The Mets first big move last offseason was acquiring free agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer. He signed with New York for two years and $21 million, and he cost the Mets their first round selection in the 2015 draft.
While he was coming off an injury-plagued season, the Mets believed that he was exactly the type of hitter they needed to solidify the middle of their order. In his two previous years with Colorado, he batted .331 with a .929 OPS and 139 OPS + over 745 plate appearances.
However, at the age of 36, Cuddyer’s production suddenly declined. His triple slash line plummeted to an underwhelming .259/.303/.391 in 408 plate appearances and he had a 0.0 WAR according to Fangraphs.
In the playoffs, Cuddyer’s struggles were highlighted even more as he recorded only one hit in 12 plate appearances. He also made several costly mistakes in the field during the Dodgers series.
It’s clear that the Mets can no longer start him going forward, but is there anyway they could salvage his contract? He is owed $12.5 million dollars next year, which is taking up a lot of space on the payroll and making it harder for the team to acquire other players.
Given his contract, the Mets will have to eat most of his salary but will there be any teams even interested in him after his poor performance this year? Steamer forecasts more of the same from Cuddyer next season as they project him to have a 0.1 WAR in 105 games.
The Mets just have to hope that Cuddyer produces well off the bench and as a pinch hitter. It doesn’t look like any team will take him off our hands, and it’s unlikely that he will return to form in 2016 when he’ll be 37.
