NY Mets passed on 3 dud free agent deals this offseason

The New York Mets passed on George Springer

I have to admit, this is the one I was thinking the Mets should pull the trigger on. It was abundantly clear that the Mets were in desperate need of a righthanded hitting outfielder, preferably a centerfielder. However, once the bidding war began, it also became abundantly clear that the price tag on George Springer would be unreasonable due to age and possible physical breakdown, and the fact that he may not project as a centerfielder much longer.

Mets fans, again, wanted a big splash and, after McCann was signed in lieu of Realmuto, it was a good bet that the Mets were going to get the next one on the big board. But it wasn’t to be as the Toronto Blue Jays handed Springer a six-year, $150 million contract.

Springer, with an average annual salary of $25 million, has been relegated to a mere 15 games and has only recently gotten his average above .200 and is at .226 with 5 home runs and 10 RBI.

Shut out on Springer or, perhaps, not wanting to spend unwisely, the Mets turned to Kevin Pillar, awarding him a two-year, $6.5 million contract. Pillar, like Springer, had been a centerfielder but was now profiling more as a corner outfielder, seemingly a good fit as a fourth outfielder and sometime platoon player against tough lefties, given the Mets all-lefty hitting outfield.

With the multitude of injuries, Pillar stepped in, and stepped up, and made quite an impact. His .219 batting average is no indication of how clutch a performer he has been. He has added 8 home runs and 22 RBI is some huge spots, and even took one for the team…right to the face. And came back from it almost immediately! Average annual salary? $3.25 million…about an 1/8 of what Springer is pulling down.