15 worst free agent signings in Mets history

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10) NY Mets worst free agent signing: Roger Cedeno

Roger Cedeno is one of those Mets players who should have only had one stint with the team. When he first joined the team, he was fantastic. First acquired in the deal for Todd Hundley, Cedeno was a speed threat and amazing hitter for the 1999 season. He managed to swipe 66 bases while slashing .313/.396/.408.

Cedeno was then traded to the Houston Astros in the Mike Hampton deal before eventually signing up with the Mets prior to 2002. As just about every free agent signing went during this period of Mets baseball, it didn’t work out so well.

The four-year deal worth $18 million sounds like a bargain today but back in late-2001 when it happened this was a much more lucrative deal. Unfortunately, his numbers wouldn’t even look that great for a guy making that amount of money today.

Cedeno slashed .260/318/.346 in 2002 while stealing 25 bases. The next season, he was a .267/.320/.378 hitters with only 14 swiped bags. His greatest asset, his base thievery, had declined greatly.

He wouldn’t finish out the contract with the Mets. After the 2003 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Wilson Delgado. Part-way through his second year with the Cardinals, the team released him with a .158 batting average. It was the last time he’d play major league ball.

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