Neil WalkerNeil Walker has until 5:00 PM today to decide if he is going to come back to the Mets in 2017. On the one hand, $17.2 Million is an absurd sum of money by most standards but on another, Walker has to think about his future. At the age of 31, Walker has a vested interest in making the most out of his contract for 2017 and beyond. This contract is likely to be the last “large” contract of his career and he wants to make the most of it. It is possible that Walker would decline the big, single-season, pay-off for a longer term contract.

If he does wind up declining his offer then the Mets have a number of intriguing options already on the roster. It may be that the Mets are better off with Walker moving on and them picking up the compensation pick but, only time will tell.

Jose Reyes – Assuming David Wright is back in 2017, Reyes will not have the chance to play every day at third. With Asdrubal Cabrera entrenched for the Mets at shortstop, that leaves second base as the best location to get Reyes at bats. The reality is that Reyes may regress in 2017 and that Wright will almost certainly be injured for parts of it.

Wilmer Flores – Wouldn’t it be nice to see Flores finally get some consistent playing time to see if he could make good on those glimmers of progress we see? It’d also be great for the Mets to have Flores stay healthy and for him to play a position he wasn’t kinda ill-suited for. Chances are that Flores will be getting time at first base and be our #1 vs LHP option off the bench.

T.J. Rivera – Everyone loves a folk hero and Rivera has a bit of a Justin Turner mystique about him. He’s hit through his entire minor league career and continued to impress in the majors during his brief stints of work. He’s likely only a career backup infielder but we thought the same about Turner, once upon a time.

Gavin Cecchini – You’ve heard me talk about Cecchini for a while. He’s a contact-first shortstop who has a very good eye and who has struggled defensively at the upper levels of the minors. A lineup that could begin with Reyes and Cecchini would probably get some pretty nice things done on the basepaths and if shortstop isn’t going to be his final position perhaps second base could work out.

Regardless of the options, we will need to wait and see what happens today and if Walker will be returning to Met uniform.

12 comments on “What happens if Neil Walker declines the Qualifying Offer?

  • MattyMets

    Rivera, Reyes and Flores can all play second and third. If depth is really a concern, we can always trade for Kelly Johnson again.

    • David Groveman

      Depth isn’t the concern, merely who would carry the load.

      If I got to choose it’d be Cecchini.

  • Eraff

    I will celebrate!

  • Chris F

    I think he would be daft to pass on the QO. He finished the season on DL, with a back injury. Im not sure most GMs would be comfortable with forfeiting a draft and unloading a ton of money for a guy they wont see play until after the papers are signed. 17M$ is a great salary, a “forever” salary. And if he can rebuild value and not get hurt, then that is great.

  • TexasGusCC

    Walker took the safe route and accepted the offer. It sure isn’t an insult at $17.2MM, and by proving he’s healthy he will enter free agency next year without any worries from the teams looking for a second baseman with power and a steady glove.

  • Chris F

    Of course he did. It would have been foolish not to.

  • Jim OMalley

    Haha!!! We got Walker! One issue solved….what’s next?

    • Chris F

      What would we say are lock positions for at this moment?

      2. ? (TdA, KP, ?)
      3. ? (wright, duda, flores)
      4. Walker
      5. (wright, reyes)
      6. Cabrera
      7. ? (conforto)
      8. ? (lagares, granny)
      9. ? (bruce, nimmo, granny)

      SP: I guess we are good, but I doubt it.
      RP: more work

      Alderson has a busy off season if there is any hope to compete against the Nats, let alone anyone else.

      • Brian Joura

        It’s much better to have uncertainty because you have options rather than uncertainty because you have nothing.

        It seems to me that the team right now has a muddled OF and a desire to add a RP. Possibly a SP, depending how the money situation works out. I expect that TDA, Duda and Wright will all be in the Opening Day starting lineup. Granderson, too, although his position may be up in the air. From where we are now, there will be one OF and one RP added. It’s possible there are no additions, if they bring back both Cespedes and Salas.

  • Metsense

    Walker had a week to explore the free agent market and came to the realization that with his questionable health and attached draft choice that he had no leverage to get any where near a Zobrist (4/56) type contract so he wisely chose the QO. Alderson probably realized this also and felt Walker was far superior to the players mentioned in the above article or else he would not have made the QO in the first place. Alderson was willing to overpay $4m for his 2017 season.
    Walker is a professional hitter and I like him and see him as a competant 5th place hitter.
    It will be an interesting off season. Pay Cespedes, trade Granderson and Bruce, and sign Fowler would be my wish list. The Walker contract has reduced Reyes playing time and moved Granderson back to lead off. Yes, it will be an interesting off season.

    • Metsense

      The fact that Alderson was willing to commit $17.2 M in the first place is an interesting dynamic. Would the money be better spent on a Fowler or a Weiter contract instead? Why wasn’t Reyes, Flores, TJ Rivera or Cecchini good enough for 2017? Without Cespedes, Walker’s professional hitting is more needed and so are the home runs that Granderson and Bruce hit. I feel by the way the wind is blowing that by offering Walker the QO, Alderson doesn’t want to pay and go the length of a Cespedes contract. Life would have been so much simpler if Conforto played to his expectations.

      • TexasGusCC

        Metsense, I’m wondering if Alderson isn’t going to go all in on Wright again and be burned. Therefore, Reyes is being saved for third base.

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