The Rockies agreed to terms with veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins on a one-year, $2.25 million deal, last night.
The contract includes a $2.25MM option for 2015 with a $250K buyout and will be official once Hawkins passes a physical on Thursday. Hawkins will close games for Colorado who get themselves a steal.
Sandy Alderson weighed in on the deal this afternoon and according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the issue was not closing games, it was all about the money relative to his age.
Sandy Alderson said the Mets would have liked to re-sign LaTroy Hawkins for 2014. But the GM acknowledged being unwilling to offer the $2.5 million the Colorado Rockies guaranteed to sign the reliever.
Alderson said there were two factors in making a more modest offer: Hawkins turns 41 years old next month. And the Mets were unlikely to have used Hawkins in a closer’s role, so they did not want to allot that type of money to him.
“We certainly would have liked to have had him in the pen. But going into spring, I think given the vagaries of relief pitching anyway, and his age, and what we have coming — it wasn’t clear what his role would be — I think we made an offer consistent with that.”
“I hate to keep emphasizing he’s 41, but at that age, in this game, I think the financial issue becomes not paramount in every case, but I think important,” Alderson said.
Parnell is expected to be fine for next season, Alderson said. And if he were unable to close, Vic Black will be the Mets closer. with the Mets, it will come down to money.
