David Wright said he’s “extremely optimistic” about the chances of signing a long-term contract with the Mets, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Wright said he doesn’t have a single complaint about the organization, which drafted him 11 years ago. He added that he’s a loyal person who’d like to follow the path of one of his childhood heroes.
“My favorite player was Cal Ripken,'' Wright told Heyman. “The biggest reason for that was I like that he stayed.''
Wright’s current contract includes a $16MM option for 2013 with a $1MM buyout. At the very least the Mets will exercise the option, but GM Sandy Alderson has said the team has interest in keeping Wright in place long-term. The 29-year-old ACES client told the Mets he wasn’t interested in discussing an extension during the 2012 regular season and the same guidelines would apply in 2013, which means the Mets’ best chance at agreeing to an extension will be this offseason.
Rival executives suggest Wright is worth $20MM per season, according to Heyman. However, Mets ownership seems undeterred by Wright’s leverage and doesn’t have anything negative to say about him, Heyman reports ($160MM over eight years could work for both sides in Heyman’s view). Wright declined to discuss a potential extension in detail, saying only “you'd like it to take you to the end of your career.''
Good on you, David.
David Wright is worth 60million over 4 years max. Any more would be a bad contract. But then again most long term contracts are bad.
I agree that he’s not “worth” more than 15M per year but I think it might be necessary to gamble on a longer term contract, just to keep him, because that’s just the situation of the market. I mean obviously these contracts are obscene and exceed all bounds of normlacy as baseball players make far more money than most CEO’s, inventors, engineers, scientists, doctors etc.I too think most long-term deals are a waste but the front office seems intent on keeping Wright as the “face of the franchise”
if he gets 8/160, i think this makes Kemp’s deal look like even more of a steal
Why don’t people understand this sentiment? I really feel sorry for the large amount of people on here who say “hey, player x is trying to get the most money possible…you would do the same!” Just like a theif thinks everybody steals, materialistic fools who elevate money over everything, just assume everyone else does, or should, do the same. There is a million+ reasons that are not in the form of money that SHOULD factor into major life decisions; it’s really shallow to suggest otherwise.
Of course there are other factors into any decision. But it would be naive to think money isn’t usually the biggest factor into those decisions. If the money is close, sure other things come into play.
My point is that is that money is one of the more meaningless factors; location, family, friends, loyalty, relationship with organization ect. If you are a multimillionaire already is money really going to be the biggest factor? You can’t take it with you. As much as it seems wrong to judge a player for going for the money over all else, why does it scream character when they don’t?
“If you are a multimillionaire already is money really going to be the biggest factor?”
Yes. In most cases it is. I’m not arguing with you, it’s just that history shows us that when a player hits Free Agency, the majority of the time he goes for the most money. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, it’s not my place to judge a player by what they’re looking for in their career.
The problem with Wright is that he has always been marketed by the Mets as a Franchise player…when neither his personality, demeanor, nor ability have suggested he is anything but a really great player who has hit his peak…
Had the Mets actually grew a clue and figured out how to market Pedro, Santana, Delgado, Reyes and Beltran…I think a great deal of pressure would’ve been taken off of Wright and his PERFORMANCE wouldn’t have suffered….
But from the time he was 23, surrounded by more experience and superior players, Wright has always been treated much differently by the local media in NYC…all these things have contributed in my opinion to the fish in bowl syndrome ….which contributed to his poor numbers with RISP and bases loaded from 08-12 ( with the exception the first 3 months of this season )
Wright probably will go to Baltimore….they have a competitive club…they have a DH position waiting for him when his range drops even further….they have a ton of cash…a hitter friendly park……a sensible fanbase…..a much smaller media…and are a hop skip away from his family next door in Virginia
I’ve met DW before…he really is as nice as he seems on tv….hope the best for him
Pedro was marketed a ton…he was a big time fan favorite. The problem with him was that he didn’t do much other than in 2005…he was hurt/unproductive over the bulk of the contract.
Reyes was marketed quite a bit too…and he tended to get a lot of love by the media and fans. (And I certainly wouldn’t say he was superior player to Wright outside of last year)
Delgado was only actually good for about a year and half as Met and seemed to hate dealing with the media…avoided them whenever he could so in terms of the media stuff there wasn’t much the Mets could do. Beltran was a great Met….for whatever reason he was very much underappreciated. But I don’t think marketing has had anything to do with Wright’s struggles
Really?
I dont remember too many met commercials with Pedro…not too many photo-ops with jeff wilpon visiting some sick kids in a hospital either…
“but for whatever reason” ….
Carlos Beltran who was one of the best players in the league did charity work ON HIS OWN…every year….not too much press about it…in half a year in SF, i saw 3 articles talking about his charity work there…now in St.L, he set up a foundation for kids….he owns a resteraunt in mid-town manhattan…
again…not too many commercials and shine time in the press for him..
Same with Delgado…although like you said…he wasnt a fan of the press either…
Delgado was awesome for 3 seasons…and was on his way to another great season in 2009…how on earth u shrunk 3.25 seasons into 1.5 is beyond me…he hit more HR and more RBI as a Met 1B in that short period of time than any other in team history…again….the team put no effort into making him a focal selling point…it was always Wright…
“Reyes was marketed quite a bit too…”
no he wasnt…
For the record…if Wright looked like John Kruk….he probably wouldnt have been put front and center as well….but Wright looks like a future JFK presidential candidate and was the perfect media spokesman…
I absolutely think the mets did him a disservice by not spreading out the love.
a part of it is the kind of personality that Beltran and Delgado are…they are the quiet do my job and leave me alone type of players…and Pedro was marketed when he first came to town…but by 08…Wright was on his own…
I hope the White Sox go for him. They have salary room. I think only like 83 million or so. They need a 3rd baseman and Youkilis isn’t the long term answer. If he resigns with the Mets I think it makes for a nice story but I would like to see him with a more competitive team since hes gonna be 30 next year.
I love David Wright but, as a Mets fan, I hope they trade him away. He does not have any particular skill set that allows him to “carry” an offense. On a good team he has to be at least the 2nd, hopefully 3rd best hitter on the team (last time the Mets were good was in 2006 when Delgado and Beltran were both better and Reyes was close to Wright’s production). A lineup that is highlighted by David Wright is not a championship lineup. He is going to command 17+ MM and I don’t think that makes sense for the Mets right now considering they don’t have that second or third piece to match with him. It would be great if they traded him to a team that can afford him and can compete. That would be best for both parties at this time.