One element that the Mets must weigh during the administration of new owner Steve Cohen is whether they should spend more than the assessment of the players because their wealth allows it.
When it came to George Springer, the answer was no.
The Mets warned Springer’s team last weekend that they were willing to go for six years with $ 120 million, but no more. At that point, the Mets were practically out of the picture, while Springer headed for the $ 150 million six-year pact he closed on Wednesday with Blue Jays.
If the Mets had matched that – adding $ 5 million a year to their offer – they believe they have a good chance of hitting the field player, helped by the attraction of proximity to Springer’s Connecticut roots.
But Mets leaders felt that the Blue Jays were willing to extend it because, up to that point, they had been excluded from larger items they were chasing, including Francisco Lindor, which was obtained by the Mets.
The Mets were also weighing:
1. If Springer were hired, would that prevent them from keeping Michael Comfort? This falls into the realm of how much even Cohen is willing to spend. Comfort will be a free agent after the 2021 season, as will Lindor. In an ideal outcome, the Mets would maintain both.
But if they do, they will also have Robinson Cano’s $ 20 million annual return to the final 2022-23 result. In addition, they have to maintain or probably replace two starters because Steven Matz, Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard are entering their years of walking. Cohen said the Mets will spend like a big-market team, but “not like drunken sailors”. The Mets were wondering, if they had it all on the payroll, would it be wise to have two outfielders earning as much in the long run as would be needed for Comfort and Springer?
2. If Springer was willing to keep the $ 120 million, the Mets would have found out, or expected by DH at NL in 2021. But the lack of clarity in this area is hampering his search for the central field. The addition of a full-time central defender would move Brandon Nimmo to the left field and force the Mets to decide whether Pete Alonso or Dominic Smith would play first base without a DH. The Mets could move Smith between the left and the first and have two of three, between Alonso, Nimmo and Smith, starting. This would provide depth, but it would not use its bats fully.
The Mets are being asked by representatives of the non-Springer central field market how many at-bats will be available if the NL does not go to DH in 2021.
3. Since obtaining Lindor and Carlos Carrasco, the Mets have been trying to figure out how to share the rest of what Cohen is going to spend on this off-season: in another great play or covering some areas?
External executives who dealt with Jared Porter in his final days as GM of the Mets said that he presented that the Mets were focusing heavily on the 20-30 lineup spots because they were concerned about the depth for the long season, but also that it could be the best way (rather than another big outlay) to produce more wins.
The Mets would like to approach the center field, even if it is just to add defense or a right stick to complement Nimmo. They could revolve around defensively remarkable Jackie Bradley Jr., although he is a left-handed hitter. Or they can look for a smaller, straight piece, like Albert Almora Jr. They want to add to the bullpen, preferably a left-hander who can work late at games. Brad Hand, who led the majors in defenses last year, is at the top of the list. They want an additional stock of early pitchers, although they would like to have more early alternatives that have secondary league options. The fact that Joey Lucchesi, obtained earlier this week from the Padres, still has two remaining minor league options made him even more attractive to the Mets, who started this off-season with great concerns about having Triple A alternatives when an injury, poor performance or fatigue hit the league’s top list during the 2021 campaign.