$110M Payroll = Pennant Contender

[rdg515]

If I understand correctly David Wright is only being paid $8M this year [with a chunk deferred to create payroll flexibility] and if Dickey follows the same path and re-signs for the $5M he is due now and gets his $25M extra split in years 2 and 3 the Mets could go for it now with a $110M payroll and contend immediately. Here's how:

1) Sign Michael Bourn [5 45 .275 40 SBs] for an average of the $15M he seeks with a maybe a lower first year salary.
2) Sign Nick Swisher [25 90 .275 average year] for $9M for 2013 and a bit higher in year two. Staying in NY may be enough of an incentive. If he cannot be gotten for that price stick with re-signing Hairston or Ross for RF.
3) Go for it and sign Delmon Young [15 85 .284 average] for LF for $12M per/3 years plus options...if higher back end the deal slightly...he may not be great defensively but the 27 year old can sure hit. Drove in 93 and 112 runs for MIN.
4) Sign Olivo [avg. in 400 ABs is 14 50 .240] for $3M
5) Sign two retread pitchers for the pen/swing starter for $1.5M incentive laden contracts...if they excel the Wilpons can afford to pay more and if the Mets don't contend then trade them off in July...some teams play this game well.

Here's the roster [salary in brackets---correct me if I'm off a bit]:

Bourn 15, Tejada 1.5, Wright 8, Davis 2.5, Young 12, Swisher 9, Murphy 2, Olivo 3 plus Duda .5, Thole 1, Hicks .5, Turner 1, Niewenhuis .5 = $56.5 M plus Bay payment of ?????

Staff: Santana 24, Dickey 5, Harvey .5, Niese 2, Gee 2 = $33.5M
Pen: Francisco 6, Parnell 2, Edgin .5, Carson .5, Mejia .5, Familia .5 plus two vet retreads 3 = $13M

$56.5 + $33.5 + $13 = $103M plus Bay payout [$7M?] = $110M. The lineup would be strong and balanced and young enough to stay as a core for years where Olivo is the only guy on the hitting side older than 32 [Swisher]. We know how old Johan and RA are but we also have the Kiddie Corps rising into place. If the bullpen kids can come through in reasonable fashion [and spare bullpen arms are the cheapest thing to get through March] this team is an instant contender if folks have average healthy years. Next year Santana's $24M comes off so raises and slight backloads are affordable. Washington did just about the same thing---jumping from last place to contender status as their young pitching arrived...can't we expect the same? Isn't the battle plan laid out by SA the reason Wright stayed???
Insightful comments welcomed.

[kmo429]

Just Bourn and Young/Swisher, not all 3.

[rdg515]

Just Bourn and Young/Swisher, not all 3.

I could live with that but wouldn't it be nice to have Duda available to DH 15-18 games so we have a better chance against the AL, back up first base, LF and RF, and pinch hit rather than counting on him for 500 ABs against many lefties? He may develop into a better overall hitter but he remains a bit one dimensional...future trade bait perhaps to an AL team. Maybe Hairston instead of Young or Swisher if the price is too steep...we just cannot count on Nieuwenhuis, Duda and Baxter as starters at this point.

[Dugmet]

I don't think the Mets would roll on Young under any circumstance after what happened to him the last time he was in NY...and since the Wilpons are Jewish.

[bklynny67]

If I understand correctly David Wright is only being paid $8M this year [with a chunk deferred to create payroll flexibility] and if Dickey follows the same path and re-signs for the $5M he is due now and gets his $25M extra split in years 2 and 3 the Mets could go for it now with a $110M payroll and contend immediately. Here's how:

1) Sign Michael Bourn [5 45 .275 40 SBs] for an average of the $15M he seeks with a maybe a lower first year salary.
2) Sign Nick Swisher [25 90 .275 average year] for $9M for 2013 and a bit higher in year two. Staying in NY may be enough of an incentive. If he cannot be gotten for that price stick with re-signing Hairston or Ross for RF.
3) Go for it and sign Delmon Young [15 85 .284 average] for LF for $12M per/3 years plus options...if higher back end the deal slightly...he may not be great defensively but the 27 year old can sure hit. Drove in 93 and 112 runs for MIN.
4) Sign Olivo [avg. in 400 ABs is 14 50 .240] for $3M
5) Sign two retread pitchers for the pen/swing starter for $1.5M incentive laden contracts...if they excel the Wilpons can afford to pay more and if the Mets don't contend then trade them off in July...some teams play this game well.

