NY Mets must avoid their Edwin Diaz mistake in their Kyle Tucker contract offer

Thus far, the Mets' offseason has been less than encouraging. In addition to trading away players like Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo, they failed to bring back either of the two impact players heading to free agency. Both Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz will be suiting up for new teams and while the former supposedly never even received an offer from the Mets, the club did make a concerted effort to retain the latter. In fact, what ended up pushing Díaz to Los Angeles wasn't so much the amount of money being offered but instead the way it would be paid out.

Edwin Díaz reportedly turned down the Mets' contract offer because of deferred money

New York initially offered him a three-year, $66 million contract. This is slightly more than the three-year $60 million deal he ultimately signed with the Dodgers but the front office insisted that $21 million be deferred over the course of ten years. After some additional negotiation, the Mets threw in a $9 million signing bonus but remained adamant about the deferral, ultimately pushing Díaz to sign with the Dodgers.

Contracts with deferred money have become a common occurrence and topic of heated discussion in recent years but most players would still prefer to have money up front. Shohei Ohtani was willing to defer 97% of his contract to allocate more payroll for the rest of the team but Juan Soto's record-breaking contract worth $765 million was inked with no deferred money. Free agents in high demand like Soto and Díaz have enough leverage to dictate their own terms and in many cases, it ends up being the deciding factor.

It's safe to say that Kyle Tucker falls in this camp. He has the most upside of any available player this winter and by Opening Day, his contract will likely be the largest one signed this winter by a comfortable margin. The Mets are heavily involved in pursuing his services and recently offered him a three-year contract worth between $120 million and $140 million and maybe even at $50 million per year over three seasons. Unfortunately, this is just one of several offers that he's currently debating and since the other two suitors are reportedly the Blue Jays and the Dodgers, the Mets will have to cough up more cash if they want to stay in the race.

If they don't, perhaps the front office can hold their heads high and take pride in the fact that they stuck to their guns but the product on the field will undoubtedly suffer for the foreseeable future. The club can't afford to lose yet another premier free agent for the sake of kicking the financial can down the road.

If they want to make the most out of their current competitive window, the time to invest in the team is now. For all of his talents, Juan Soto isn't enough to support a depleted outfield let alone an entire lineup and after Tucker is taken off the board, it'll be slim pickings for the Mets.