Ranking the 4 Mets contract extensions for players currently on the team

Contract extensions are in vogue. The New York Mets may head into this season with at least two obvious candidates for one. The uniqueness of the contract extension in MLB is it can be something handed out to a player nearing free agency or a young, budding star who has yet to even reach the majors.

The Mets have handed out four recent extensions to players. Based on production and value, how would they rank?

4) Tomas Nido

An easy last-place finisher and possibly the worst if not most unnecessary contract extension in club history, it was in January of 2023 when the Mets agreed to a two-year extension with Nido worth a modest $3.7 million. Pocket change for Steve Cohen, the problem is Nido didn’t even live up to the expectations of this deal.

A year after becoming the club’s primary catcher in 2022 and hitting decently enough in those 313 plate appearances to warrant a guaranteed deal, Nido slid back into irrelevance in 2023. He batted just .125/.153/.125 for the club. Due to a roster crunch at the catcher spot, the team was faced with either demoting promising young catcher Francisco Alvarez or DFA’ing Nido. They chose the latter despite the contract situation. It was the right move to make.

Nido rode out the final part of the 2023 season in the minor leagues after passing through waivers and accepting an assignment to Syracuse. Other clubs knew better than to take on the remaining portion of his contract—as low as it is in baseball terms.

The Nido extension is different from many others as it will now fail to even buy out the remainder of his arbitration years. He’s still under team control for the 2025 season without a guaranteed contract. By then, he’s a non-tender candidate. This year, it will take an injury or a trade of Omar Narvaez for the Mets to make room. If called up, he’ll once again be on the DFA bubble.

Nido has always been a defensive catcher and not someone to rely on for hits. The Mets were equally kind and blind to sign him to this extension.