The Mets entered the winter in a bit of a payroll predicament. Now, they’re searching for a creative way to resolve it, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link).
While the New York payroll limit isn’t known publicly, the front office seemingly feels it may be best served moving money off of the books. The contracts of veterans Jeurys Familia and Jed Lowrie are each under water after brutal 2019 seasons, so that seems to be the place the club is targeting.
Of course, no other club is going to have interest in paying Familia ($22MM through 2021) and Lowrie ($13MM through 2020) what they’re still owed. But the Mets are floating a “concept,” per Rosenthal, by which they’d attach some of those unwanted payroll obligations to an otherwise positive-value player-asset. Say, Dominic Smith and his five remaining seasons of team control.
Just how likely this is to come to fruition isn’t clear. But it’s conceptually possible. The Mets picked up Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano last winter on this essential model (though that only makes it all the more frustrating to be pursuing this sort of pact in the opposite direction, involving other recently acquired players). And Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets that the team actually had a chance to pull off such a scenario at the trade deadline involving Familia and Zack Wheeler.
It’s hard to conceive just what a Familia-Wheeler swap might have looked like — it’s tough to imagine any team would have taken on a big piece of that salary to rent Wheeler for a few months — but it seems the pursuit gained some traction. Then again, Martino also asserts in another tweet that the Mets nearly pulled off a Wheeler-Noah Syndergaard blockbuster before backing out of talks with the Astros. It appears the Brodie Van Wagenen-led front office has explored a wide array of possibilities in recent months.
It will be interesting to see if the Mets can find a salary swapping partner that makes sense. While parting with talent to dump payroll isn’t always advisable, the New York club may be particularly well-situated to do it. Smith is a unique asset: young and affordable, with a solid recent track record and a prospect background, but also largely superfluous to the Mets. Perhaps J.D. Davis could be another candidate to function in a trade of this kind, though he could also still have a functional role on the roster. If there’s an opportunity to free capital to improve the roster in other ways, it makes sense to pursue. But it’s also possible to imagine Smith and/or Davis being cashed in for prospects instead, so it’s important to consider that opportunity cost in assessing the possibilities.
Their own GD fault.
Can they trade the Bobby Bonilla contract
The bobby Bonilla helped pave the way for signing Mike Hampton. Letting mike Hampton sign w Colorado gave them the draft pick to draft David Wright.
And Hampton being later traded to the Marlins in the 2002-2003 offseason, but the Florida resident refused to go because he wanted “to go to a team trying to win” forced a trade to the Braves, where he was back home in Florida earlier than expected, so he could answer questions about his comments upon forcing the trade away from the Marlins who lasted a bit longer than the Braves did in the 2003 postseason.
Hampton paved the way for some nice things.
Lol I never knew he said that. That’s great
He also said some clever things like ‘it’s all about the schools’ when he chose the Rockies’ higher offer over the NYMs. NYC and the surrounding environs have the best private schools in the country, but Hampton apparently thought that Denver had better schools.
Yep. He said it when the trade between the Marlins and Rockies was agreed upon to send him and Juan Pierre to the Marlins with Preston Wilson and Charles Johnson sent to the Rockies. Hampton had a no-trade clause, which he said he would not waive if the Marlins didn’t agree to trade him. When they tried to convince him to come play for his home state on a developing team that was close to putting it together, that’s when he made the comment. After the forced trade to the Braves (who are actually geographically closer to his home in North Florida), the Marlins settled with Mark Redman as the veteran to help round out the young pitching staff that had AJ Burnett, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Carl Pavano, and a young lefty prospect named Dontrelle Willis.
When the Marlins made that run, Miami reporters made a point as including that Hampton narrative in the whole “Marlins shocked the world” story.
Florida resident Hampton never got a ring in his career.
Yeah, Hampton’s mouth didn’t do him any good. LOL!
Haha that’s great stuff. Thanks!
Neither did any Mets player since.
Lol
Rationalizing the Bobby Bo deal is hilarious. Mets fans are so desperate for hope that they get delusional about their pathetic history.
And in other news, water is wet
Actually water isn’t wet.
Only if you touch it! Lol
haha
lol at all the mets fans saying Cano/Lowrie were great pickups.
i remember the Lowie vs LeMahieu poll from last offseason. incredible how things have changed.
Lowrie was always a good story off season based on his abilities. However his inability to consistently stay on the field was the main reason why the Red a Sox originally traded him.
I’d like to meet all the Met fans who thought Cano was a good pick up.
Diaz, yes. But I don’t remember anyone arguing Cano was a good pick up.
I think someone should Google the MLBTR posts about Cano being traded to the Mets.
I think you should get a life.
If you’re fan base doesn’t want to get called out, don’t make the statement in the first place that you’ll try to deny later.
