Mets value buys pacing the way this season

Everyone loves a good bargain. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re shopping as an individual or as a team in Major League Baseball. In the past, especially in the post Bernie Madoff years, the New York Mets were known throughout the league as a team that consistently shopped down the bargain aisle. And whenever they didn’t shop down the bargain aisle, they swung and missed on large contracts like Jason Bay and Yoenis Cespedes. So it was no surprise when the Mets signed Taijuan Walker in late February to a two-year, twenty million-dollar contract to sure up rotational depth. All that Walker has done is pitch like an All-Star, and proven himself to be one of the best free agent signings of the entire offseason.

Walker was presented to the Mets as a bargain due to his injury-laden past. Most notably, Walker suffered a tear to the UCL in his right elbow during the 2018 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and did not return until the end of the 2019 season. After just one start in 2019 Walker’s original team, the Seattle Mariners, gave him a one-year deal for 2020. During the season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Walker looked to be regaining his form with the Blue Jays last season, as he pitched to a 1.37 ERA in six starts with them last season. Despite that strong stretch of starts, Walker was placed towards the back of the class of free agent starting pitchers, a class that included Jake Odorizzi, Jake Arrieta, and most infamously Trevor Bauer.

After the Mets whiffed on Bauer and his steep asking price, Walker came to the Mets for $18 million less this season. For comparison’s sake, the two are actually having very similar years on the mound. Bauer has the advantage in WAR, by .1. Bauer also has 39 more strikeouts than Walker, albeit in more innings pitched. Other than that, Walker has outclassed Bauer on the mound, dazzling with an ERA of 2.12 compared to Bauer’s mark of 2.64. Walker has also walked five less batters than Bauer has.

For the price of one season of Bauer, the Mets were able to sign the two starters that have been able to consistently be rocks for the starting rotation. The combined value of the contracts of Walker and Marcus Stroman this season is $28.9 million, $900,000 more than Bauer’s contract this season. The Mets signed two should be All-Stars for the price of one. And yet, the pitcher’s mound was not the only place where the Mets found bargain bin success this offseason. The Mets were supposed to sign George Springer this offseason to sure their outfield up and take them to the next level, but the Toronto Blue Jays signed the Connecticut native to a six-year, $150 million contract.

Instead, the Mets signed Kevin Pillar to a two-year, $6.5 million contract. Pillar was renowned for his defense while playing for the Blue Jays, and had even developed more refined offensive skills last season. His beginning with the Mets was slow, but he has endeared himself to the fanbase thanks to the way he has filled in for starting outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto. Wanting to play the day after getting drilled in the nose by a fastball on May 17th helped with endearing himself to the fanbase as well. Up to that point though, Pillar had been the best offensive player during the month of May for the Mets, as he slashed .327 with two home runs and eight RBIs. In Pillar, the Mets not only received a player that has proven capable of filling in the holes that injured starters left, but also a player that the team has come to rally around.

The Mets were expected to spend big on a multitude of players this offseason, and they did on the contracts of James McCann and Francisco Lindor. The Mets harbor the third-highest payroll in baseball, only behind the Dodgers and New York Yankees. Despite the high payroll that the team has, the players (outside of Jacob deGrom) who have stepped up when the Mets have needed them the most have been the value players that the Mets scored during the offseason. Whether it be Walker, who has delivered quality start after quality start while the Mets await the returns of Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco, or Pillar saving the day in the outfield with his high-caliber defense, the Mets have proved that building a successful team is about more than just picking up the big-name signings during the offseason.

Walker has a 2.12 ERA
Pillar batted .327 in May
The Mets have the third highest payroll in baseball