Will the Miserable Mets Ever Spend?

Aside from twiddling their thumbs, the question remains for the Mets this off-season is when will they make a significant move to improve this baseball team?

It has been the question that has plagued Mets fans for weeks. As has become pretty commonplace for the Mets, they have watched other teams wheel and deal during the Winter Meetings while they stand pat, waiting for the tide to come in.

Sure, they signed veteran right-hander Anthony Swarzak to bolster their bullpen, and gave General Manager Sandy Alderson a contract extension for an “unspecified” amount of time, but the fact is this is an organization that has been frugal in its approach thus far this off-season.

Bottom line, the Wilpon’s do not want to spend big bucks, period.

If anyone is upset that the team didn’t pursue Giancarolo Stanton before he was dealt to the Yankees. 1) Stanton had a no-trade clause, and he probably wouldn’t have approved a deal to play for a potential last place team in the Mets to begin with. 2) The Wilpon’s were never going to spend $265 million on one player.

Instead the Mets have been looking for cheaper deals.

There was speculation earlier this month that the team would swing a deal for Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis. However, the cost for the second baseman might be out of their price range.  According to the New York Post, the Indians may value Kipnis more after Carlos Santana signed a long-term deal with the Phillies.

While Kipnis is coming off an injury-plagued year in 2017, and is due $13.7 million this year alone, the Mets do not have the farm system pieces that can satisfy Cleveland. In addition, the pool for quality second baseman on the free agent market is pretty barron, and it would make little sense now for Cleveland to dump Kipnis when the other options aren’t good.

Unless the Indians and Mets re-enter negotiations, New York has to find other ways to fill the voids at catcher, second base, third base, starting rotation, bullpen, and bench.

Other second base options include, Brandon Phillips, Gordon Beckham and Darwin Barney. Neil Walker is also available, but there were reports last year of a rift between Walker and the Mets before the second baseman was dealt to Milwaukee.

Because of ownership’s reluctance to spend this off-season, there are reports the Mets could target first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who at this point in his career might be viewed as more of a stop-gap/bench player.

Gonzalez, who was just released by the Braves after a deal with the Dodgers last week, hit only .245 in 71 games for Los Angles last season. He was so bad last year that he was left off the postseason roster, as L.A. made its run to the World Series.  Signing Gonzalez makes little sense, unless the Mets are truly down on Dominic Smith, who deserves a reasonable shot at earning the first base job in only his first full Spring Training.

As for third base, the Mets had discussions with free agent Todd Fraizer, but chances are he’s going back to the Yankees this season. 

The biggest name still out there at the hot corner is Mike Moustakas. Moustakas was a big part of the Royals success in recent years, and would add tremendous credibility to the Mets clubhouse, should New York jump in. He has seen plenty of ebbs and flows in his career, but before the injury, everything was pointing up for Moustakas and it showed. Last season, Moustakas hit .272 with 35 home runs and 85 runs driven in, just one year separated from a torn ACL in his knee.

But again, it’s all about the price tag.

While the third baseman’s market is slow this year, keep in mind Evan Longoria is due $80 million over the next five years from the Giants, and Pablo Sandoval is still getting paid for that ill-fated $95 million deal he signed with Boston in 2014. So one would venture to guess that Moustakas could be looking at a deal in the $90 million range. Can the Mets pay that? They have shown no sign they want to.

The Mets are already paying an injured and gaunt David Wright $20 million this season. Wright is due $27 million in 2019 and 2020 combined, and has shown no desire to retire because of a series of neck and back injuries.

Chances are the Mets plug Wilmer Flores at third base, and let Asdrubal Cabrera play out the year at second base and see what happens, because, it’s the Wilpon way.