12:10pm: The Mets believe their extension talks with Walker are “probably dead,” Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.
10:21am: Mets GM Sandy Alderson has recently met with Neil Walker’s representatives to work out a contract extension, but talks have recently “hit a snag,” Newsday’s Marc Carig writes. The issue, it seems, is the second baseman’s already-in-place $17.2MM 2017, which he locked in when he accepted the Mets’ qualifying offer last November. It appears the Mets wanted Walker to restructure his 2017 salary as a condition of the extension, in order to free up funds for this year’s club.
Recent reports have suggested an extension for Walker could be in the three-year, $40MM range. If such a deal were to include 2017, that would essentially amount to an extra two years and $22.8MM for Walker. That’s a significant commitment from the Mets’ perspective, but the price also seems reasonable given that Walker’s $17.2MM is already on the books. Walker had season-ending back surgery in September, but as Craig points out, the Mets’ willingness to extend him, and to give the qualifying offer in the first place, reflect confidence that Walker’s health won’t be a major hindrance going forward.
Walker hit a strong .282/.347/.476 in his first season with the Mets after arriving from Pittsburgh in a trade in the 2015-16 offseason. His defensive numbers also took a turn for the better in New York after years of average to below-average showings with the Pirates. If Walker were to continue to perform well in the coming year, he would enter the 2017-18 offseason as one of the most valuable free-agent infielders available. 2017 will be Walker’s age-31 season, however, and both his age and health record will surely be considerations as the Mets ponder extending him.
I wonder if his defense improved with the Mets because of all the shifts Pittsburgh likes to play?
Is there a measurement on defensive success at a position with teams who shift more?
The snag is the Mets are realizing Walker is not that good, a high injury risk, and already overpaid as it is.
Yep
I always thought he hit with a newspaper
I foresee a similar progression for Walker as what Russell Martin is experiencing: A
very good year the first year after leaving the Bucs, then a gradual but noticeable decline. The Bucs may not have made out well in the trade for Walker, but I have zero regrets that they traded him instead of extending his contract.
Hmmm. You gave me 17 Mill and now you want me to reallocate 5 Mill for later.? Sorry (Overrated) Sandy, it dont work that way. You’re not as smart as you think you are. That QO to a back-injured second baseman was pretty darn stupid to begin with.
Actually it does work that way at times. Guys restructure all the time on these types of QO deals. Neil does not want to and that is his right. Guys take the QO to buy time to get the long term deal done. All the money is guaranteed anyway so it is not like Neil would lose any of the 17 million.. Just a matter of when it gets paid.
That being said, I am with you on spending big bucks on Walker with his back history. Unfortunately many Pirates fans hugely complained that Nutting would not spend to to sign him long tern and not trade him before last year. Kind of toned down after Neil’s back went out. I am with connfyoozed below, I was not upset that the Pirates did not spend big bucks on him.
No they don’t. What on earth are you talking about? Only a few players have accepted a QO…EVER! How could they restructure them “all the time.” Literally nobody has ever done that. Sandy (although I wouldn’t be surprised if it came from ownership) just want to effectively renege on their QO (or get a rebate), & they think they’re being clever doing it this way. They’re not. Good for the agents, who clearly told Sandy to shove it. If you don’t want to pay, don’t make the offer, you stupid f*cks! I know it may seem impossible after this tirade, but I’m a lifelong Mets fan (who is sick of this ownership).
It’s time Pjncmu to improve your life and end your suffering. Use your wallet to tell the cheap Wilpons to stop their make believe ways and sell the team to someone who supports the franchise and NOT the Dodgers.
The overrating he’s deeper than that buddy. Unaccustomed to having consistent financial support, Sandy blows the bank every time that he is given an allowance out of the norm. Walker is a good player on a team with a TERRIBLE infield. He could easily replace any position player in the infield. Has they played their best hand they would have signed the guy who proved clutch down the stretch in 2015.
The only reason to extend Walker would be to restructure his 2017 QO salary, which never should have been offered in the first place. Seemed silly to offer the QO coming off back surgery with Rivera, Flores, Reyes,Reynolds, Cecchini and Rosario on the 40man
They made an expensive gamble and it backfired on them, but at least they’re stuck with an above average player on a 1 year deal. No such thing as a bad 1 year deal anyways
They made a stupid gamble. Of course a 31 yr old, declining player coming off back surgery would accept the QO.
How is he declining if last year his numbers all around improved? Seems like a silly thing to say especially for an above average second basemen who’s number went up last year
Jay Bruce is a bad 1 year deal since he is bad and will also be blocking conforto.
Well, if he goes 30-100 again for $13M, I can live with Conforto getting more seasoning in LV. Not like Grandy was a gold glover in RF anyway.
And Captain David who is being paid by an insurance company. Think of that each time a line drive or sharp grounder goes by him. Double down when he throws to first and ends up getting there on three bounces.
