Reese Kaplan -- Next Year's $27 Million Bench

Going into the 2018 season the Mets have all kinds of issues to resolve, not the least of which is figuring out how best to allocate their salary budget.  Certain numbers are givens like the $27.5 million allocated to Yoenis Cespedes and his ego.  Others are much more open to debate.

When the season ends the Mets have some hard decisions to make about three players in particular for economic reasons.  If they choose to keep all of them, then the bench is going to cost well in excess of $20 million which seems a very non-­Mets thing to do.

Juan Lagares

At the time his contract was extended after the 2014 season it seemed like a great idea.  He was coming off not only a Gold Glove defensive year, but he hit a solid .281 and the future seemed bright for the former shortstop.  Then his arm troubles developed, his reckless style of play had him on the DL nearly as often as Travis d’Arnaud, and he never built upon what appeared to be a solid offensive start to his career.  The defense and arm issues are definitely resolved, but the man is but a .256 hitter for his career.  If you had sufficient offense elsewhere you could perhaps live with that modest production, but is he worth the $6.5 million he’d due to earn in 2018 and the $9 million in 2019?  Frankly, I don’t think so and I fully expect them to be shopping Lagares aggressively this winter despite having no outfield solutions readily available now that Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce have gone elsewhere and Michael Conforto has gone under the knife.

Nori Aoki

Like the person who buys a painting at a garage sale only to discover it’s an original worth far more than the pocket change it cost, Aoki has been one of those rare scrap heap pickups that has actually worked.  In his time with the Mets he looks like Ichiro the way he sprays the ball all over and works the count.  He’s not a great defensive outfielder, but he’s acceptable.  The problem is he’s in his final year of arbitration this coming season and will likely eclipse the $6 million mark for his salary.  Some people have suggested it’s a no-brainer to retain him next season when he’ll be turning 36 while others feel a Punch and Judy hitter at that age is not a luxury the team can afford.  I can’t see them retaining both Lagares and Aoki at their respective prices since neither would be starting on a good team and that’s a lot of scratch for them to sit on the bench. 

Asdrubal Cabrera

At the end of 2016 everyone was happy for the rare time a free agent acquisition actually produced after joining the Mets.  Unfortunately Cabrera got off to a slow start and his defense at shortstop was Flores-like.  Consequently people started souring on him quickly.  He then did himself no favors by whining and demanding a trade when he felt disrespected when asked to move off of shortstop.  I am guessing it was more his attitude than his production that led to Sandy Alderson not able to acquire more mediocre middle relievers for him before the trade deadline.  Surprisingly, he’s been absolutely on fire in September with a batting average well over .400.  It’s brought his season mark up to a respectable .278 nearly matching last season’s .280 mark albeit with less power.  The Mets can either pick up his $8.5 million option or buy him out for $2 million.  Hence you have another $6.5 million decision to make.  Many are on board with getting either Mike Moustakas, Todd Frazier or Eduardo Nunez to play 3B.  You have to figure Amed Rosario is at SS.  That would make Cabrera a 2^nd baseman assuming Wilmer Flores once again rides the bench.  I was pretty clear in my reasoning why they should part ways with Cabrera, but I don’t expect that they will.

Travis d’Arnaud

Kevin Plawecki is rapidly pushing d’Arnaud aside as the primary catcher.  Yes, TdA has more power, but the rest of his game has not developed and his day-to-day hitting has regressed.  Consequently if the season started tomorrow I would expect Plawecki first on the depth chart.  That leads you to question whether or not they want to pay about $2.5 million in arbitration for him to sit on the bench.  With Tomas Nido set to take over at AAA, they may opt for a cheap stopgap journeyman who might cost half as much.  He could be on the trading block as well. 

Jose Reyes

Yes, he’s going to be a free agent but everyone already seems to be on board with the idea of having him around to mentor Amed Rosario next season.  Depending on who is in charge of management, he may find himself starting on one side of him or the other rather than spending his golden years on the bench.  Whichever way the cookie crumbles, the former $16 million per year player is going to receive a $4 million buyout from the Colorado Rockies for 2018.  How much more than that the Mets would have to contribute is anyone’s guess, but I’m thinking something in the $3.5 million range would probably be right. 

So if my math is correct and they go into next season with all of these players on the bench, then you’re looking at an investment of $27 million.  That’s not going to happen if they are indeed serious about making positive changes and about controlling payroll.  However, as the previous off-season taught us, the Mets are very good at doing nothing when it comes to improving the club.