NOT DONE YET!
Moustakas could still be in Mets’ crosshairs
Sources say Mets have bigger moves to make this offseason & market-correction may get them there
Fans have every right to be cynical about this, and I have no doubt they will be, but sources with knowledge of the Mets’ plans are telling me the front office will do more to improve the team this winter than is being portrayed publicly.
I have to believe this is already at least partly a reaction to the pounding that owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon are taking publicly for their apparent intention to cut payroll.
However, sources make the case that it’s more about seeing potential value in a freeagent market moving so slowly that players will eventually sign for significantly less than they were asking at the start.
Of course, that could turn out to be Jaime Garcia and Addison Reed, which wouldn’t exactly energize frustrated Mets’ fans who are well aware the club had some $60 million come off the payroll last season.
Nevertheless, one name I heard mentioned on Thursday was Mike Moustakas, the third baseman who hit 38 home runs for the Royals last season, and so far seems to have generated limited interest at best.
Nobody was saying the Mets are ready to swoop in and sign him, but it seems fair to say the team is monitoring his situation, well aware there aren’t many potential landing spots for third basemen looking for longterm deals.
After the Giants traded for Evan Longoria, in fact, the Cardinals appear to be the only obvious possibility, but they’ve reportedly tried to trade for Josh Donaldson this winter, and may be more inclined to wait a year until he’s a free agent.
Indeed, the potential availability of Donaldson and Manny Machado next winter could be a factor in how other teams view the idea of paying big bucks for Moustakas or Todd Frazier as well.
As such, Frazier too could be in play for the Mets, but they see more value in Moustakas, at least partly because, at age 29, he is two years younger.
It’s not clear how far his price would have to fall for them to act on that value, and it’s worth remembering that Moustakas’ agent is Scott Boras, who is more likely to hold out into spring training than allow a high-profile player to sign a bargain contract.
But you never know. Would the Mets sign Moustakas to a four-year deal for somewhere in the $60-$70 million range? I get the feeling they’d see enough value there to justify that type of spending, even if it’s more than they projected for any one player.
Bottom line, for the umpteenth time, is that the Mets shouldn’t have to look for bargains like some small-market team, that they should be committed to spending enough this winter to give them a chance to win big in 2018 — with good health from their starting pitchers.
It’s hard to get answers as to why the Mets aren’t willing to operate with the financial might of a New York team. After all, they’ve spent at that level at different times over the years, with varying degrees of success.
But in any case, sources were making the point on Thursday that, perceptions aside, their offseason isn’t all that different from that of almost all the other teams in baseball.
The Yankees are the most obvious exception, as they traded for Giancarlo Stanton, making the Mets’ inactive offseason look worse by comparison. Of course, it’s worth noting the Yankees were able to take on Stanton’s salary and still expect to stay under the luxurytax threshold largely because their farm system has produced enough young, low-salaried players to offset the huge contract.
And as I detailed in a column earlier this week, the Mets don’t have that luxury at the moment due to years of bad drafting that have left their farm system practically barren of blue-chip prospects — at least at any level above Single-A.
Yankee comparisons aside, however, Mets’ people point out that few teams have made big moves in free agency, as GMs in this era seem determined to be smarter about limiting the length of even mega-deals.
And, in truth, that has long been GM Sandy Alderson’s mode of operation.
“He’s always determined to find value,” was the way one person put it.
His patience paid off two winters ago, remember, when Yoenis Cespedes couldn’t find the long-term deal he was seeking, and the Mets signed him to a three-year deal with an opt-out. That didn’t happen until Jan. 22, so maybe for Alderson it’s still early.
Maybe that patience will pay off again in what is the slowest-moving free-agent winter ever. There is plenty of potential value out there, if prices fall on the likes of Jay Bruce, Lorenzo Cain and Lance Lynn, as well as Moustakas.
And whatever payroll limitations Alderson is dealing with, sources insist the GM has the latitude to bring potential deals to ownership for approval that would extend those limitations.
We’ll see. To be honest, I’ll believe the Mets are making a big-splash signing this winter when I see it.
But from what I heard on Thursday, I can’t say it’s out of the question.