Hey squeaky Danny.
Cano tested for PEDs and was on the back end of a huge contract. How DiPoto got anyone to bite is beyond me.
For that reason alone DiPoto is GM of the year.
Truth
I mean, he was coming off a 3.5 WAR season in 2017, then put up 3.2 WAR in 2018 in only 80 games. The age was concerning, sure, but the production was still there.
Like he said, he tested positive for peds. I cant believe anybody touched the contract.
The 3.2 WAR in 2018 was AFTER getting caught and returning. Like he said, the production was still there. Can’t argue that taking the contract was not likely many teams were lining up to do, but the Mets shed some awful contracts of their own for guys not putting up positive WAR and Cano was. Also, he hit pretty darn well second half of last year.
@ bryan c – – – in what aspect did Cano “hit pretty darn well” the second half ?
Cano hit 10 hrs in half a year in 2018 coming off of a PED suspension. He was an aging historically lazy player with very little power whose defense was deteriorating and he was no longer on steroids.Brodie the NY media and maybe you were the only people who didn’t realize the Mets got hosed on that deal. The last 2 years of that contract Cano will be a 50 million dollar bench player. Truthfully he should have been a bench player the first year of the contract but you don’t pay someone 24 mill to sit on the bench. Any sane gm would’vejust picked up a free agent closer but the Mets and Brodie loved the idea of collecting 20 mill and trading away 24 mill in contracts the first year and saw it as a cash grab damn the future.Now the future is closing in
If the Mets were to do the right thing, Cano would be a bench player going into next year.
oh gosh, don’t empower DiPoto.
Amen. That cano/Diaz for essentially kelenic will go down as one of the most lop sides trades of all time.
DiPoto found the biggest idiot and then worked him over so badly that Brodie left thinking he won one of hte worst trades in Mets history. It’s not like the Mets haven’t made some bad trades back in the day, but the Cano trade has crippled them for 5 or more years.
And Mr. Handsome Smile with the BIG mouth gets DUMB newbie GM award.
Anyone want to bet that he pulls another BOZO deal in his sophomore year?
Package them with even better prospects for Marte.
Because the Pirates are looking to add $20-30 million in payroll obligations?
Depends on the term. For a year or two, sure. Not like our payroll is going be much anyways.
I think it’s a good idea for a team that’s almost guaranteed to be last in 2020 anyway.
Yes, it should be part of the plan. Deal aggressively and take on short term bad contracts to sweeten the deal. Those contracts come off the books and use the money to sign someone. Ok, that last sentence was a joke.
Lol pirates wont even answer the phone
To save money, the Pirates switched their phones to MagicJack but no one knows how to hit the 5 button.
Good luck with that.
Why do I get the feeling the Padres will be involved in this somehow.
I thought the same thing.
However, SD is looking to dump Myers and a three-year, $60MM commitment of which Familia and Lowrie together would offset $20MM next season, $11MM of what Myers would be owed in 2021, and none of Myers’s $20MM in 2022.
Not to mention the Mets would be giving up a younger, better redundant player for an older, much less exciting 1B/DH type.
I believe Myers is younger than both of them.
This way they can make a couple bad signings this winter and be in the same spot next year. Should have never signed Lowery to begin with. They already had cano and Frazier. The familia deal is a little more acceptable, but three years was crazy.
I agree. You can justify the Familia deal. He filled a position of need and had success with the Mets before. But the Lowrie deal never made any sense after the Cano trade.
Familia deal was worse then you think.It was backloaded so the first year. he only got paid 6 mill . He’ll be getting paid 11 mill per the next two years which is ridiculous.Why would a team take on Famillias contract to get a player like Dom Smith a guy who couldn’t crack the Mets lineup. He’s a terirble fielder who has not shown himself to be a great bat. The Mets backloaded Faimlias contract and made all the fronted money on the Cano deal so it would look like they were spending money when in reality they were making money for one year on the Familia and Cano deals. Now they are stuck with unmanageable contracts that they won’t be able to dump
Are you basing his terrible fielding on his outfield play? He’s a much better glove at 1B than LF.
I love when fans just say things as if that makes it true. Smith is a bad fielding first baseman.In 2018 when he was only a first baseman not an outfielder he had a negative ,9 dWAR in just 56 games and the Mets were talking about moving him to the of to try and get his bat in the lineup.The fact you say hes a better glove at first does not make it so.. I don’t understand how you could’ve watched Smith at first and determined that he was a good glove at first
No doubt he is a better 1b than OF but he isnt agood 1b he is a DH
@ Willy Mays – I’m not pretending that Dom Smith is the next Cody Bellinger but he wasnt horrible in the OF and is actually a good 1B.
