cardinalls were at that time….
And they eventually won the WS that year so please don’t tell me we could not have made up those two games WITH Beltran in the two months that remained because it insults everyone’s intelligence to think 2 games was an impossible hurdle to overcome!
Especially easy if we had ADDED to the team and kept K-Rod as opposed to having a fire sale to get nothing but Wheeler who hasn’t won a single game for us yet….
You basicaly traded 2011 potential for 2013 potential…
And now it’s 2013, Wheeler is likely yo come up, tell us will we be getting that playoff this year?
Hi Joe D.,
I’ve raised the point often as to what happens if the current crop develops into something and could command much more money in arbitration and then free agency in a few years. In 2016 the team payroll is estimated to be maybe $5 million less than it is projected for 2013 (according to baseball reference). If those are viable projections, players like Davis and others are going to cost a lot more to retain. That also creates a double-whammy regarding free agent signings in 2014. Quality players other than the Carlos Beltran type are not going to sign one or two year contracts so their salaries will have to be accounted for 2016 and who knows how many more seasons. So, if we do sign a few Carlos Beltran types – that still means having the same holes to then fill all over again.
So I’m afraid the extra flexibility Sandy will have in 2014 will be spent on either veterans with one or two good seasons left or the typical, inexpensive players we’ve been accustomed to. Either way, the result will only be stop-gap measures with contracts that expire before 2016 kicks in. And then again, there are the current players who could demand large arbitration or free agent contracts. So, unless Sandy is going to begin spending or that we have a large crop of prospects capable to fill the outfield and bullpen problems, we’re not going to have the type of players that can support who we are counting on at this time.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/2012-roster.shtml
Hey Joey, I almost choked when I read one part of your comment. Why would you do that to me I thought we were friends?
28 year old center fielders like Carlos Beltran are rarely available in free agency. Who matches that talent and age that will become available in free agency in the next 1-4 years or was available this offseason? Answer: NOBODY!
Beltran was a one-of-a-kind talent, a true five tool player, and one that could command a prospect like Wheeler in return for him even as a rental.
That is the greatness of Beltran.
Carlos Beltran is easily, the best FA pick up the Mets have EVER had…. IMHO.
I’m waiting for the “we never one anything with him” comment before I reply. lol
LOL You KNOW it is coming…Just as soon as the Firm take a reccess from thier strategy meeting!
Lmao. maniac, the funny thing is, one of the biggest culprit for us to NOT winning anything is STILL on the team, yet they don’t realize it when making those stupid as* comments about beltran or reyes…. SMH.
Since Alex likes Beltran….no need to worry about that type of silly comment
Best big money FA. Agreed. Best FA Dickey.
EASILY!
Best trade is still a close tie (with me anyway) Of Hernandez for Allen or Piazza for multiple dog scraps.
I lean towards Hernandez only because of what he did for the 86 team….
Hi Maniac,
We are indeed friends. I wasn’t putting Beltran down – not one bit. I was using him as an example of if Sandy did go after more expensive players – they would more likely be like Carlos – great players with a few good years left but signed for only two year due to age (like Carlos with St. Louis) – and two years only – because that would be our only window of opportunity to keep a payroll at the level Sandy wants it. THEN we will be in the same spot all over again in 2016 once that player calls it a career or becomes a free agent again.
That’s why I distinguished Carlos from the other types – those inexpensive ones Sandy signs. The Carlos Beltran of 2011, 2012 and hopefully 2013 would be a great addition to the Met outfield. It’s just that he would also be signed for just two years because Sandy will only have the money to spend during that two year cycle. Younger outfield talent will demand three, four or five year contracts. I too doubt they will be on the level of Beltran, but they would be good in their own way.
Friends again?
Before we win in Queens, we will need to win in AAA. I look for Sandy to start holding back players in AAA. Buster Posey was not rushed to the Show. The Giants are supposed to be the model.
Hi Joey,
First, Ike being here is a two way street.
Second, SNY ratings can’t be ignored.
Third, a dwindling fan base and resulting lack of attendance with continued losing will ultimately end the Wilpon ownership in spite of Selig.
Fourth, aging expensive stars is not in Alderson’s MO.
To all, don’t give me BS of revenue sharing because if NY Mets do indeed become like the NY Islanders then revenue sharing will not sustain their ownership.
Hi Hotstreak,
That’s exactly why I brought up the question of 2016 when the payroll jumps again. Attendance down, ratings down, loans starting to be paid off again and the higher cost of retaining our players and adding to them from the outside.
I see the problem of Ike wanting to stay as the second of two – the first problem being whether or not Sandy wants to try and re-sign him or send him a box of chocolates.
