Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports is reporting that the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets were close to a deal for veteran infielder Jason Kipnis but in the end it was killed by someone at the top, very likely over money.
The deal had progress enough that there were people of both teams who thought they had a done deal per Heyman.
Kipnis, 30, has either two years at $30.5 million or (if his 2020 option is picked up) three years at $44.5 million left on his contract. That apparently wasn’t to the liking of Mets officials with Heyman stating some in the organization didn’t see that as “good value.”
Kipnis is coming off an injury-riddled season that saw him appear in just 90 games. In 373 plate appearances, he hit a dismal .232/.291/.414 with 12 homers, 35 RBI, an 82 wRC+ and a .300 wOBA.
Across 620 2/3 innings at second in 2017, he had a -1.5 UZR and -2 defensive runs saved (DRS).
However, this is just one year removed from him hitting .275/.343/.469 with a 116 wRC+ and .347 wOBA. He was also much better in the field, as he was good for 4 DRS and a 7.3 UZR in 1,309 1/3 innings in 2016.
The Mets are still searching for infield help as they’ve shown interest in signing Todd Frazier, trading for Josh Harrison and see Jose Reyes as a fallback option. 