There you go again just stating things with no actual fact. I know dWAR is not that best stat but a -.9 dWAR in 50 games is atrocious.As a Met fan when he was coming up you have to be aware they said he was a defensive liability with a potent bat.I don’t understand how you watched this guy play and have the nerve to say he’s good at first.That’s a joke. I’ve seen him play many games and I’m perplexed why you keep stating he’s a good fielder. This is a terrible of and a terrible first baseman. I find Mets fans love saying how good their players are and how good there team is.Last year they were all acting like they got an in his prime Cano. Now you want every body to believe, I can’t believe I’m saying this, Dominic Smith is good with a glove
Remember how their pitching staff is one of the greatest in MLB history? In the NL East, we see that “greatness” every single season from deGrom and…and…and…and…???
And who’s great on Marlins??? ………….Don’t worry, we can all wait………..that’s right, they all suck. When your team isn’t in the basement of the NL year after year, then only then your comments might mean something.
It’s actually the opposite. He was a good defensive player at first with an ‘ok’ bat that lacked power, questionable work ethic approach and a bit out of shape for his age. You can look up his prospectus at Baseball America.
Danny. Danny. Mommy wants you to stop mouthing off with stupid comments. The marlins may be bad now, however the Mets have been impotent for 30 or more years.
Hello. Quiet your stupid voice Danny:
almosts DONT count.
Smith couldn’t “crack” the Mets lineup because he is a 1B, which is all he has played. He is an above average glove at 1B who can hit a bunch of doubles and be productive w/o being a masher at 1B. He was blocked by the rookie of the year who set the all-time MLB record for HR.. Smith could have been a starter on at least 1/3 of the teams in MLB last year….at a position full of bat first guys. He is a pretty solid 1B, though he could only find real playing time as an OF. on the Mets.
Another Met fan saying Dominic Smith is good with a glove. How come he only played 50 games in 2018 when he had a -.9 dWAR in those fifty games. Dominic Smith is a possible dh waiting to happen but all Mets fans seem to think that all there players are superstars. There was Conforto and Nimmo aset to be superstars. Now there’s Dominic Smith. You guys need to look at your players much more objectively instead of saying things just to say them
Oh, I’d love to see the list of 1/3rd of the teams in MLB that Smith would start for at 1B. That list doesn’t include anyone in the NL East.
Is there anyone in the NL that would start him?
Maybe a small handful (if that many) on some really bad teams in the AL.
And I would love to see any Triple A team that would start any member on the Marlins pathetic roster, haha.
No team in the NL East would start Dominic Smith? For Christ sake the team in your profile logo just claimed Jesus Aguilar to start. Are you telling me they wouldn’t start Smith over Aguilar? Or does your hatred for the Mets just block that out?
Smith would start at 1B tomorrow for the Royals, Tigers, Marlins, Twins, Jays, Mariners, Rangers, Red Sox, Brewers, Angels, Giants, and Rockies.
He’s likely a better option than Hosmer as well but you know the money would be the hold up there. Same deal w Votto in Cincinnati. All things equal I’m fairly confident they’d take Smith over Votto at this point in Votto’s career. But we’ll go ahead and exclude those 2.
And that still gives you 10+ teams that Dom Smith would start on. There’s a reason he was a well regarded prospect. He has a strong hit tool and patience at the plate. He’s not a superstar but you can certainly look around the league and find teams he’d be an upgrade on.
As a first baseman, Dom had a .992 fielding average in 624 chances (5 errors) over the past three seasons. I think most people look at him as a first baseman, not an outfielder. He went out there to get playing time. Has a good attitude and is probably better than a fair amount of guys playing first. I could see him in a deal with an AL team as 1b/DH. The Mets will blow the deal though. Then again, they’re famous for playing people out of position, so they could keep him and try him at 3rd base (last comment sarcastic)
You do realize a 992 fielding pct for first base sucks right? I picked 3 other first basean one known as being a good firstbaseman Anthony Rizzo 995 career pct and two not known for their gloves Justin Smoak 996 pct. Albert Pujols 994. career pctYou provedmy point. Smith not a good fielder. Thank You
wow….003 (three thousands of a percentage point) makes Rizzo so much better? So if one guy bats .276 and another guy bats .279, the first guy is a lousy hitter compared to the second?
Getting the impression you just aren’t a Dom Smith fan, no matter what stats folks present As for Smoak, he can barely hit his weight and only .004 better. I’d take my chances on Dom in the AL., thanks.
