Mets benefiting from team-friendly contract with Juan Lagares

Juan Lagares will miss the rest of the season with a toe injury. Thankfully for the New York Mets, they have him locked into a team-friendly contract.

The New York Mets have placed outfielder Juan Lagares on the 10-day disabled due to a toe injury. Lagares is expected to underdog surgery which will ultimately end his 2018 season.

Despite the latest injury for Lagares, the one thing that is clear is that the Mets have gotten their money’s worth when it comes to the Juan Lagares contract.

Fans love to make fun of their own ownership when it comes to how cheap they can be or when they choose to spend on the wrong athlete.

But we should give credit where credit is due every once in a while. When Lagares put together his Gold Glove season, his team had their backs against the wall when it came to the future of the young outfielder.

Do you pay the man and watch him not live up to the contract? Or do you try to throw a team friendly deal out there hoping he’ll bite?

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Lagares eventually settled on a four-year extension in 2015 that was worth just $23 million. Also included, a team option for 2020.

At the time it seemed like a smart move to lock up a gold glove caliber center fielder whose bat had shown some types of potential. In fact, it was a great move to lock him up.

Unfortunately for Lagares, his bat would never really come around and rapid trips to the disabled list would place him as a fourth outfielder at best.

There is nothing wrong with having a fourth outfielder like Lagares on an MLB roster. Many teams would start him every day. The Mets don’t have that luxury, however, due to the lack of power in the lineup to begin with.

But it is very common for a guy like that to have a great season and have a team overpay for him and kick themselves for it over the next couple of years.

The team-friendly deal allowed them to spend money in other much-needed areas. It also allows this team to use Lagares as trade bait every year. His team-friendly contract could allow them to net a decent player in return in any trade. First, they need to find a partner.

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Mets fans are no strangers to the Mets making financial mistakes. But we can all agree the Mets played the right cards with Lagares and got their money’s worth.