Mets fans dreamed big when Steve Cohen took over their team. Why not?
No one wins the lottery and proposes to upgrade from one bedroom to two. They see the mansion or the penthouse. And to the faithful, it sure felt like winning the lottery when Cohen’s wallet squeezed the Wilpons out.
He demonstrated the power of deep pockets, especially in this unspent environment, when the Mets traded for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. Most teams only tried Lindor, as it meant adding $ 20 million to this year’s payroll and at least determining what it would take in the long run to keep the star shortstop beyond 2021. years and $ 27 million still owed was more than he likely would have received had he been a free agent and cost the player no return.
The Mets got them both – they added both to their payroll. They introduced Lindor through Zoom conference on Monday and Carrasco on Tuesday. And yet, fast forward to Wednesday, and an ex-Indians teammate of Lindor and Carrasco, to illustrate that what the Mets can do now is to differentiate themselves on the other side of the market as well, that’s not all townhouses and penthouses. .
Corey Kluber has a workout scheduled for Wednesday 10:30 am at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Garden, Florida. About 20 teams, including the Mets, are expected to have a representative to make the two-time Cy Young winner a 30-pitch Bullpen. Cameras are trained on Kluber, as are the most modern machines to determine spin speed and movement on its fields.
Teams will search the data and see what the right looked like to the naked eye to determine how much Corey Kluber is left in Corey Kluber. It’s just a snapshot, of course. Kluber has only made eight starts in the past two years, having been undone by the freak (a broken right arm from absorbing a line drive) and the worrying one (stomach and shoulder ailments). When he turned 35 in April, Kluber’s chances of returning to even 80 or 90 percent of his 2014-18 dominant form are what? Ten percent? Twenty? Thirty? It’s not great.
But what if the Mets like what they see? What if they like what they see at a time when few other clubs want to take the payroll, even for surer things? What if they like what they see and have Cohen’s wallet as a separator? After all, these are no longer Jeff Wilpon’s father’s Mets.
Rich Hill, a quality but injury-prone pitcher, signed with the Twins for $ 3 million last offseason with $ 9.5 million in incentives based on innings and starts. Suppose Kluber will fall into the same realm – a low base with a chance of making substantially more from healthy pitching. How many teams in this ‘squeeze-your-dollars’ atmosphere would even offer Kluber the Hill deal?
For Cohen, differentiating the Mets may therefore be about offering a base of $ 5 million or $ 6 million. Marginal money for him. What if the Mets offered $ 5 million with a chance of earning $ 13 million if Kluber returned to Kluber in full – 200 innings, for example? That would replicate the $ 18 million 2021 option that the Rangers refused to make Kluber a free agent.
Again, Kluber is very likely to be that man again. But if he is, then he’s worth $ 18 million. And the Mets are suddenly the kind of franchise that might risk $ 5 million to see if that Kluber is still lurking.
Because at best, Kluber is installed behind fellow Stetson alum Jacob deGrom in the rotation and moves Carrasco and Marcus Stroman to arguably the best No. 3-4 combo in the majors, with David Peterson protected in fifth. and Seth Lugo and Steven Matz in the pen to provide innings.
In an average scenario, Kluber fits into the rotation and holds out long enough to form a 2021 tag team with Noah Syndergaard, who should return around June following Tommy John’s surgery.
In the worst scenario, Kluber never seems like his old self. In that case, the rotation of the Mets is deGrom, Carrasco, Stroman, Peterson and either Matz or Lugo with Syndergaard percolating. It will cost the Mets $ 5 million, but they are out of contract after the 2021 campaign.
Obviously there are a lot of moving parts here. Kluber must look good on Wednesday, the Mets must be interested, Kluber must want to play for them and the parties must agree to that bells and whistles contract.
But this should be taken as an indication of what the Mets can do now. Cohen’s arrival allows their fans to dream of the mansions and penthouses when purchasing players. Welcome Lindor / Carrasco. It also puts them in a better position to be brave on the other end of the market in trying to find difference makers.