Only a little you say. More numbers with better pcts. Freeman Votto Moreland CJ Cron Belt. I only found one first baseman with a lower pct then Smith and thats Alonso with a 991. Guess he’s a good fielder too. The reason the pcts are close is because the majority of chances that a first baseman gets is on a thrown balls I’m pretty sure they are all capable of catching a thrown ball.First baseman don’t get a lot of chances on ground balls and even if its not fielded cleanly they often still get a put out. Lets remember you posted that number to prove he’s a good fielding first baseman. Now your argument seems to be he’s not that terrible. So why don’t you now explain how that fielding pct supports your initial point I guess his dWAR of -.9 in 2018 in 56 games at first base isn’t bad either
I didn’t post the numbers to prove he was a good first baseman, you should go back and read your comment and then mine again. You claimed Votto was a good first baseman and Dom wasn’t when their fielding percentages were almost identical. Clearly, you don’t like Dom, so let’s leave it there
I read your comment. You said hes a first baseman not an outfielder and then listed that fielding pct and his 5 errors. The implication is that he’s not a great outfielder but a good first baseman. If not you agree with me Dom Smith is not a good fielding first baseman so whats the argument. Smith is an alright hitter who is a bad fielder and thus not worth a heck of a lot. Also you talk about me not reading.Nowhere did I claim Votto was either a good or a bad first baseman. I just said his fielding pct for his career is better then Smith. So since you didn’t mean Smith is a good fielder exactly what is his worth in a trade.
Seriously man, why in the world would they want Cano? They must have been in love, no wait; obsessed- with Edwin Diaz
Yes they were as were almost all other teams. They took a shot that misfired, oh well
Nope Phillie it was the Mets doing what they always do chasing the cash and not caring about the future.Last year in that trade they traded away 24 mill in contracts and got 20 mill in cash in the trade. That means they pocketed 20 million dollars last year. Any sane gm would’ve signed a closer but the Mets loved the idea of making a big move and still pocketing cash.Now they are having to start rid themselves of contracts and young useful players because of that deal.Same goes for Lowrie. They got him cheap because he was an aging player with a history of injuries. You get what you pay for. This is how the Mets in the biggest money market in the USA does business
Willy, much of what you said is true however they were also trying a win now approach that bombed. At the time, Diaz was coming off a 50 + save season with minimal money owed for 2019. Cano showed enough in 18 when he came back for many to believe he would still rake at the plate for the first half of his remaining deal. The Mets will always have a competitive payroll but will never lead the league. The money saved was used to negotiate deGrom’s extension and allowed them to sign Lowrie. When combined with the young players who performed better than advertised (Alonso and McNeil), the team could have won if their first half matched their second half. I’ve been a critic of the Mets in the past but they did a risk strategy that simply didn’t pay off last year.
What about that move cried win now. Everyone knew Cano was not going to live up to the contract and it would’ve been a leap of faith to believe Cano would be fine. A win now approach would’ve been to go after a closer and a big bat either through trade or fa or both not make a trade where you are taking on another teams bad player just to get a rp. It doesn’t make sense. To do that you would have to believe that Cano and Diaz would make them a World Series team because the trade buried you for the future. I can’t see how any competent GM could’ve believed Cano and Diaz would turn a losing team into a World Series threat. The truth is without Alonso who Brodie had no idea would be this good you would’ve been looking at a losing team last year. The Mets take the cheap way out yearly and Mets fans continue to let ownership off the hook. Why weren’t the Mets in on any big fas last year? Do you believe there going to be in on Rendon this year? Of course not its the Mets. a team in the biggest market in the world who acts like its a Midwest team. I take that back most of those teams have won since 1986
No one expects Cano to be living up to that contract in 22 but most expected him to be productive if overpaid the first couple of years. Unfortunately he got hurt and combined with Diaz being the worst closer in the majors makes the deal horrendous after one year. Even if the hotshot prospect (I forget his name) never produces, he could have been used in another deal. I get it. Fans however would be singing a different tune if Diaz had another blow out (instead of blow up) season and Cano produced. Everything gets magnified including the fact that it was Brodie’s first big deal and everyone’s initial impression of him will be lasting, at least until another deal hits. If Thor is traded, it could change his image or make him a bigger laughing stock than James Dolan which until now seemed impossible for someone to do.
Magnified in NY
hindsight is always 20/20. Everyone one here should be running an mlb team.
Besides learning of transactions, commenting on and creating rumors us why we sign up. Lighten up THEBASEBALLANALYST (your name says a lot if you re’read your post)
Dom Smith is a decent but flawed player. I’m not eating those contracts for him.
Familia is unmoveable and it’s hard to find a contract a team would swap. His performance was dismal in 2019.
Lowrie is more moveable given his versatility.
Lowrie is more moveable, because there’s one year left.
Lowrie is more likely to be moved from the 15 day DL to the 60 day list.
Lowrie, Familia, and Smith to Toronto for McKinney or Fisher. Use that money.
Oh god two years of Familia? That might not be palatable unless it’s a top prospect coming along with him.
Yikes
Toronto does this…why?
Dom Smiths bat
What bat?
