Now that the New York Mets belong to Steve Cohen, fans and pundits have begun to dream big when it comes to the Amazin’s offseason plans. Every day we talk about George Springer, Trevor Bauer or Francisco Lindor and what it will take to bring another superstar to Queens.
Still, there is another avenue that needs to be explored under new ownership, one which was practically ignored entirely be the past regime. Signing homegrown players to contract extensions.
Unless you were named David Wright or Jacob deGrom, the Wilpon-led Mets had a consistent strategy when it came managing their homegrown talent. Enjoy their years of team-control and wave goodbye as soon as it was time to hit free agency.
Now that the Mets can break that trend under Cohen, fans have begun campaigning for the soon-to-be free agents like Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard to receive long-term deals.
Here is the problem with those players though. It’s almost too late for an extension to make sense for either side. For the player (and their agent), there is little incentive to sign a new contract when they are a year away from an open market. The same is true for the team, as they have to pay market value to get their player to sign.
Contract extensions have become very common around baseball over the last few years, but these deals typically come long before a player is set to become a free agent. Jeff McNeil fits that billing, as a star player who is four full seasons away from being able to test free agency.
McNeil is two games shy of 250 played at the big league level and his numbers thus far are awfully impressive. The 2019 All-Star has hit .319/.383/.501, with an .884 OPS and a 139 wRC+.
Since he did not make his MLB debut until he was 26 years old, McNeil would not become a free agent until after his age-32 season. This gives him plenty of incentive to sign a relatively team-friendly contract extension now, buying out his arbitration years even if it pushes back his free agency.
Last take a look at the most recent position players who have signed extensions of five years or longer:
- Yoan Moncada: five-year, $70 million – Chicago White Sox
- Luis Robert: six-year, $50 million – Chicago White Sox
- Evan White: six-year, $24 million – Seattle Mariners
- Ozzie Albies: six-year, $34.43 million – Atlanta Braves
- David Bote: five-year, $15 million – Chicago Cubs
All of these players have one thing in common. They all signed deal when they four seasons or more away from being able to test free agency. And with that, none of them received nine-figure deals.
One of the newest trends in baseball is signing a top prospect as soon as they make it to the majors, like the White Sox did with Luis Robert this year.
Robert, 23, debuted this season and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, after hitting .233/.302/.436, with 11 home runs and 31 RBI. He also won the Gold Glove for his tremendous play out in center field.
By signing him to this contract, the White Sox did not have to manipulate his service time at the start of the season to get a sixth year of team-control, while buying out all of his arbitration years. Chicago also has two $2o million team options in the contract, allowing them to buy his first two years of free agency as well.
McNeil has already accomplished more in his career than any of the players mentioned, so an extension could cost the Mets a bit more. Still, Moncada’s contract is a good starting point, as he signed after his second full season.
At 25 years old, Moncada signed the five-year, $70 million extension prior to the 2020 season. The deal includes a $25 million club option for the 2025 season, with a $5 million buyout.
If the Mets were to approach McNeil about an extension, the starting point could be a five-year deal worth $75 million. By giving McNeil the long-term security of an extension, the Mets could probably include some club options on the back-end of the deal, giving them the ability to keep him throughout the remainder of his prime.
McNeil has proven that he is the type of franchise player that any team would want to build around. He’s an elite contract hitter, with enough pop in his bat to be a run-producer as well. All while being a capable defender at four positions.
If there is one player that receives a contract extension this offseason, Jeff McNeil may be the best option to sign long-term.
