3 ways the NY Mets can immediately spend the $10 million saved by trading Jeff McNeil

The Jeff McNeil trade on Monday did a few things for the New York Mets. Among them, they now have $10 million extra in payroll. What Steve Cohen calls “lunch money” can go a long way toward building a better Mets roster.

If they want to immediately invest it into the team, there are three moves they can immediately make and spend every penny.

1) An investment toward a Pete Fairbanks contract

Who’s up for a super bullpen? Pete Fairbanks doesn’t have teams rushing to sign him. Possibly the best reliever available with closer experience, his market hasn’t been so robust ever since the Tampa Bay Rays decided to non-tender him. Once viewed as a lighter replacement option for Edwin Diaz, he’d join the Mets bullpen with multiple players in a similar boat as him.

The market price for him is expected to exceed $11 million so the $10 million the Mets just saved wouldn’t fully cover it. We’d have to think there’s some money left on bullpen improvements. After all, Luke Weaver is getting paid a lot less than the Mets offered Diaz.

Putting this cash toward Fairbanks would give the Mets an even better chance at shortening games. Of course, with multiple other needs on the roster to fill, it might not be the wisest to put all of the eggs in one basket, especially with an injury-prone pitcher like Fairbanks. The Mets already have $10+ million headed into the pockets of Weaver, Devin Williams, and A.J. Minter. There comes a point where you need to spread out the wealth differently.

The next way the Mets can spend this $10 million quickly involves just that.