PLUS: HOW THE YANKEES MADE FRED ‘IRATE’
Just call him Frazzled Fred. Fred Wilpon was “irate” after learning of Giancarlo Stanton’s recent trade to the Yankees, according to an industry source, continuing a pattern of hand-wringing by the Mets coowner following a splash by his crosstown rival.
“Fred is pissed every time the Yankees make a move,” said a person who speaks to Wilpon regarding baseball matters. “And he always seems surprised.”
At issue is the Yankees’ willingness to take on huge contracts, in the process embarrassing the Mets for their restrained spending habits. The Yankees, who acquired Stanton from the Marlins this month for Starlin Castro and two prospects, will pay the AllStar slugger $265 million over the life of his remaining contract if he doesn’t opt out. Jacoby Ellsbury and Masahiro Tanaka are other current Yankees in the middle of contracts worth more than $100 million.
Wilpon believes such an economic model is “unsustainable,” according to a source, a sentiment he has held for several years as the Yankees have made blockbuster acquisitions.
Wilpon’s reaction to the Stanton deal was hardly unexpected by those around the team patriarch — he was so rankled when the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez in 2004, according to sources, that he called a Mets executive who was on a family vacation to complain.
“[Wilpon] keeps saying the Yankees can’t keep this model up,” a source said. “And they keep showing that they can.”
Wilpon declined comment through a team media relations official.
Another source added that Wilpon, despite stating otherwise a few years ago when he still spoke to the media, is extremely sensitive to how the Yan- kees conduct business.
“He cares a lot about the Yankees,” the source said.
The Mets’ payroll spiked at $155 million last season, but The Post’s Joel Sherman reports the 2018 number will be approximately $20 million lighter.
That perhaps explains why general manager Sandy Alderson’s only move to this point has been the addition of reliever Anthony Swarzak on a twoyear deal worth $14 million, after options such as Bryan Shaw, Tommy Hunter and Addison Reed were deemed too expensive. And the Mets have not shown interest in big-ticket items such as Yu Darvish, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, all of whom would fill a need within the team.
Asked at the Winter Meetings if he had pursued a trade for Stanton, Alderson joked that a new right fielder wasn’t necessary because the team has Brandon Nimmo.
Agent Scott Boras has tweaked the Mets in recent weeks for their lack of spending, saying team officials need to access the “vault” because the “ATM has limits.” Boras previously indicated the Mets’ spending habits will prevent the team from residing in the affluent community of “Playoffville.”
The Mets came up with the money to re-sign Yoenis Cespedes last offseason, giving the veteran slugger a four-year contract worth $110 million. The first year of that deal went badly for the Mets, as Cespedes was limited to 81 games because of leg injuries.
After the 2012 season, the Mets gave David Wright an eight-year contract worth $138 million. But the All-Star third baseman has barely played the past three seasons as he’s battled spinal stenosis and an array of other injuries. Wright still has three years and $47 million remaining on a contract that is largely covered by insurance.