NY Mets passed on 3 dud free agent deals this offseason

The constant complaints. Same old New York Mets. The Mets never spend money. This ownership is just as bad as the last ownership. Steve Cohen is no different than the Wilpons. Nothing changes.

Those words of dismay, displeasure, and disgust have circulated around the fact that the Mets front office did not sign any of what was clearly believed to be the “big three” free agents available this past offseason. But Steve Cohen, in assuring the fan base that the commitment to excellence would be more apparent than in the past, at the same time clearly indicated that there would be no “stupid money” spent.

Perhaps there is a tendency to believe that the only way you are legitimate is if you spend big bucks, regardless of how you spend it. Growing up, for some reason, I believed that the most expensive thing on the menu was the best. And I would always order that most expensive thing in any restaurant I visited. However, ordering from the right side of the menu doesn’t always guarantee you the best to be offered.

It seems like some ardent Mets fans can’t get past the “big three” landing elsewhere.

The New York Mets passed on JT Realmuto

Generally regarded as THE hottest commodity, the “do everything” catcher, Realmuto received a five-year, $115.5 million contract from the Philadelphia Phillies after playing out his prior contract with the Phillies the season before. Every team was clamoring for this guy, and Mets fans were drooling over him for years. But, alas, the Mets decided they couldn’t wait for Realmuto to make a decision and, instead, signed James McCann.

Realmuto has struggled and has certainly not had a “Realmuto-like” season, getting banged up a bit, but just not able to get going. At the midway point, Realmuto, with an average annual salary of over $23 million, is hitting .263 with 8 home runs and 31 RBI.

The Mets gave McCann a four-year, $40.6 million contract after he had a career year with the Chicago White Sox. McCann, after getting off to a bit of a slow start, is hitting .244 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI while playing stellar defense behind the plate. And he also did a very admirable job playing some first base in a pinch. Average annual salary? Just over $10 million…about 40% of what Realmuto earns for the same rate of production.

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.