Why the NY Mets just gave a player with no major league experience a MLB contract

Christian Cairo was a late regular season addition to the New York Mets via waiver claim from the Philadelphia Phillies. Zero games of MLB experience, he’s a lifetime .226/.360/.314 hitter in the minors leagues. Other than the uncanny ability to draw walks, there isn’t a whole lot to be impressed about with his offensive game.

Cairo is regarded as a good defender and he can play all over the field. Minor league options still available, signing him to a major league contract wasn’t a requirement to keep him within the organization. They still decided to do so with a split deal that’ll pay him one salary for time served in the majors and another in the minor leagues.

The benefit to a split contract is often clear and seems to apply for Cairo.

The Mets just signed Christian Cairo to a contract designed to DFA him

The Mets did exactly this with Richard Lovelady last offseason. They signed him to a split contract with the intention of eventually passing him through waivers. He didn’t make it, claimed by the Washington Nationals before giving Lovelady the choice of accepting the minor league assignment or forfeiting his contract. Players on split contracts generally have a higher than average minor league portion of the deal with a reasonable amount for time in the majors. It’s pennies in the world of professional sports, but some teams might feel less inclined to have a $1 million minor league than others.

Moves like this are more important with the upcoming CBA. It’s not master craftsmanship by David Stearns to do something like this. Cairo is essentially another Vidal Brujan with potentially some better upside and roster management abilities. Just because Cairo is now set up to be someone to pass through waivers a little more easily because of his contract situation doesn’t mean the Mets 100% will.

Cairo managed to go 3 for 7 in his 2 games for Syracuse in September. Enough of a strong first impression perhaps helped to aid in the decision to make him a keeper while removing a few others from the 40-man roster. The Mets outrighted Cristian Pache, Eric Wagaman, Philip Abner, and Cameron Weston from the 40-man roster over the weekend. More 40-man roster executions to come, Cairo’s bump in pay doesn’t assure us he’ll stick but probably gives other teams a quick pause in case he does land on waivers.

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