Following the 2019 season, the Mets cut ties with Juan Lagares, choosing to pay him a $500,000 buyout rather than pick up the $9.5 million option on his contract. While it was the right move to make, the club still needed to fill his role on the roster – a defensive specialist to play CF. Ideally, this is someone you’d promote from within and pay minimum wage. Unfortunately, the Mets had no one in the upper minors ready to fill this spot.
So, they had to go outside the organization. Brodie Van Wagenen acted decisively and traded two prospects to the Astros for Jake Marisnick. Instead of $9.5 million that they would have paid Lagares, they were down to $3.3 million with Marisnick.
But, would they have done better if they waited out the market?
There were at least three other guys besides Marisnick who would have fit the bill of a defensive CFer. Here’s what they signed for:
Kevin Pillar – Signed with the Red Sox, rumored to be a one-year deal worth around $4 million
Billy Hamilton – Signed an NRI with the Giants
Lagares – Signed with the Royals for one year with the chance to earn up to $2.5 million if he hits all of his incentives.
So, two of the three ended up with fewer dollars than Marisnick. Did Van Wagenen blow this particular move? Or was the bird in the hand with Marisnick acquired in early December worth the extra dollars.
Or was Marisnick brought in with the idea to help Carlos Beltran with instituting some practices from their days together in Houston?
Jarrod Dyson also got 1 year/2mm from Pittsburgh.
I agree this is a questionable move. Alderson did this too. There are always a few interesting veteran bargains available right before ST and the Mets never seem to be able to take advantage because they’ve impatiently already made all their moves. Minnesota has always been smart this way.
Thanks Matty – not surprised there were others out there.
Been reading The Last Hero: A Life Of Henry Aaron by Howard Bryant. Henry (he doesn’t respond to Hank) had his 86th birthday earlier this month.
Interested in his stats, I looked him up in BR, where I found his three highest SO totals were 94, 96 and 97 in 1963, 1966 and 1967 respectively. In 1969, Henry hit .300 with 47 HRs with 47 SOs in 639 PAs, and finished behind McCovey and The Franchise in the MVP vote
Oops! I meant that he hit 44 HRs with 47 SOs in 1969
That’s impressive! From an era where striking out was embarrassing, we know don’t even care.
Interesting thought if Beltran, Marisnick and Davis would have been enough Astros to push their scheme on Alonso and Conforto.
Or was Marisnick brought in with the idea to help Carlos Beltran with instituting some practices from their days together in Houston?
* Obviously *
On 12/5 when Marisnick signed the Mets they were looking for a right handed batter who would spell Nimmo and would be the defensive replacement of Davis/Smith.
Pillar was non tendered on 12/2 because he was due an abr raise of the 5.8M he made in 2019. Pillar had a -2 DRS in CF, Marisnick had a +5 DRS. Marisnick fits the role better, is cheaper and younger. He is a more complete player than Hamilton and Dyson is a left handed batter.
At the time of the signed, Cespedes was more of a question mark. Marisnick was a good signing.
Marisnick is long past His prospect Luster, and he was a guy with some promise. Looks like Tarzan, Hits like Jane…or something like that.
Why didn’t they just re-sign Juan???…maybe someone likes Jake.
I like the Marisnick move too.