The Billion Dollar Boys Club?
Not that it would have happened anyway, but Boston’s blockbuster signing of David Price Tuesday means there won’t be a trade of Matt Harvey to the Red Sox for shortstop Xander Bogaerts and outfielder Mookie Betts or Jackie Bradley.
I was onboard for such a deal, and the Price signing only affirmed my reason.
The cost for Price is $217 million over seven years. The key to the deal is Price has an opt-out clause after three years for roughly $90 million. If Price can give the Red Sox a couple of playoff appearances, and perhaps a World Series title, the contract would have been worth it – if they allow him to leave.
The Price contract makes you wonder what it will cost when Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz hit the market. We’re probably looking at over $1 billion dollars in overall contracts. That’s “billion” with a “B”.
The Mets certainly can’t afford to sign all five to mega deals at once, but they can defray some of the cost if they stagger the signings and they trade one or two of theses guys.
If you think $217 million is steep – and it is 2015 – wait until Scott Boras puts Harvey on the market in three years. Assuming Harvey pitches to expectations, Boras’ numbers for Harvey could approach a staggering $300 million.
Figuring the Mets don’t change their financial approach, there’s no way they can afford to keep Harvey and deGrom and Syndergaard.
Their best options are to fill their positional holes by dealing Harvey – who is a goner and we all know it – and offering long-term deals to deGrom and Syndergaard.
Although when asked in September if the Mets planned to discuss extension deals with one or more of their young pitchers, Sandy Alderson said no, he may want to reconsider.
Yeah, I love the potential of the Mets’ young pitching and it would be great if they could keep the core together and fill out the rest of their roster with key free-agent signings. But, that’s not the real world. The real world has the very real, and very likely, chance of Harvey asking for a monster contact the Mets can’t afford.
I know you don’t like to hear this, but the Price signing screams trading Harvey is the thing to do. Perhaps not this offseason and perhaps not next year either, but certainly before the 2018 season.
It also gives one pause to understand how important it is for the Mets to take advantage of this short 3-4 year window that has all five young guns pitching in the same rotation.
