This bad NY Mets contract is worth a hypothetical Bobby Bonilla Day treatment

Every year on July 1, the New York Mets cut a check to Bobby Bonilla. He gets $1.19 million as part of a deferred contract which won’t stop paying him until 2035. It’s an annual tradition that started in 2011 as a way to save $5.9 million by pushing it back a decade+ from when he should have gotten paid. Bonilla hasn’t played for the Mets since 1999 and hasn’t appeared in a MLB game since 2001. There's no escaping it for Mets fans. When the calendar flips to July 1, the mocking stars for what many call "Bobby Bonilla Day."

Often a reference point of LOLMets, the deferred contract has become more common with players agreeing to it for a number of reasons. Taxes are often one of the primary ones. 

Steve Cohen probably wouldn’t, but if he did, there’s one contract on the books the Mets would be better off kicking down the road and paying in the future. We already saw Marcus Semien make 2 errors on a 1 for 4 night last week when the team handed out a replica jersey of his. Hypothetically, he’d be the best candidate to pay annually starting in 2036 rather than waste any more time on him.

The Mets won’t make Marcus Semien the next Bobby Bonilla, but the case to cut him grows

It looks like Semien will be out until at least August with the latest report indicating his hip injury will leave him out of action for 4-6 weeks. Add in a rehab assignment and some added playing time for trade candidates, there’s no reason to rush back the struggling 35-year-old.

Batting .214 with an atypical 6 errors already (he had 2 all of last season), Semien has taken a lot of punches by the fans this year. Because of the circumstances that brought him here, swapping him for fan-favorite Brandon Nimmo, it was never going to be easy. Semien had to play Gold Glove-caliber defense at minimum. Hitting .230 with 20 home runs would have been the acceptable offensive output. He wasn’t on pace to do so prior to getting sidelined.

Owed $46 million over the next two seasons with a luxury tax hit of $24 million in each season, the Mets would be reversing the reason for the trade in the first place if they did get creative. They wanted to save money as soon as the 2029 season which was the justification for trading Nimmo (5 years left) for Semien (3 years left). Cutting out two years of a $20+ million player while trying to not let Nimmo be a waste on the roster was the goal. They opted to take the pain now. And boy, does it sting!

There hasn’t been a shortage of bad contracts on the books for the Mets this year. Sean Manaea only recently looked like he has figured things out. Kodai Senga could be one bad appearance away from getting his locker cleared out for good. We might be saying the same thing about Jorge Polanco if we were even certain he played for the Mets.

Paying a player to go away wouldn’t be anything new for the Cohen-led Mets. The clever trades of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were welcomed by the majority of fans who appreciated it as a way to increase the trade return. Several others have been DFA’d mid-year with a guaranteed pay check headed their way. Players like Robinson Cano and Omar Narvaez were cut with significant money owed. James McCann and Jeff McNeil had portions of their contracts paid. Countless more have become dead money on the payroll since Cohen took over.

Something as extreme as what the Mets did with Bonilla doesn’t seem bound to happen with Semien or anyone else. But if we had to pick someone, Semien is probably it.

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