Hey JD…all of those guys together won’t play 162 games. Typical Mets roster of overrated, overpaid underperforming players. Keep your optimism and you will be a goat (lol).
Simply put, the Mets ended 2016 with the belief that Cespedes would not be back and the securing of Bruce and tagging the qualifying offer on Walker were insurance moves (they had to believe coming off back surgery, Walker was going to seriously consider accepting it.
This was the case and it’s infuriating. The idea of Cespedes leaving should never have crossed their minds. He left money on the table to remain with them last year, he wants to play in NY. Give him a decent offer and he stays (which is exactly what happened).
Also, how badly did Sandy misread the market? There were so many outfield bats available that they could not move Bruce. So even if they did lose Cespedes the market was saturated with replacements.
Yeah, I agree. He loves NY and the Yanks are quasi-rebuilding. This was a strategic botch.
He loves NY type money and played the Muts for everything that he could. As long as their checks don’t bounce, he will be a satisfied player.
It can be expensive (on a lot of fronts) to be cheap. The Mets could have signed Cespedes after 2015 without much drama for his eventual ask, a normal, 5 year contract at about 110 mm. Too cheap. Result (direct) – they’ll end up paying about 30 mm more than that in the same 5 year period. Collateral damage – DeAza signing (5.7 mm); Conforto doesn’t prepare to play some RF in the Fall and thus not the Spring either (setting up pure platoon role, where he’s removed for Lagares for defense in late innings); Bruce trade (prospects lost, salary assumed, and Conforto reduced to bench role after returning from AAA). They exercise option on Bruce and have trades but they require Mets to pick up half of salary, Too cheap. Result (direct) – they’ll pay a good part of the salary even if he is traded during the year and they pay nothing after they trade. Collateral damage – offseason put on hold for a month until they can move Bruce for something with paying anything, and Conforto goes into 2017 Spring with nowhere to play.
The Wilpon cycle, continuous since 1991.
Spot on.
Yup old. It’s easier for me to say than you swallow the Wilpons huh?
Worse is “TC” who leads MLB in pitchers going in the DL over the past 4-5 years. He singlehandedly destroys pitchers careers: Starting with Johan, “TC” saves the Wilpons $$ by driving pitchers arms into danger.
Why would Murphy take a deal with pretty much no upside for him?
Also worth noting that with the new CBA Walker cannot be issued a QO again next year even if he has a great year, so if he is healthy and has another strong season he could definitely command a good contract, $50m+. If the Mets think he is healthy a 2/$25m type extension is definitely worth considering.
Not a chance. He could hit like an MVP player and the Mets will be tight lipped and cheap.
Think pirates lost worse in that gamble and what we got in return and production with Niese.
I see that you still haven’t invested in “Hooked on Phonics”…
Lol….wow….I’m sooooo hurt
Walker should take the extension opportunity while he can. Age and back surgery….take whatever you can get and run with it, even if you have to restructure your 2017 dollars.
At the cross roads of stupidity and cheapness. Only the Wilpons would pursue an extension with a player for purposes of saving 3.8 mm in the current year. Walker was needed back with or without Cespedes. Their IF is still short one ML starter (even with Walker). System has good middle IF talent, but there’s nothing at 3b for the next couple of years (major or minor leagues). That’s why you should extend Walker if you can at reasonable rate for a couple of years (and his back checks out – nothing was going to be signed before that anyway). Not a few million dollars for a 2017 budget that already represents comical under spending for a big market team. It’s not going into the team/budget in any case.
Last year, their convenient delusions about David Wright making a comeback (and of course the untouchable Dilson Herrera) justified letting Murphy walk. Now, it appears, Walker. The pitchers haven’t even been contacted. They have their excuses, and some make sense with the injuries, but not a single one approached? No quality organization would let events unfold this way.
They are waiting till they HAVE to resign one of their pitchers. In other words at the last minute before being FA’s and then only if their arms havent given out or they have achieved a massive year…
Yes. But that approach, alone, means you’ll sign maybe 2, likely just 1, longer term. Fred is cheap, as my username suggests, but it would be nearly impossible for any team to pay full sticker price (at the point of FA) on 4 elite young starters (assuming they all are that at the time). If you want to keep them together, longer than a couple more years, you have to do a buyout of arbitration/FA years early with at least a couple of them. Yes, there’s risk of a bad contract. That’s the price of doing business if you want to win.
In a couple of years, the Wilpons will be “selling” Mets fans on the fact that he simply couldn’t pay all these pitchers in FA with such a short window, and it will be a sympathetic case. Of course, the truth is that if you start now, you have a chance (If warranted, it may not be) to keep them together for more than a few years and prolong the window. Every now and then the Mets say something about needing to very soon pay the young pitchers as a reason they are so stingy in the draft and never really compete for FAs. All BS of course. Like Dilson Herrera. When the time comes, they’ll be a reason not to sign most of them.