You’d be paying 33 million for the rights to acquire Dom Smith. He’ll eventually hit arbitration and start getting paid. They might as well go sign Nick Castellanos instead. Have to imagine that it’d end up being the same price.
Not bad JD. Add Drury to the deal as Lowrie replaces him as the utility guy. Deal Giles elsewhere, hope Familia finds it as closer and deal him at the deadline.
The only reason deals like that would happen would be if there were a salary floor.
@ phenomenalajs – . . . . there absolutely should be a salary floor !!!
I love trade scenarios by Mets fans always trying to dump their mistakes on everyone else.
Do Mets fans not realize that other teams are trying to make themselves better – not make the Mets better.
I’m a Blue Jays fan lol. Is it that bad? I’ll admit I thought it was only one year of Familia though, not two.
And this coming from a Marlins fan who knows that his team does the same thing ALL the time. You are a lonely, pathetic loser bro.
1986!
That’s your comeback dude, wow, you really got me there. It’s sad that your entire existence is based on you trying to make other people as miserable as you are. Enjoy being alone because that’s exactly what happens to trolls like you.
What a disappointment you must be to your parents……..if you even have parents…………I just pray to God that you don’t have children because HOLY CRAP.
Opening day attendance number in Florida.
The Mets and Red Sox should call and hang up on each other…
Trade JD Davis, Dominic Smith, Thor, and Familia to Milwaukee for Hader and Corbin Burnes and a prospect.
wtf? seriously stop and think … it helps
They have 3 bad contracts all acquired by Brodie. He is in way over his head.
For crying out loud . Work on settlement for Cespedes and keep J.D.Davis in LF! Below par defensively but developing into outstanding hitter!
The Mets don’t mind Cespedes money because they get 3/4s of it back in insurance pay.That way between him and Wrights insurance aided contracts they can bloat their payroll without actually paying what they claim they’paying, Cespedes contract not hurting Mets like people believe. Without him they’d actually have to go out and spend that 29 million dollars
Following the link to Martino’s tweet, he also says the Astros though they were getting Wheeler AND Thor. That would have been wild.
They don’t have the farm to do that
Brodie is as bad as the Wilpons
Who the hell is taking one of those contracts for dom smith?
Guys get non tendered every year who can hit and play 1st base.
You think anyone is taking last years offensive numbers seriously for a guy who never produced before, and the easiest position to fill no less?
The Mets are screwed, they blew their chance to build a winner when the starters were cheap.
Now they have a bloated payroll, zero depth and a putrid farm system.
They might not make the playoffs if not 1 guy goes on the dl. Forget it if injuries hit.
This is exactly it in the 1st two paragraphs.
Teams would have a hard time being convinced to take on those contracts even if it was Alonso in the trade instead of Smith.
Smith? Really?
Too bad New York you made that mess now deal with it and also let’s ban deferred money
Agree Stubby. Owe 1$? Pay 1$. Same with spending money as well.. Something ALL sides of government should learn, particularly 1 side that funny money has long term costs.
I think this is about the moment when even the die-hard homers realize that hiring an agent to be your GM was a stupid move…
How about Lewis Brinson for Andres Gimenez and Familia? Mets get a lottery ticket in Brinson and Marlins get a good prospect for taking on Familias contract.
I like the way you think, though I don’t believe even Van Wegenen would give up one of his team’s best 3-5 prospects just to unload Familia.
Lewis Brinson will not become a major league hitter
As a Marlins fan, I pass, I’ll keep my garbage in Brinson. You keep your garbage.
Must feel good being a fan of a team that traded away an MVP-caliber player in Christian Yelich for Lewis Brinson. Haha!!! And this fool is trying to troll Mets fans, ROTFLMAO!!!
1986!
1986 and counting!
You’ve already been exposed as a troll. Have fun little boy because this is the only “joy” you’ll ever know……..which is extremely tragic.
MetsFanDanny – to be fair, no way Yelich projected as an MVP. He had 21 HR and 5.4 WAR in ’16, 18 HR and 4.2 WAR in ’17. So forget the “traded an MVP.” Let’s talk honestly… Same thing goes for the “traded an MVP” talk with Stanton. They dumped an albatross contract. That was an accomplishment. Nobody questions that now. Can’t criticize the Yankees for acquiring him AND criticize the Marlins for trading him. Like I said, let’s be honest.
Curious what the Noah Syndegard/ Wheeler deal to Houston included
Jeurys is an excellent rebound candidate if the Mets eat some money here. strong track record prior to last year and still fairly young.
I agree. The law of bullpen averages states that either Familia or Diaz will right the ship in 2020. Whichever one does is the closer.
