Is the Mets ‘spending spree’ for real?

The Mets budget has been inflated within the past 72 hours, but it’s still more akin to a week-old helium balloon than Harold the Baseball Player.

Yes, Fred Wilpon was sighted blowing the dust off of his checkbook and cracking it open for the first time since signing John Mayberry, Jr. back in December. He added almost $2 million to the 2015 payroll, and more could be coming very soon.

The first move swapped a share of older potential for a younger share with little impact on the bottom line. New York shipped Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named later to the San Diego Padres for Alex Torres. The 25-year-old Mazzoni has a solid fastball, slider and changeup, but the former second round pick seems more like a career minor leaguer. Torres, 27, is the guy who wears the Great Gazoo helmet on the mound. He’s also a lefty reliever who doesn’t throw more than 25 pitches per appearance but is effective against all hitters. He’s making the league minimum and won’t be eligible for arbitration until after 2016.

The second move, taking place mere hours later, tacked on a few bucks. The Mets moved 27-year-old Matt den Dekker to the Washington Nationals for Jerry Blevins. den Dekker rivals Juan Lagares – more about him later – in the field, but his high strikeouts translated better at the majors than his power or speed. Blevins, 31, is a lefty specialist who gets groundballs and strikeouts with four pitches thrown for strikes, not high speeds. He finished 2014 2-3 with a 4.87 ERA, but lefties hit just .160 and struck out six times for each walk. den Dekker will also make the league minimum in 2015, but Blevins will earn $2.4 million before hitting free agency.

Meanwhile, Lagares, who stole den Dekker’s job in 2013 when the latter broke his wrist in Spring Training, is on the verge of signing a four-year/$23 million extension for 2016-2019. The 26-year-old Gold Glove center fielder is known for tremendous range and arm strength, but looked less anemic at the plate last season with a .281/.321/.703 slash and 13 stolen bases. He’s not a prototypical leadoff hitter as much as they put him in that role, but his 7.0 WAR over the past two years proves he’s worth every penny, even for the $9.5 million option in 2020. He’ll still make just over the league minimum in 2015.

At the same time, the Mets are negotiating with first baseman Lucas Duda. Mets360 recently considered if an extension is warranted for the 29-year-old, but word on the streets is talks are still preliminary but won’t end until Opening Day. Duda took hold of the starting job after Ike Davis was shipped off to Pittsburgh early in 2014. He rewarded them with 30 home runs and a .253/.349/.481 slash. The Mets avoided arbitration for 2015 with a $4.2 million deal, but Duda could be worth the rumored four-year/$31 million extension if he proves his power is legitimate and continues to improve at first.

I can’t lie; these moves are a refreshing change of pace. GM Sandy Alderson sent out two Quadruple-A pieces plus a PTNBL – fingers crossed it’s a nobody – to bolster the bullpen, even if it was already a strength. But the Mets are still a team in the biggest city in the world and a payroll like a small town. As of Thursday morning, the Mets will dole out $106.2 million this year, including payments to Bobby Bonilla, Bret Saberhagen and Carlos Beltran. That ranks them no. 19 and just barely above the 10 teams paying less than $100 million. The other team in the city has a payroll more than double the Mets, Boston is sporting a $186 million roster and renewed hopes of continuing their success and the defending World Series champion Giants are fifth with a $173.8 million payroll.

Nobody in their right mind can say paying expensive contracts is the recipe for success in Major League Baseball. The Yankees built their dynasty on the backs of homegrown players like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettite before taking on Alex Rodriguez‘ mammoth contract. The Giants did have a $149 million payroll last year, but Pablo Sandoval was only earning $8.25 million and Bay Area fans must regret handing out a two-year/$35 million extension to Tim Lincecum who has been very underwhelming the past three years after five years of domination.

But at the end of the day, a New York City team should have a New York City payroll, not a bottom half of the league payroll. Alderson and team ownership deny the Bernie Madoff scandal sank the ship, but the Mets finished the past three seasons with 40-man payrolls in the bottom half of the league, including no. 27 in 2014. New Commissioner Rob Manfred picked up where Bud Selig left over, saying publicly on Tuesday that criticism of Fred Wilpon is unfair and he is ‘satisfied’ they’re trying to be successful on the field and have the resources to be successful.

And yet, when New York needed a shortstop after 2013, they lowballed Jhonny Peralta with a two-year deal before the Cardinals surprised everyone with a four-year/$60 million contract. They didn’t appeal a decision by MLB after 2012 to protect their first-round pick when Pittsburgh failed to sign theirs and bumped them out, also bumping them out of the Michael Bourn contest. The Scott Boras client hasn’t lived up to his four-year/$48 million deal with the Indians, but a New York City team with a major payroll and a minor league outfield has to take that gamble. And this is without the Jose Reyes debacle after the 2011 campaign. Alderson recently said in biography “Baseball Maverick” he was prepared to offer the franchise shortstop $100 million before he signed a six-year/$102 million deal with Miami, and was promptly traded to Toronto. But Alderson publicly said he would not offer any $100 million contracts after the 2013 season and in the new biography said keeping Reyes would have been “maintaining the status quo.”

Reyes has been hurt and hasn’t hit quite as well as he did in Flushing, but his value hasn’t been terribly off the mark three years into the deal and for a rebuilding franchise in New York City with two beloved star players, it’s inappropriate not to keep both.