484 replies to this topic

[dude]

...., the Mets have shelled a sit-up-and-take notice total of $806.1 million. Factor in their other 17 players on the active roster and the total exceeds $1 billion.

 

Leaving out the context of years seems like an inappropriate thing to do.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Safe to assume Cohen's bottom line didn't take too hard a hit when he got squeezed trying to short GameStop in '21.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Mets payroll is bigger than the GDP of a small nation.

[Mike in STL]

All my hatred for Buck aside, is he the manager under the most pressure in 2023? 

 

That much payroll, and if you don't deliver at bare minimum an LCS. Possibly even a WS? Yikes

[TwentyThirtyFive]

It actually probably bumps up a little bit. I'm surprised Boras didn't sell him this winter as being willing to move to 3B for the "right team". Kinda like Manny going to 3rd, I'd expect his D probably plays a little better over there than SS. If we are talking range vs arm strength at least. I've never really tracked his defense like I did with Manny coming up. How well he goes to his right, his backhand, arm strength, and quick reaction are all a lot more important there, and things like overall range, lateral movement, going to his left, footwork around the bag, turning the double play...all of that stuff is less important or not at all.

That and it's about market strength. There were 4 TOP level SS out there, but how many actual 3B were out there? Every few years there's a shift in positions around the league where some get real shallow and others deep. Right now I think 3B is pretty shallow, a couple top level guys, but just not a lot of them. Same thing with C being real thin right now. The only thing with 3B is you see a lot of guys that come up at SS get moved there when they don't have the range or footwork, but have the arm, so there could be guys that could shift there, like CC that aren't on the radar, and then all of a sudden, 3B is kinda deep and SS is more shallow. It depends on who is coming up from the minors to move people around. Like we don't know if Gunnar is going to play SS or 3B still for instance, and then everyone's bat plays different at different positions. Like a few years ago you wanted a 3B that could hit 35 HR and be a 3-4-5 hitter. You're probably talking Manny, Nolan, Devers, Riley (ATL) and Ramirez and that's it right now...Bregman is prob right below that, Suarez in SEA, and Chapman are right behind that, but they are having issues making contact. CC might be behind some of these guys in raw power numbers, but his contact rates would put him more towards or in that top group.

His career OPS+ is better than Mannys. Yeah he will be fine as an offensive 3b.

[Mike B]

All my hatred for Buck aside, is he the manager under the most pressure in 2023? 

 

That much payroll, and if you don't deliver at bare minimum an LCS. Possibly even a WS? Yikes

I am a Buck fan.  He helped bring real baseball back to Baltimore for 5 years, but yep he is under pressure..  That payroll and a NYC team, how could he not be.  I am also sure he understands and expects it.

[JeremyStrain]

I'm guessing Cohen isn't going to very popular among his fellow owners. You could make the argument that, at least in this case, he didn't outbid the Giants. If the Dodgers were holding back this year in order to put a full-court press on Shohei Ohtani when he hits free agency, they now might have some competition from their Bay Area rivals.

It's probably safe to say that San Francisco never really had a chance to try and re-negotiate the contract. They almost certainly didn't expect the Mets to come swooping in like that. Since free agency began, the Mets have shelled a sit-up-and-take notice total of $806.1 million. Factor in their other 17 players on the active roster and the total exceeds $1 billion.

SF just came out a little while ago and said they can’t comment on Medicaid but like Boras said they had a disagreement about them and they wish him well. Doesn’t sound like they are upset at all which now really makes me wonder what’s on that medical.

I’m going to guess throwing shoulder and facing surgery. Anything else even if he misses a year has such a high rate of return it’s still a good investment. Unless it’s something degenerating like Belles hip it doesn’t make sense to walk away from things so smooth. Unless they just had major buyers regret or something.

[dude]

Cohen may not actually care, but everyone should note how quick Boras was to take the last perceived engagement with the Mets.  He's playing Cohen's ego to protect his client.  Might tell you what else is out there for him.

 

Boras wants to get locked in before information starts leaking and he is already out there trying to taint the (public) jury pool. 

 

Agree with Jeremy how comfortable Zaidi seems walking away.

[mdrunning]

I think its primarily just an owner who treats the franchise the way it should be treated.  As a not-for-profit civic institution.

 

Maybe he's dipping into some of his own money to fund this (i.e. taking a loss).  I don't ask for that level of commitment from owners.  But I do ask that they don't treat the team as a business that's intended to be a driving source of annual personal profit.  They'll make their money when the sell on the back end, and I don't begrudge them that.  But I do grudge them pulling tens to hundreds of millions out of the team as profit especially if they aren't making a huge effort towards winning.  That's shitty, Angelosian behavior which should be ridiculed and shamed at every opportunity.

It's more about ego and less about civic pride.

 

Before owning the Mets, Steve Cohen was a rich guy but no one knew him. Now with his shiny new object, he's a household name in households other than that of the Cohens. And like most new-boy owners, he wants the accolades that come with splashy free-agent signings and he wants to be liked (except for, as I said earlier other major league owners). Owning a major professional sports franchise will provide that platform.

 

People may recall that Peter Angelos was a rather profligate spender in his early years of owning the Orioles. How did that ultimately work out?

[mdrunning]

Leaving out the context of years seems like an inappropriate thing to do.

That's why I used the word "total."

[BSLMikeLowe]

People may recall that Peter Angelos was a rather profligate spender in his early years of owning the Orioles. How did that ultimately work out?

 

Pretty well (ALCS appearances in 96-97) until Pete decided he knew more about baseball than his baseball people. Since I don't like the Mets at all, I'll have no issues if Cohen decides to go down the same path.

[BobPhelan]

His career OPS+ is better than Mannys. Yeah he will be fine as an offensive 3b.

 

I would expect him to bulk up a bit and lean into his power more not having to worry about keeping his range as good as possible.

[makoman]

Welp, the Mets have concerns with the physical.

https://mobile.twitt...693832699138048

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Could you imagine if the Os had signed him and this happened.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Could you imagine if the Os had signed him and this happened.

I’m trying to remember the times this has happened to us - didn’t it ultimately work out? It’s a source of fan outrage, but you just can’t be giving out huge dollars to players with busted medicals. There has to be a better way to do this though.

[BSLChrisStoner]

He has a history of back trouble. 13 years is insane.

[Mackus]

Please go sign him to a similar deal as he just got with Minnesota?

[makoman]

I’m trying to remember the times this has happened to us - didn’t it ultimately work out? It’s a source of fan outrage, but you just can’t be giving out huge dollars to players with busted medicals. There has to be a better way to do this though.

The O’s were made fun of for this a bunch but it did seem to work out several times.

https://www.beyondth...ysical-contract

[BSLMikeLowe]

Please go sign him to a similar deal as he just got with Minnesota?

 

Definitely thinking Nelson Cruz/2014 here.

[CantonJester]

He has a history of back trouble. 13 years is insane.

 

It's his right fibula from an injury he sustained as a minor leaguer back in 2014. He had a plate installed, and apparently it typically devolves into a degenerative situation. 

 

Sign ol' Petey up for some more of that...

 

Seriously though, my under-educated guess is he never signs a deal for longer than 3 years, and if he does, each year after year #3 will include team options.