Just for fun: Famiglia, Lowrie, Matz, Smith and Davis to Jays for Fisher, Grichuk, Giles, Drury, and Urena. Mets get a top 5 reliever in Giles, a solid but streaky OF in Grichuk, upside not seen yet in Urena and Fisher and a decent utility guy in Drury. Jays take on Salary of Famiglia and Lowrie, get 2 young developing players in Davis and Smith and a rotation piece in Matz. Thoughts?
Seems like a significant overpay for the Jays. If they are taking on both Familia and Lowries salaries, there’s no way they would have to give up five players to make that deal.
Stan Lee giving up Grichuk and Giles balances the salary. Not an overpay by the Blue Jays at all. If anything this deal is a total steal for Toronto if it were to happen. An absolute victory for the Jays.
Also for fun but requiring TOR to send less talent for big contracts, how about Grichuk and Urena to the Mets for Smith, Lowrie, and Cespedes?
Mets get to spread the 38MM they owe Lowrie and Cespedes in 2020 across the four years and $40MM owed Grichuk and that potential Urena upside you mentioned.
Toronto clears future years of Grichuk’s salary and saves $2MM by paying Lowrie and Cespedes for one year each, replaces Grichuk with Smith, and gets a veteran IF backup and possibly even some production at DH from Cespedes.
Add Drury, as Lowrie essentially replaces Drury. I’m all for this.
@agentx
The Mets are probably not very inclined to deal Cespedes. His deal is covered by insurance; assuming he doesn’t play. They’d be dishing out more actual dollars in that deal while also giving up the best player in the whole arrangement. (Smith) The Mets want to move salary but I don’t believe they want to move Cespedes’ salary.
I’d wager the guys they really want to move are Familia, Ramos, Lowrie, and Cano. Cano isn’t exactly movable though.
Yes, insurance does play a factor unless Cespedes is ready to return and cleared to play by the Mets FO, medical staff, and anyone else entitled to weigh in on the insurance question.
If Cespedes was not ready to come back and the Mets continued to collect insurance, you’re absolutely right that my “just for fun” scenario would cost the Mets more in actual dollars.
This could work but it take two to trade and I’m not sure who needs Smith’s bat that badly.
“Aww, poor Mets” – Nobody Ever
Move bad contracts? Aren’t they still paying Bobby Bonilla?
Isnt it amazing that the GM, ex player agent, now want to slash bad contracts. Mets get what they deserve
Possible bad contract swap options:
P- Danny Duffy from KC
OF-Lorenzo Cain from the Brew Crew
OF-Kevin Kiermaier from Tampa Bay
RhRP-Kelvin Herrera from the White Sox
This is what I’d try and do if i were BVW..
1. Trade Nimmo,Smith,Sewald and Szapucki
To Pirates for Marte and a low A lotto ticket arm
2.Trade Lowrie,Gimenez,Gsellman and Vientos
To Brewers for Hader and B- upperlevel prospect…
Sign… Tijuan Walker…2yr/$10mil ($15mil w/reached inxentives
Sign…Blake Treinen…1yr/$8.5mil ($12.5w/reached incentives
Sign…Caleb Joseph…1yr/$1.75mil
Sign…Yolmer Sanchez…1yr/$2.75mil
Id habe to tbi k..but i feel tbise moves make them alot better and conplete…
Swap the Marte and hader packages
Those trades are ridiculous their not giving up 4 players for Marte and 4 players for Hader besides the pirates deal the Mets aren’t taking on Marte ‘s $$ unless the pirates take back $$ maybe Nimmo and Familia for Marte and Milwaukee needs a 3b Lowrie and Gimenez for Hader or JD Davis and a minor leaguer for Hader.
Those trades are fair IMO…Nimmo,Smith and Gsellman are replaced by Marte and Hader.. Treinen signing upgrades the loss of Gsellman.
Keep Lugo in bullpen with Diaz..Familia..Hader..Treinen..
Walker is a solid low risk gamble zt a 5th starter. Yolmer Sanchez is a great defensive player wherever he plays….Caleb Joseph is a good backup catcher…
Nimmo has been a better hitter than Marte over the past 2 seasons. Marte is older, costs more money, and he is slowing down. Suffice to say, giving up additional pieces for Marte is a bad idea.
While i love Nimmo…he isnt as good as Marte…right now..
Marte is better defensively and hits enough. Maybe Nimmo becomes Grady Sizemore…..or maybe Elsbury with the yankees…
I know I’m getting .260+…80R..20HR…85RBI
…15SB….high 7’s low 8’sOPS
140+ games….good defense
Marte is affordable for his 2yr contract
(Mets have 2 years with this “core” before the team changed drastically.