Hi Joey,
If Ike is like Mark Reynolds with good defense that is 40 hrs and 180 K’s he will still be worth about 15 M per year. If Ike is Mark Texeria or Gonzo obviously he is worth more. I indeed see a money problem. However with over 40 M to spend Ike should be signed long term at the end of this year 15 M five years.
Hi Hotstreak,
As I mentined, the problem is not 2014 and 2015 but 2016 when the payroll kicks back up. Where does that $40 million come from in 2016 to account for Ike’s $15 million plus money spent on others?
If Sandy (or whomever) is thinking in terms of a $120 million payroll in 2016, then there is no problem. But I don’t see that with the shrinking revenue and the re-financing then having to be paid back and the team finally making money due to maintining it’s bare-bones total operating budget which accounts for the roster as well as the ushers at the gate – unless the team is sold.
Hi Joey,
With Wright and Niese the only commitments one thing SA had almost to a fault in the short term is payroll flexibility. I do not pay attention to estimated numbers for arbitration eligible. There is plenty of room in the ridiculously low commitment total to lock Ike for five years at 15M per year. Also there should be room for Harvey and Wheeler too at the appropriate time. Gus like Gee and Tejeda are not cornerstones.
Hi Hotstreak,
Have to disagree with you on this one.
Though estimates, those figures do have credibility as far as ball park figures. In 2016 Sandy is not going to have that type of flexiblity you mention – if he is going to hold the payroll down in 2016.
Are you expecting more to be applied to the payroll by that time to give him or whomever that added flexibility? Otherwise, in order to have more to spend it means getting rid of players as they start commanding bigger salaries due to arbitration – like Oakland did with Geo Gonzalez or we did with Pagan (getting two players for just about $400K more than the cost of one – Angel).
Hi Joey
My ideal budget for a ball club is as follows:
One player 20 M PER YEAR
3 PLAYERS average 15 M per year
6 players average@ 8M plus for total 50 M per year
subtotal 10 players committed to 115 M
15 players at 15 M Total (1M each average)
Therefore a total commitment of 130 M per year
Joey in my analysis it is commitment and a tiered structure in salary that counts
The way you do it is tier the commitments and lock up players such as d Niese, Wright, Ike, Harvey and Wheeler. Build a CORE. 20 M and Wright at 20 M would have beeen a commitment to top heavy like the Yankees who are in trouble now.
I meant to say Reyes and Wright at 20M each would have been too top heavy CORE
Hi Hotstreak,
But I’m supposing you feel Sandy will allow the Mets to spend $130 million that year – or that Sandy will no longer be here.
To be, or not to be – that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the slings and arrows of outrageous financial misfortune, or to take arms against a sea of outfielder and relief pitcher troubles.
With apologies to Billy Shakespeare.
Hi Joey,
TO BE a competitive team or NOT TO BE.
Believe me it is nobler winning rather than losing.
I like the staggered salary method, but don’t forget the 10 – 11 mil we’ll be paying out over the next 6 – 7 years on deferred salary payments to Beltran, Santana, and Bonilla. That pushes your total from 130 to 140 mil. Either way, if the team is winning in NYC, they should be able to do that.
The problem here is the guys who used to get 8 Mil are now getting 10-13 mil…
Salaries never stay static they just keep going up.
The 208 MIl the Yankees spent in 2005 bought more and better players than thier 206Mil did last year!
At some point bough is going to break for the players…Between the Luxury tax and the cost of average players going up to what elites used to get, the Players are going to start taking less or find there to be no takers….
And it’s not FA that is killing it, it’s a small part of it…
It’s the Arbitration and high Qualifiers that accelerate the payscale and as a result you wind up paying the REAL stars a premium.
SO we are going to get to the point where the average salary in 150M and the top spenders will be spending 250M+, The Luxury tax will have to increase and then throw all those metrics on 20+Mil for superstars or a lot of average players will find themselves out of work…
But something is going to break within the next 10 years.
I would not be surprised if the Mets down the road buy out a year or two of Ike’s free agent years and sign him to a contract as they did with Niese but with Ike finally making some big money with his recent agreement of $3.1M after avoiding arbitration he may feel less inclined than Niese was to do so.
Ike has to rip off a few consistently good-great seasons if he’s gonna be here in 4 years after arbitration ends.
I think they will be competitive while he is here but I also think there is no rush to lock him up yet because he’ll be a free agent at 30 so we got a while to figure it out
Hi Jessep,
Agreed, not just with Ike but with the others as well. Too early to talk in terms of player roster for 2016 as it is the roster payroll. Though we don’t know what it will be, Sandy has talked about it being low for another year or so and even at that, we don’t know what his long-range projections for four years are at this point – even though many of us have a suspicion.
Ahahahahahh this is such a pointless article.
Kind of like how Neise and Wright were both gone by the end of 2012?