Here's the roster [salary in brackets---correct me if I'm off a bit]:

Bourn 15, Tejada 1.5, Wright 8, Davis 2.5, Young 12, Swisher 9, Murphy 2, Olivo 3 plus Duda .5, Thole 1, Hicks .5, Turner 1, Niewenhuis .5 = $56.5 M plus Bay payment of ?????

Staff: Santana 24, Dickey 5, Harvey .5, Niese 2, Gee 2 = $33.5M
Pen: Francisco 6, Parnell 2, Edgin .5, Carson .5, Mejia .5, Familia .5 plus two vet retreads 3 = $13M

$56.5 + $33.5 + $13 = $103M plus Bay payout [$7M?] = $110M. The lineup would be strong and balanced and young enough to stay as a core for years where Olivo is the only guy on the hitting side older than 32 [Swisher]. We know how old Johan and RA are but we also have the Kiddie Corps rising into place. If the bullpen kids can come through in reasonable fashion [and spare bullpen arms are the cheapest thing to get through March] this team is an instant contender if folks have average healthy years. Next year Santana's $24M comes off so raises and slight backloads are affordable. Washington did just about the same thing---jumping from last place to contender status as their young pitching arrived...can't we expect the same? Isn't the battle plan laid out by SA the reason Wright stayed???
Insightful comments welcomed.

wow.... just leave it up to you to come up with more and more dream scenarios that everyone knows will not happen. Out of Bourn, Young, and Swisher we will sign exactly 0 of them. Stop with your nonsense.

[StoicSentry]

I would be happy if we signed ONE of the 3. Don't think we will, sadly.

[dunbummin]

If I understand correctly David Wright is only being paid $8M this year [with a chunk deferred to create payroll flexibility] and if Dickey follows the same path and re-signs for the $5M he is due now and gets his $25M extra split in years 2 and 3 the Mets could go for it now with a $110M payroll and contend immediately. Here's how:

1) Sign Michael Bourn [5 45 .275 40 SBs] for an average of the $15M he seeks with a maybe a lower first year salary.
2) Sign Nick Swisher [25 90 .275 average year] for $9M for 2013 and a bit higher in year two. Staying in NY may be enough of an incentive. If he cannot be gotten for that price stick with re-signing Hairston or Ross for RF.
3) Go for it and sign Delmon Young [15 85 .284 average] for LF for $12M per/3 years plus options...if higher back end the deal slightly...he may not be great defensively but the 27 year old can sure hit. Drove in 93 and 112 runs for MIN.
4) Sign Olivo [avg. in 400 ABs is 14 50 .240] for $3M
5) Sign two retread pitchers for the pen/swing starter for $1.5M incentive laden contracts...if they excel the Wilpons can afford to pay more and if the Mets don't contend then trade them off in July...some teams play this game well.

Here's the roster [salary in brackets---correct me if I'm off a bit]:

Bourn 15, Tejada 1.5, Wright 8, Davis 2.5, Young 12, Swisher 9, Murphy 2, Olivo 3 plus Duda .5, Thole 1, Hicks .5, Turner 1, Niewenhuis .5 = $56.5 M plus Bay payment of ?????

