LA Dodgers shrug off NY Mets’ clever attempt to stash depth piece in the minors

Signing players to split contracts has become a common occurrence for the David Stearns-led New York Mets. They’ve already signed multiple players to split contracts this offseason, but one has already been lost.

Christian Cairo, we hardly knew ye. Claimed on waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the late-season pickup by the Mets via waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies is now heading to Hollywood. This comes shortly after the team signed him to a major league split contract and waived him. The purpose of the signing was to make him less enticing to other teams. A split contract pays a player a higher minor league salary than average. This didn’t bother the Dodgers when it came to Cairo.

Meanwhile, the Mets were able to pass Kyren Paris through the waiver wire. Currently out of options, unlike Cairo who has yet to even play a big league game, Paris will remain with the organization for the time being.

The Mets underestimated the Dodgers with their plan to stash minor leaguers

This isn’t the first nor will it be the last time the Mets try to pass a guy through waivers thanks to a split contract. The benefit for the player is a higher salary when demoted as well as the incentive to not elect free agency. It can only really work with lower-level players or fringe major leaguers. Last year, Richard Lovelady got the same type of deal from the Mets. He ended up being claimed by the Washington Nationals who were less afraid of paying him a higher minor league salary and more interested in seeing what he could accomplish at the MLB level.

The early November shuffling of players like Cairo, Paris, and more is happening right on time. Three weeks to go before the MLB lockout, this is the dusting off of the bookshelf for a whole house demolition.

Robert Stock is another player who received a split contract from the Mets. It’s a matter of time before he is DFA’d and the team attempts to pass him through waivers. The circumstances with him are closer to Paris than they are to Cairo. Anyone who acquires Stock via waivers is required to hold him on the active major league roster because of his lack of options. The obvious intent here is for Stock to remain as minor league depth for New York.

The Dodgers won’t be the only ones to threaten the Mets with these signings. Split contracts tend to pay less than a million on the minor league portion and between $1-2 million on the major league side. It’s the minor league salary that tends to be the larger turn-off.

With Cairo out of the picture, the Mets lose one depth option worth watching heading into camp. The Dodgers won’t need to waive him to keep him so there’s a good chance he hangs around with them and the Mets never have an opportunity to reunite.

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