BVW was questioned for getting Stroman….but if Wheeler signs elsewhere…Stroman steps right in
Matz at 4 and Miley/Nova/Walker/Roark/Porcello as the 5th
BartoloHRball, what are you talking about. Nimmo certainly wasn’t the better hitter last year by a long shot. You have a better argument for the year before but this year Nimmo was mostly doodoo. Marte’s a starter. Whether you feel he can play Center or should be moved to one of the corners he’s a starting caliber player. Nimmo hasn’t proven he’s more than a 4th outfielder yet.
This is why their fans call the ownership who are the well ponds the coupons. They are always looking to better their roster on the cheap. Only the Mets would try something like this.
New York is a small market. Money will always be an issue there.
Sarcasm alert!
A lot of these deals were very questionable to begin with …. they are basically the marlins expect more money and fans. They are able to spend enough to keep their team competitive, but continue to make bad decisions like the marlins
Lowrie, Familia, Smith, and Matthew Allan to Toronto for Giles, Grichuk, Drury and Fisher.
@ WereAllJustGuests – . . . . . DONE . . . where do we sign ?!!
Probably on a napkin given by a Wilpon.
So I guess they can be ruled out as a potential suitor for Mookie Betts? lol — that was part of the whole idea that they had extra payroll space and could afford to take on his contract… looks like maybe they’re in the opposite position — though they could also be two unrelated fronts as who wouldn’t want to rid themselves of bad contracts if they could!
Nothing wrong with the strategy, providing they are offering value to the trading partner so the Wilpons can enhance profitability.
Typical dumpster fire Mets. The red headed stepchild of New York baseball
The Reds seem to be aggressively trying to spend to contend in 2020. Why don’t the Mets trade J.D. Davis & Familia’s $22 million to Cincinnati for a couple of prospects most people don’t care about. Maybe like Jose Siri & Jose De Leon. Two prospects that most people wouldn’t even take a second look at. While the Reds can plug Davis in LF & maybe get a resurgent Familia for a playoff push in 2020. The Mets wouldn’t get talent back but at least it would free up at least $11 million for 2020.
@ MetsFanaticDanny . . . .. whether he ends up in LF or at 3B the Mets need to keep JD Davis. The real issue is that Cano and his disgusting contract need to a reserve / utility guy so that McNeil is set at 2B going forward. The concept of fielding a lesser lineup with Cano in it just because he is getting paid is ridiculous.
@GothamGuy(btw, love the name bro) I hear what you’re saying about Cano but NO ONE is going to take him. It’s just the way it is. The way I see it is that if the Mets can pair Familia’s contract with J.D. Davis and save some money, then maybe they can surprise some people & sign a couple of decent free agents. As a Mets fan, I like the idea of keeping Davis but the truth is this; The Mets can easily plug McNeil at 3B and the argument could also be made that Davis’s value will never be higher then it is right now.
If the Mets couldn’t dump Familia’s or Lowrie’s contract, I would still take of advantage of Davis’s value and try to package him in a deal for Josh Hader. I truly believe Davis will be the key to a successful offseason, whether that’s by freeing up salary or acquiring a player like Hader. Just my opinion.
Acquire stupid contracts win stupid prizes.
BVW is a joke.
Seattle did well last year in making a trade with the Mets.
Would it be easier and more productive for the Mets to clear a few million by finding a trade partner for Ramos and signing a lower-cost defense-minded catcher to take his place?
agentx, they signed Ramos because they had years of no offensive production from catcher whatsoever. Even in a down year Ramos had the best offensive year from a Mets catcher since Mike Piazza. Trading him for salary relief and replacing him with a defensive minded catcher makes an average Mets offense even weaker.
Tigers should be looking at a Dominic Smith/Familia pairing and send back a ham sandwich. They got nothing at 1b for years to come.
I wonder what kind of asset the Rockies could pick up by doing a Shaw or McGee for Familia trade. It would save the Mets $4 million at a minimum and possibly up to $13 MM (though highly unlikely) if their options aren’t vested.
Perhaps they could even make the trade bigger by adding Dom Smith and maybe another prospect and the Rox sending Daniel Murphy back where he came from. Something to think about.
No one is trading for D Smith and Lowrie unless Mets eat a portion of Familias contract.
They are better off just keeping Familia, and not counting on him to be anything better than 4th or 5th bullpen option. It would hardly be shocking if he was decent this year. And Mets need to use an asset like Smith to acquire additional pieces, not just dump last year’s mistakes.
“But the Mets are floating a “concept,” per Rosenthal, by which they’d attach some of those unwanted payroll obligations to an otherwise positive-value player-asset.”
There goes Brodie, rewriting the rules AGAIN!