Staff: Santana 24, Dickey 5, Harvey .5, Niese 2, Gee 2 = $33.5M
Pen: Francisco 6, Parnell 2, Edgin .5, Carson .5, Mejia .5, Familia .5 plus two vet retreads 3 = $13M

$56.5 + $33.5 + $13 = $103M plus Bay payout [$7M?] = $110M. The lineup would be strong and balanced and young enough to stay as a core for years where Olivo is the only guy on the hitting side older than 32 [Swisher]. We know how old Johan and RA are but we also have the Kiddie Corps rising into place. If the bullpen kids can come through in reasonable fashion [and spare bullpen arms are the cheapest thing to get through March] this team is an instant contender if folks have average healthy years. Next year Santana's $24M comes off so raises and slight backloads are affordable. Washington did just about the same thing---jumping from last place to contender status as their young pitching arrived...can't we expect the same? Isn't the battle plan laid out by SA the reason Wright stayed???
Insightful comments welcomed.

You're somewhat off on many of your salary numbers, and totally unrealistic on your FA contracts, but other than that, your concept is right. I won't go into details on each player, but committments to the current roster, including projections for arb-eligible players is $67.75 million. My thought is you have about $30 million to get to last year's payroll.

You're not getting Bourn for 3 years. With Boras as his agent, I'm guessing it would take 5 yrs./$80 million. ($10 in 2013, then $16-$17-$17-$16 with a $4 mil buyout on a 2018 option) He wants better than Upton got.

No way is Swisher signing for 2 years and $20 million, lets say. You're way out of his ballpark, so forget him.

And while you're at it, forget Delmon too. And I don't want Olivo.

If I were going your route, I'd do:

Bourn, as I said above. $10 million in 2013
Cody Ross - 2 yrs/$18 million plus a team option with a $3 million buyout = 2/$21 = $8.25 million in 2013
Hairston - 2 years/$6.5 million = $2.5 million in 2013
Jair Jurrjens - $3.5 million plus significant incentives
Ronny Cedeno - $1.25 million
Matt Lindstrom - 2 yrs/$8 million - $3.75 in 2013
Peter Moylan - $750 K
Trade for either Hector Sanchez or J.P. Arencibia as catcher

Total Additions = $30 million in payroll for 2013

Lineup: Bourn, Murphy, Wright, Davis, Ross, Duda, Arencibia, Tejada
Rotation: Dickey, Santana, Niese, Harvey, Gee (with Jurrjens in the minors, waiting with Wheeler)
Bench: Hairston, Cedeno, Turner, Baxter or Nieuwenhuis, Thole
Bull Pen: Francisco, Parnell, Lindstrom, Edgin, Carson, Moylan, Hefner/McHugh

[YoungStuna]

Can we stop these unrealistic scenarios?

[SILVER SEAVER]

All the money in the world won't make the Mets playoff contenders if they don't spend the money on the right mix of players built for Citi Field and the city of New York for that matter. Jason Bay, nice guy but is built for the Pacific Northwest not the concrete jungle of the east coast.

[SILVER SEAVER]

Can we stop these unrealistic scenarios?

In the Mets universe there are no realistic scenarios so we have to make up unrealistic crap to get us through the winter. We know these clowns won't sign anybody or get anything for Dickey. Sandy will live off that Beltran/Wheeler trade till they day he becomes one with the earth.

[GottaBelieve]

The Mets have managed to defer, if my math is correct, $18 million worth of money from the 2013 payroll to the future from just Bay and Wright.

That would put their present payroll somewhere in the $70 million range (someone please correct me if the math is off).

If the spent $35 million more this winter they could build a monster team.

But I don't think they're spending much, if any of that money. The Wilpons are still paying their bills and Sandy's recent comments about the roster suggest his previous comments about making his push to improve the team this winter were simply not true.

[YoungStuna]

**** Sandy and the Wilpons

[metfan83]

Has anyone been able to confirm if alderson is still alive?

[GottaBelieve]

Only Matt Cerrone. He has access to the Ministry.

[Harry777]

Has anyone been able to confirm if alderson is still alive?

He was never alive. He's just a puppet.