There is certainly a lot of buzz emanating from Queens these days in regards to David Wright’s contract negotiations.
Per MetsBlog, WFAN’s Mike Francesca says that he has sources (inside Mets’ offices) saying that the offer the Mets made to Wright, a deal which is reportedly worth $135-140 million for seven years, is legit and that the Mets are serious about locking up Wright long term. Wright has said in the last couple of days, though, that no official offer has been made and that figure being tossed around is “inaccurate.”
The thinking here is that the Mets had to make an offer to make Wright feel welcome and appreciated while also trying to speed up their plans on how they will attack the offseason and how much money they can spend this winter. On the surface, the deal appears to be authentic and definitely within market value.
So, the ball is now in Wright’s court. The prevailing sentiment is if Wright truly wants to stay with the club and continue being the face of the franchise, this is a more than acceptable deal and one that he should accept with open arms.
Presumably, Wright is upset that all leaked details about his contract negotiations are certainly pushing his hand. Wright wanted to make this a private matter. However, the cat is out of the bag now.
Mets’ officials definitely wanted to make a statement with this offer. They did not want to come off as some coupon-clipping, cash-deprived franchise void of trying to put the best product forward. Since Jose Reyes-another Mets’ staple-was not given the same treatment, the Mets wanted to make it clear that they would not mess it up this time around. The PR hit the Mets would have took if they did not reveal they wanted Wright back publicly could have become ugly and in some cases, unforgivable.
So, where does the truth lie?
If the Mets really did make this offer and it is genuine, then what is Wright waiting for? Is it a smokescreen? Did Wright say that he wanted to stay with the Mets-while avoiding the temptation of joining a contending team-all along thinking that the Mets would never put up an offer as lucrative as the one that is being floated around?
As usual, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.
The Mets unquestionably want to save face with this offer and extend an olive branch to some long-time suffering fans who view Wright as irreplaceable-on and off the field. Wright, meanwhile, wants to both maximize his value and also be the guy that will stick with the Mets through thick and thin. While Wright would love to go down in Mets’ lore as a guy who completed his whole career with the same club that drafted him-you know being the Mets’ version of Chipper Jones-he also has to look out for his best interests.
If Wright does not accept this deal, his image will no doubt take a major hit. The backlash he would get from fans, the media, etc. would be unrelenting. I’m sure Wright does not want to go down the same path Jose Reyes just did, although it appeared the Mets had no interest in ever bringing back Reyes.
I also don’t blame the faction of fans who believe this proposed deal is too much for a player getting up there in age and who has battled injuries and inconsistency for the last couple of years (see Wright’s 2012 second half troubles for evidence). Wright also has a tendency to come up short in the clutch and the final years of this deal could prove to be costly.
However, the Mets NEEDED to make an offer like this. They at least set out what they said they were going to do. That was try to lock up Wright long term and build around him and contend for the playoffs in the coming years.
I think Wright and the Mets have to find some common ground, so as to let this fester. Hopefully this ordeal can be put to bed before the Winter Meetings begin, which are set to start next week.
Both Sandy Alderson and Wright need answers and they have to be answered quickly.
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There’s a lousy stench surrounding this and I think it’s coming in equal parts from the Mets and the WFAN blowhard.
Generally, I’m glad that Sandy Alderson is our GM but let’s face facts — he’s lied to us about the payroll and there’s no reason to believe anything that comes out of his mouth that talks about money that does not have a signed contract to go along with it.
And just because the WFAN blowhard bestows something with his seal of approval — I’m sorry that holds no water with me whatsoever. While I recognize his value as an entertainer, I think his knowledge of sports leaves a lot to be desired and he’s about the last person I would turn to for economic advice.
Supposedly, a lot of the money in the contract is backloaded and while that may allow the Mets to proclaim this as being for “XXX” amount of dollars, the time value of money will diminish the actual value of the offer. I don’t think it’s unrealistic for an athlete to want his money right away or to receive extra cash in a backloaded deal.
I remain torn on this subject because of my feelings about Wright. I want him to be a lifelong Met but I don’t want to pay him $20 million a year to put up a .750 OPS, like he did after the AS break last year.
If we’re saying that BJ Upton is overpaid at 5/$75 with a .736 OPS, what would that make Wright at 7/$140 with a .750 OPS? Especially with Wright being nearly 2 years older?
Brian, I Agree on your thoughts on the WFAN personality listed above, knows nothing about the Mets(and baseball for that matter). I think he should just stick to football and basketball.
I find it funny that players want to keep the negotiations a “secret” from the fans. Do they realize that the reason they are making so much money is because of us? If we didn’t give a damn about what was going on, they wouldn’t be making anywhere near 20+ million. I actually think all negotiations should be open to the public.
Mack pointed out to me that Wright’s initial demands were 7 Years – $130 Mil.
The current offer is supposedly 7 Years – $124 Mil.
The total with the $16 Mil of this season is $140 (8 Years) for an average cost of $17.5 per year.
My hope is that the Mets talked to Wright and said, “Hey, we want to keep you and compete now, so here is our offer and if we can shift additional money out of 2013 into 2014 and beyond the money will be used to keep Dickey and bring in an outfielder.”
That’s what I’m hoping for too Dave.
As a Met fan I am flabbergasted that DW even thinks he’s performed to a level that commands the kind money he asking for, and the Mets ought to just snub him and let him walk or trade him, he is but one player, and NOT even a game-changer (superstar)… he’s not worth $16-20M/yr. If Wright wanted to end his career as a Met, then he should be willing to do what it takes to get this team moving toward becoming championship caliber–follow the “King James” model, take less money and afford the Mets more flexibility to bring in a med-high quality FA to help he and Ike out in the lineup, otherwise in my view he is just another selfish snot-nosed celebrity.
He signed.
7 years, 122M.. Very fair. Will probably be a value at the beginning of the contract and a drag at the end but the final total should balance out to a 28WAR and everyone should be happy. A gold glove, all star caliber 3B on the fringe of the HOF at 17.4 M a year when compared to a BJ Upton type at at 15M a year looks good from that perspective. Nice job Sandy and David!
I think it’s a decent contract for both sides. Wright gets massive security, there’s no guarnatee he will get something higher 1 year from now considering the way he was trending the 2nd half of last year, and the Mets get a face of the franchise on the field for the next 8 years and team ambassador 30-40 years after he retires.
From a pure production perspective, the Mets overpaid, because i doubt Wright will be a 17.5 million dollar player in his ages 36,37,or 38 seasons, but this isn’t just a contract purely for his production. He provides a lot of other intangible values. In the end, i can’t complain about the contract because the Mets kept the Average Annual Value under $20 million, which means Wright’s contract won’t be an albatross in any season, like Santana’s is right now.
Now onto Dickey, who is only looking for 2 years. I think 2 years 28-32 million would be a fair deal.