While the Mets look to have primed themselves for a potential run next year, the organization’s expectation is that payroll will remain in the low-to-mid-$80MM range, reports ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Insider link). A major portion of that (just over $54MM) is already promised to veterans David Wright, Curtis Granderson, Bartolo Colon, and Jon Niese. And several players — including Daniel Murphy, Bobby Parnell, Dillon Gee, and Lucas Duda — will be in line for sizeable salaries through arbitration. GM Sandy Alderson said recently that the team will “have some flexibility,” Olney says it seems likely that the front office will need to look for buy-low options to fill its various areas of need.
Here’s more from New York:
- The Mets face a fairly significant upcoming roster crunch, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Players like Wilmer Flores, Jenrry Mejia, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Andrew Brown, and Cesar Puello will be out of options for the first time. And the 40-man will remain full heading into the fall since the team has only two free agents (Daisuke Matsuzaka and Bobby Abreu) and needs to accomodate returns from the 60-day DL (Matt Harvey and Bobby Parnell). Creating roster space for new additions and Rule 5 protection will require some tough, early choices for New York.
- With no indication from the Mets that a large payroll expansion is coming, the club may hope for a production boost from a combination of internal improvements and shortened fences, writes Newsday’s Marc Carig. Though bringing in the fences again would obviously impact opponents as well — and has been in the works for some time — Carig notes that there could be some home-team benefits. In particular, reeling in a spacious right-centerfield might result in some additional home runs, given that several of the club’s best hitters thrive hitting to that alley. And if the team’s own rotation can reach its potential, the corresponding benefit to the opposition may not match the Mets’ own yield. For his part, Alderson emphasizes that the changes to dimension are designed solely to enhance the fan experience at Citi Field.
- As it looks to transition back into contention, the club is facing a potentially difficult and embarrassing legal situation, as Selim Algar of the New York Post reports. Former head of marketing and ticket sales Leigh Castergine — the organization’s first-ever female senior vice president, per the report — has sued the club and COO Jeff Wilpon (son of owner Fred Wilpon) for allegedly firing her based on moral opposition to her becoming pregnant without being married. The suit apparently includes numerous specific details that, if proven, could conceivably have important implications for the team’s front office structure.
I’m beyond sick of the Wilpons.
Alright, let’s add sexism and sanctimony to the list of reasons why the Wilpons are detestable and shouldn’t own a baseball team.
I thought the Mets were a high-payroll team? When did they fall down to $80mm?
They’ve been down there for several years. The Wilpons lost a bunch of money in the Bernie Madoff scandal, and Omar Minaya had backlogged the team with several terrible contracts. That forced the team to rebuild and the payroll to be so low.
At this point the bad Omar contracts are off the books The Wilpons, despite being in the largest media market in the world, are either unwilling or unable to spend the money they should be spending to field a winning team.
Yeah, I was just mentioning it as part of the reason they ended up in the mess in the first place.
Also, I’m in your fantasy baseball league.
EDIT: In fact, I’m actually playing you guys in the playoffs right now, hahah
I think it’s a combination of both. Poorly performing teams (through having to cut payroll ie getting rid of performing players and failing to replace them) and subsequent lower attendance have cut revenues. So they might be slightly unable. Of course, it’s very obvious that they’re unwilling as well, as whenever the Mets are a good team, they do very well in attendance.
Their payroll is lower now than it was in 2001. Payrolls and salaries are exploding while the Mets’ payroll keeps shrinking. It would be borderline unbelievable that nothing is being done on MLB’s executive end if it weren’t sadly business as usual under Selig.
The big factor is their inability to spend due to the Madoff scandal.
But it’s also true that teams have become much better at locking up their young players and keeping teams from making it to free agency. The recent free agent markets are atrocious; 2014-14 possibly the worst in decades. There are fewer good players that teams are looking to move to clear salary. If the Wilpons wanted to spend money, they probably wouldn’t find much out there.
When is MLB going g to come in and take these jokes from the Wilpons.This is an embarrassing situation that a team from the largest city in the world is run like a second rate team!
Better check your atlas … NYC is nowhere near the largest city in the world. Not sure it’s even top ten anymore.
Well it’s a top 10 Metro area still. The US doesn’t specialize in large cities though, never really been its thing due to our Car dependence.
We use to have some of the largest cities in the world before the 50s. New York only somewhat recently fell out of the top 10.
#1 market by $
When wealth and income are considered, however, NYC is probably close to the #1 consumer market in the world. I would guess Tokyo is #1, but NYC would certainly be top 5.
