3 Mets contracts we were happy to see end, 2 still on the books we want to finish

The New York Mets have had a history of handing out bad free agent contracts, which contributed to a narrative of decades of dysfunction in the organization, specifically tied in to the Wilpons' meddling in baseball operations for years.

Every generation of Mets fans lived through some bad contracts, but there are five contracts that come to mind as those in which fans became restless and couldn't wait to see the last of those bad contracts come off the books.

1) Bad NY Mets contract: George Foster was the team's first big free agent addition, but he flamed out early

The Mets entered the 1982 season coming off it's fifth straight losing season following the disastrous trade that shipped Tom Seaver out of Flushing in 1977 and they were in desparate need of an established star player. The team seeked to acquire 33-year old outfielder George Foster in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds. Foster was the left fielder for the Reds during their glory years in the 1970s with the Big Red Machine. He was named National League MVP in 1977, and was named to five All-Star teams from 1976 to 1981.

However, Foster wouldn't agree to go to the Mets unless he received a five-year contract. And that's exactly what the Mets did, sending Greg Harris, Jim Kern, and Alex Trevino to the Reds in exchange for Foster's services in February 1982, in which Foster would receive $10 million over the five years.

But Foster seldom lived up to the lofty expectations in Flushing, both on and off the field. He batted just .252 with 99 home runs and never made the All-Star team as a Met and didn't fit in to the culture they were trying to establish. He never really got along with skipper Davey Johnson, and accused the team of racism when he was released in August 1986. But that accusation fell flat as the Mets replaced him as an everyday player with a rising Black star and future MVP in Kevin Mitchell, who played a role that fall for the Mets in winning the World Series.

At the time of the sign and trade in 1982, Foster's contract was the second largest in baseball history (behind Dave Winfield's $23 million deal he signed with the Yankees prior to the 1981 season. Although Foster's OPS+ as a Met was 103, it never felt enough to justify the money the team gave him.

At the time of his release in 1986, Foster had the highest salary in the league at $2.8 million, and the fans couldn't wait to allocate those funds elsewhere for 1987 and later.