I'm very happy with this deal, as a Mets fan. $17mil per year is actually pretty good value for a guy like Wright. The deal goes until he's 37 so the Mets aren't locked in to pay for Wright to be an old-timer mascot, like the Angels' deal with Pujols or (holy christ!) that A-rod contract.
They could have traded Wright and got back probably multiple top flight prospects to help their rebuilding, but Wright is a fan favorite, he's a lock to go down as the greatest Mets hitter ever (he probably is right now), and the Mets have revenue streams to allow for a very quick rebuilding process. It makes sense to build around an established star. Also, at this point, they are probably one very good bat and a revamped bullpen away from contending for a Wild Card spot.
I'm gonna order a jersey now.
"one very good bat and a revamped bullpen away from CONTENDING for a Wild Card spon." Lofty aspirations.
ReplyDeleteCan't that be said about every team (minus Houston, the Cubbies, and the Marlins--even though the Marlins will undoubtedly win the 2017 title before dumping their entire roster)?
Baltimore fans can tell you that parity has arrived in baseball. $$ gives you a huge leg up, and the Mets are lucky to be in a position to re-sign Wright (which was, for all the reasons you enumerated above, the right move), but finding young and old talent for reasonable prices will dictate the best teams of the next decade.
Doesn't seem like the Mets have proven that ability. So they may be a very good bat and a revamped bullpen away from the playoffs, but is there any hope that they will find those bats/arms?
Yeah, I should have asterisked that part of my analysis and then had "*EASIER SAID THAN DONE" as the last line. Mets fans have to have some optimism on which to keep going.
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