Selig is a close ally of Fred Wilpon. You have a better chance of Manfred stepping in.
That’s … disappointing.
sigh
This legal case against the Mets and Jeff Wilpon could be huge, especially in light of the Donald Sterling case and the other recent cases of sexual and racial discrimination/crimes in major sports. I hope it forces MLB to push for the Wilpons to sell the team. They did it with Frank McCourt (for financial reasons), they could do it with the Mets (for criminal discrimination and “in the best interests of baseball” for the potential PR hit if they didn´t oust them).
He’ll settle quietly without admission of wrongdoing, and Selig will leave it at that.
“It’s gonna be prohibitive” – Sandy Alderson
All you need to know about how much the Wilpons care about winning.
If this is the case, it’s somewhat unacceptable that Colon is still on the team. Then again, it’s also unacceptable that the Wilpon’s still own the team… What a joke.
It’s almost a neccesity at this point that Colon be moved. His salary plus Chris Young coming off the books is a decent chunk of money but that doesn’t change the fact that an NYC baseball can’t spend money. It’s pathetic.
Colon is still on the team because he lacks trade value. But you would be correct to assert that if the Wilpons were willing to take on a significantly larger chunk of the salary, he would have more trade value.
That said, Colon’s trade value is not likely to improve until next season begins. The Mets have needs, but they also have a glut of young pitching. i would try to move pitchers that have value to get value at LF or SS, and retain Colon as a innings-eating starter (who might be traded during the season, if the opportunity avails).
You’re right that Colon’s usefulness as a trade chip is hindered by the Wilpon’s unwillingness to eat salary.
What if the team acquires hitters who have tendencies to hit to different parts of the field? Are they just going to constantly monitor their roster’s hit charts and petition the league every off-season to change the dimensions?
Right field is 398 feet in citi field.
398 feet.
398 is deep in center field. 398 in RIGHT FIELD is INSANE. Oh and you might say something like “no it is marked 390”. They are lying when they say 390. It is only 390 on one corner of that wall segment, the majority of the wall is 398 or further. They even specify as such in their official documentation where they list the actual measurements. Even if it were 390, which it isn’t, 390 is INSANE for right field. It should be 385, max.
and yet Selig says the Mets are Ok and sticks behind the Wilpons…
Wow. Passan has long despised Wilpon so he pulled no punches in his latest article. My goodness. I am sad for what happened to Leigh; and as a father of a young daughter, I’m horrified even just thinking of someone dictating this kind of misogyny to my daughter. HOWEVER…if Leigh’s suffering leads to MLB finally ousting the Wilpons…she not only deserves every penny, but her job back, and a spot in the Mets Hall of Fame.
Can someone explain options to me? I always thought it had to do with how many times a player can be called up and sent down, but obviously Puello has never been called up so for him to be out of options that cannot be the case
You have a certain number of option “years”. I.E. Puello has no years left that he can be optioned back and forth without being exposed to waivers. I think its 3 option years.
Options are often spoken about in misleading terms. Really, the way to think of it is: “option” = “a year in which a player is on the 40-man roster but spends some time on optional assignment in the minors.”
The way it happens with guys like Puello is that they are added to the 40-man in the offseason to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. The following spring, when they don’t make the active roster, they are technically optioned to a minor league affiliate. They’ve now burned an option, regardless whether they are brought up that year (or whether they go up or down multiple times).
Most players have three option years. (In particular circumstances, teams can get a fourth option year over some players.) Puello was on the 40-man after the 2011 season, so this is his third option year. Next spring, the club will either have to break camp with him on the active roster or pass him through outright waivers.
This explanation makes so much sense! Thank you!
This year I was constantly wondering how the Red Sox could send up and down JBJ and Betts without wasting the three options or how the O’s could send down almost every pitcher back and forth.
No problem.
And yeah, that’s exactly why those teams could move those guys up and down. You have to wait ten days once you send a guy down (unless they are an injury replacement), but otherwise players who have an option year can be shuttled essentially at will.
Who are the least popular owners in professional sports? Donald Sterling is gone; Daniel Snyder has plenty of supporters; perhaps Jerry Jones? The Wilpons are certainly close. Met fans hate the Wilpons passionately, and with every embarrassing news story, come hopes that they will finally get run out of the baseball.
I don’t know, but I suspect any franchise owner with the name “Dolan” has got to be way up on the list, regardless of whether they’re in Cleveland or NYC.
“firing her based on moral opposition to her becoming pregnant without being married.”
The Wilpons have morals?