Insurance money is sweet. Who cares about you when the Wilpons enjoy going to the bank with their deposits.
Qualifying offer was dumb, probably could have had him for $12-13.
To think, his $17 million plus Bruce’s $13 million instead of Dilson Herrera and $30 million. So frustrating to think what could/should have been.
Also, anybody else worried about the infield depth? No one at first after Duda, Wright and Reyes are never healthy, Walker and Cabrera are not young. Outside of Flores what are we working with? You would hope Rosario is there toward the end of the season.
Wilpons weren’t spending that 30 mm anywhere else. That’s a joke, right? The Wilpons rarely authorize a real FA signing, i.e., a multi-year contract, and when they do (Cespedes), it’s a necessity to prevent a fan revolt, comes after “threats” that they won’t sign it (to test the waters) and it’s still always a tortured structure to limit contract length without any sense of scale.
The QO to Walker was the right move under the circumstances. The Mets wanted (needed) Walker back for 1 more year, and the QO was the only way that was going to happen. You always overpay on an accepted QO, it’s expected, Its still a good deal for the teams vs the players – which is why the players, not the owners, have changed the system going forward (so no, “we” would not have had him at any price under 18 mm for 1 year if we hadn’t made the qualifying offer, because he would have gone somewhere offering multiple years, it’s the draft pick plus the injury, that Walker’s agent anticipated might quell the market for him), The Wilpons were never giving out a multi-year contract at that qualifying number or any multi year contract to a middle IF because there are young options on the way. Alderson was able to convince dumb and dumber not to rush Rosario to the MLs by bringing Walker back for one more year, but very little if any of the money saved by him rejecting it would have been used on payroll, and none on anyone significant..
Bruce was a dumb trade, but, having made it, exercising the option to recover something was a reasonable risk at the time, and may still work out (probably would have already) if the Mets would have agreed (like the rest of the world) to eat some of the salary on a traded player that you’re on the hook for anyway. That Bruce’s 13 mm wasn’t going back into the team was essentially stated by the team. They also put the entire off season in deep freeze for over a month waiting for Bruce to be moved without a penny of salary taken back so they could sign relief pitchers. Eventually they relented, but if they unload Bruce at get the 13 mm back, it’s not going back into the team.
Why would he restructure his q/o
Lol
Can anyone explain to me why the mets operate like they are not in the biggest market in baseball?
Mets payroll for this year 150-160 for this year so how are they cheap
Place: In NYC, baseball’s pre-eminent market, that’s ridiculously low. No NYC team should ever be outside the top 5, even in a rebuilding year.
Process: They only got to this middling payroll level kicking and screaming against a potential fan revolt, and still have it as a main priority to reduce it by unloading Bruce based not on return package, only that acquiring team pay salary. This during a season where they claim the payroll reflects them being “all in”. Before going all in, their payroll was under 100 mm for several years, and outside the top 20 payrolls twice in that period. Even at higher level, payroll can’t be maximized through planning because Wilpons’ don’t commit to any budget in advance – prefer to go contract by contract, looking for bargains and hometown discounts and cost cutting opportunities along the way. Alderson can’t just spend what he doesn’t pay to one player on another. Convenient delusions that players can perform above their recent history based on the fact that they don’t want to pay for a replacement. Related refusal to move under performing or redundant players in a trade if they have to pay part of salary. Forget Bruce, these kept Oliver Perez and Jason Bay in uniform for years beyond what was rational. Now, we’re supposed to believe that David Wright will come back and be our 3b.
Payroll ain’t all: Their approach to the draft is unlike any other major market team, and most mid-market teams. Staying within slot, and often under drafting to go below. Never paying market bonuses to IFAs (a problem for years, but really hurt when the Cubans started becoming available, as Mets one of the few teams never involved). Scouting and development budgets rank lower middle to lower third. Comically, the complain about “bad luck” in the FA and trade markets (funny how the “lucky” teams all scout well). Refusal to pay market fees to minor league affiliates in International League, resulting in AAA team being in Las Vegas (after New Orleans) instead of the International League. This continues to be an issue for the farm system.
There’s more, but that’s what immediately comes to mind.
This how they came to draft Nimmo. Flying under the radar so he was cheap to sign. Believe me i’m hip to all of their tricks. Especially their inability to cut bait with David Wright…Fred and Sandy he is DONE. Now go get a new Third Baseman.
A kid from Wyoming, or a Boras client (Fernandez)? Tough choice, though not really.
The Wright situation is sad. Double Done. The guy’s spinal stenosis had already robbed him of any ability to throw from 3b overhand or play in a game at all with 4-6 hours of prep time – all this BEFORE he broke his neck last year. Now, with limited range of motion in his neck, they pretend like he’s coming back because he says he wants to. In reality, they just want that money off the books (insurance or otherwise) before they do anything to really solve 3b.