Cringing because the Mets failed to acquire Ben Zobrist or Ian Desmond? Love to criticize the Wilpons for running a small market team in the big apple? You may disagree with me, but I don’t their either of those opinions are valid, and I’m here to tell you why.
I know the Mets’ payroll has decreased each of the last five seasons, to the point where New York’s 2014 figure was almost $66 million below their 2009 mark. However, I do not believe this decrease in payroll is the reason that the Mets have failed to reach the postseason for almost a decade.
Baseball has changed. This isn’t the 1990s anymore. The “Big Money Free Agent” is actually hurting teams more than helping in this modern age.
Remember Michael Bourn back in the 2013 offseason? Mets fans pined for the Front Office to bring in what they considered to be the perfect leadoff hitter. When the Cleveland Indians signed the outfielder for $48 million right before Spring Training, Sandy Alderson and the Wilpons were hit with intense criticism for allowing their financial situation to negatively impact the major league team.
Howard Megdal of Capital New York wrote an article titled “Bargain-basement Mets miss out on Michale Bourn” and even our very own Clayton Collier said that “Bourn’s deal [with the Indians] sounds like a steal”
So far, avoiding Bourn that looks to be the right decision. In his first two seasons with Cleveland, Bourn has averaged a lackluster .315 on base percentage and 16.5 steals, well short of the .348 OBP and the 42 bags he swept in the 2013 season.
The Mets responded to pressure to spend and inked Curtis Granderson to a four year deal last offseason. The contract may have seemed a bit too lengthy at the time, but no doubt was his signing was well received by Mets fans.
After one season and a .227 batting average, do you feel the same way about Grandy as you did a year ago?
What about the much-debated Stephen Drew? Did he (and his .162 batting average) end up proving to be worth a two or three year deal as many wanted last offseason?
Does the name Shin-Soo Choo ring a bell? Last offseason, he was coveted by Mets fans for his speed and batting eye. He just concluded his first season (of seven) in Texas by batting .242 and stealing a career-low three bases, just a season after swiping 20 bags in Cincinnati.
There seems to be a trend here, and I haven’t even mentioned Jason Bay.
Outside the players targeted by the Mets, other notable free agents have also turned out to be busts in more cases than not.
Albert Pujols, once viewed as the unquestioned best hitter in baseball, is just an average first baseman at this point after posting a .727 and .790 OPS during his last two seasons. The 34 year old still has $189 million dollars left on his deal.
Ubaldo Jimenez, signed to a $50 million dollar deal late in the ’14 offseason, posted a 4.81 ERA in 25 starts with Baltimore and may not even earn a rotation spot in 2015.
Organizations, including the Mets, can no longer rely on the open market to provide value to the big league team. Free agent acquisitions can be useful when targeting low-risk, high-reward players that are undervalued by other ball clubs. However, clearly signing big-name players at the end of their prime does not work out for teams long term. Sadly for the Mets, those are the only players that reach the market. Even the small market Marlins kept superstar Giancarlo Stanton from reaching free agency by paying him a king’s ransom.
The lack of spending may not just be due to the Wilpons’ penny-pinching ways, but actually an effective and smart strategy designed by the Front Office. The Mets have recognized the futility that comes with free agents.
Having established the free agent market as an insufficient resource for quality ballplayers, the only real alternative to improving a team at the big league level is via trade. And despite all Sandy Alderson’s shortcomings, it’s hard to legitimately argue with his results in that area.
He brought in future star Zack Wheeler for a half-year of Carlos Beltran, Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud for a 39 year old with an 85 mile per hour fastball, and the Mets future starting second baseman (Dilson Herrera) paired with a lock-down reliever (Vic Black) for one month of John Buck and Marlon Byrd.
Yes, Alderson did pass on a few trades that would have netted the Mets Ben Zobrist or Ian Desmond, but trading Syndergaard for a rental mid-tier ballplayer would have been the wrong move for the franchise, regardless of the team’s current shortstop situation.
There are no quick fixes in baseball these days. Teams are overly cautious about ‘losing’ trades and the value of prospects is skyrocketing. There is only one way to build a team: from the ground up. To the Wilpons’ credit, they brought in Alderson and allowed him to execute a well-designed plan without interfering.
Now, the Mets are rich in young major league talent with big time help coming from the upper levels of the farm. With all these players under team control for years to come, the future looks brighter in Queens than it does in the Bronx for the first time in decades.
The Mets will soon enjoy sustained success, potentially even beginning this season. When that happens, be sure to thank Sandy Alderson for not succumbing to the pressure of overpaying for the big star, which, if history is any indication, would have set the franchise even further backwards in the rebuilding process.
Spending no longer equals success. Let’s take a second to be thankful that our front office, unlike the one across town, is not relying on their wallets to insufficiently build a team.
Sandy is building the Mets the right way, and soon the Mets will reap the rewards of their diligence and return to relevance once again.