Can you imagine that phone conversation?!?! “Hi, Brodie here. I’m looking to move my crap contracts. Interested?” Lol
How about Lowrie,familia,dominic smith and another prospect for Brett cecil. Cards take on 35 mil, get a good prospect and any other prospect, and cards dump Cecil’s 7 mil. So basically the mets would save 28 mil and give up smith and another and maybe get a serviceable reliever in cecil? Cards would get a couple prospects and maybe familia could turn it around and Lowrie could get healthy in case edman regresses and carp doesnt rebound?
That’s not realistic. The Cardinals only have one more year of Cecil, they won’t be taking on multiple bad contracts with multiple years remaining just to be rid of him. Additionally, they already have a decently crowded infield in Marp, DeJong, Wong, Goldie, Munoz, Edman, so they wouldn’t be able to use Lowrie unless Munoz or Marp is moved or Edman moves to the outfield full-time, which is not ideal. Additionally additionally, ownership has stated that they have much less than 28 mil in payroll space for 2020.
In conclusion, the only bad contract swap where something like this could work is if A) Lowrie isn’t included or B) Marp is included.
Marlins could use familia and move him at the deadline if he bounces back plus it pushes them more towards the salary floor. Getting a bat like Smith would be a good get for the Lins
Uh, we have no interest in Smith. We have a 1B prospect in Lewin Diaz and a whole bunch of OF prospects. We just picked up Jesus Aguilar yesterday to bridge the gap at 1B. Now if you really want to get our attention to help you dump salary, Alonso is a 1B we’ll take. Otherwise, keep your garbage. It says a lot when the Marlins are not interested.
The San Francisco Giants are rife with cash and open to this type of deal. Give them Lowrie, Familia and Cespedes. As long as Dom Smith is involved the tradelines are open.
As Bobby Bonilla would say “Make your move”.
@ davemlaw .. . . . . interesting how you are acting as if Dom Smith is the next Mike Trout and that San Fran would take on not one but three bad contracts to get him.
Dom Smith is a bad fielder who has an alright bat.Teams do not take on 60 million dollars in contracts to get Do Smith. Heck people don’t take on 20 mill of contracts to get Dom Smith.As of now he’s proved to be a decent bat who can’t field
I could see the Giants taking Smith and Lowrie for a bag of used balls. Giants aren’t taking on massive salaries just to do the Mets a favor. Smith fits in the outfield and the Giants need a warm body on the middle infield.
Yet they will pay Cano for 4 more years….
The Mets being worried about payroll means that Cespedes is going to be healthy enough that there’s no insurance money…
Which also means that there is less need for Dom Smith, if there’s no LF time for him.
Not sure stapling Dom Smith to any of those guys is going to move the needle unless some GM really likes him.
Most if not all teams have bats that outpace gloves screaming for 1B at a lesser cost. Brodie is going to have to staple legit prospects to those contracts to move them. If guys like Gimenez and Vientos are involved, every rebuilding team should be in.
It rarely makes much sense trading for closers. There are examples of good trades, but relief pitching is a crapshoot. The Mets need to weather out the storm and sign another pitcher, and spam spaghetti against the wall for relief pitching (i.e, sign some cheap former studs and some high heat with control issues). They’re in a predicament where they have some good talent but not enough to get to the Show. At the same time, they have some payroll problems. They’ll get Yoenis back and he may be good because it’s a contract year. They’ll offload $40+ in 2021 just by bot resigning Lowrie and Cespedes. If Cespedes is hot, maybe they can package him with Familia at the deadline in exchange for a medium risk asset? I don’t know. But I do know that they shouldn’t be offloading talent right now.
Mariners are a team who could take on money and add prospects….LMAO!!! Get ’em again Trader Jerry!!! 😉
Wouldn’t make much sense to attach prospects in order to move those contracts. They’ve been bad deals so far, but neither are going to hamper the Mets too much longer. Lowrie’s off the books following 2020, and Familia after 2021.
I think holding onto them and hoping for rebounds is the more sensible risk to take.
How about Smith, Lowrie, Familia, & David Peterson for David Price and a little cash? Mets have an open rotation spot.
That would amount to doubling down on the Robinson Cano mistake they made last year. David Price would be the #3 starter at best on that team. The Cano deal involved the Mets dealing two prospects and some minor bad deals in exchange for Edwin Diaz and Cano’s horrible deal. Your proposal is essentially the same idea but without a high upside reliever with proven success also going to the Mets.
Nathan Evoldi for Familia would be a more fair deal. Trash for trash deal in which the Mets theoretically get a starter to replace Wheeler and the Red Sox would theoretically get some bullpen help.
All you have to do to know where Brodie goes next for another bad deal is check his list of former clients when he was an agent. Then expect him to get barebacked
The best thing for the Mets is too be stuck with the bad contracts the next 2-3 yrs so Van Waggon -wheels hands are tied and he cant make more bad moves
I wouldnt even trust Van Wagon-wheels to pull off a trade of bad contracts with another team