David Wright staying with Mets

[Moonlight J]

per WFAN -- 7 yrs/122M with an option to take it to 8/138

[Sharky]

Mixed emotions about this. The Mets need to put somebody on he field. Wright is good but is he great? Then again I'm amazed to see the Mets/Wilpons spend money at all these days.

[revo]

The Mets needed this to happen. Their fanbase would have rioted had they traded him mid-season.

Throughout the entire tenure of their franchise, they've never had a star player remain with them his entire career. The only player who fits that bill is Ed Kranepool, who was far from a star. Wright can now retire a Met and be the face of the franchise long after he's retired.

[joncarlos]

Mixed emotions about this. The Mets need to put somebody on he field. Wright is good but is he great? Then again I'm amazed to see the Mets/Wilpons spend money at all these days.

Less than 20mil/yr really shouldn't hamstring a team in this market. It's not a superstar salary. Whether the Wilpons have the ability (on-field talent-wise and financially) to build a team around him remains to be seen. And how good will Wright be by the time the Mets have rebuilt their farm team in 2015? Or later? They are a long ways away.

I vaguely remember seeing an article that the Mets were unusually dependent on attendance at Citi Field to make money. If that's the case, then this was a must.

[B-Fly]

The Mets needed this to happen. Their fanbase would have rioted had they traded him mid-season.

Throughout the entire tenure of their franchise, they've never had a star player remain with them his entire career. The only player who fits that bill is Ed Kranepool, who was far from a star. Wright can now retire a Met and be the face of the franchise long after he's retired.

I immediately thought of Mookie Wilson but then saw (and had no recollection of this at all) that he went to the Blue Jays in 1989 and was there through 1991.

[revo]

I immediately thought of Mookie Wilson but then saw (and had no recollection of this at all) that he went to the Blue Jays in 1989 and was there through 1991.

Yeah, there really aren't any stars who were career Mets. The stars who are "known" as Mets either were acquired mid-career or moved on, like Mookie. As such, the Mets have only one retired number for a player (Seaver's 41).

[Judge Jude]

Wright already is the Mets' all-time leader in hits (1426), runs (790), RBI (818), total bases (2398), doubles (322), extra base hits (545), times on base (2078), sacrifice flies (58, ok tied with Kranepool here), and walks (616)

also leads in WAR, Runs Created, and Adjusted Batting Runs

as for timetable, the Mets have a LOT of starting pitching options at various levels. if Harvey and Wheeler are legit, they can contend sooner than you think.

[Roto Rooter]

Resigning Wright won't sell tickets, it just delays the pitchfork invasion of Wilpon's summer home. Wake me up when the Mets actually IMPROVE.

[joncarlos]

as for timetable, the Mets have a LOT of starting pitching options at various levels. if Harvey and Wheeler are legit, they can contend sooner than you think.

My brother is a Mets fan, so I hope you're right, but I see a team with Ike Davis and Ruben Tejeda as their 2nd and 3rd best position players for the foreseeable future. Ouch. Even a wildly optimistic rotation featuring effective Johan, Dickey, Harvey and Wheeler all at the same time, with a strong Familia/Mejia bullpen, doesn't seem likely to get them over 85 wins.

[Judge Jude]

Jonathan Niese and Dillon Gee say hi.

[Roto Rooter]

LoL who is Dillon Gee saying hi to? Guy is the epitome of mediocre.

What good does a nice pitching rotation do when you have a hole at almost every other position on your roster? No outfield, huge issues at catcher, second base, first base, shortstop, bench, bullpen and an owner who wants to shop at walmart to fix the issues. Yeah they just signed a 138 million dollar deal, but it actually lowers Freddie Coupons payroll because they ripped up his option year and deferred alot of the contract lowering the yearly hit to the team. It was also the biggest no brainer move. The only thing they are going to do with that self imposed "cap space" is shop the clearance aisle to fill holes because the Wilpons do not have the scratch to build an entire team in the NY market.

[Sharky]

LoL who is Dillon Gee saying hi to? Guy is the epitome of mediocre.

What good does a nice pitching rotation do when you have a hole at almost every other position on your roster? No outfield, huge issues at catcher, second base, first base, shortstop, bench, bullpen and an owner who wants to shop at walmart to fix the issues. Yeah they just signed a 138 million dollar deal, but it actually lowers Freddie Coupons payroll because they ripped up his option year and deferred alot of the contract lowering the yearly hit to the team. It was also the biggest no brainer move. The only thing they are going to do with that self imposed "cap space" is shop the clearance aisle to fill holes because the Wilpons do not have the scratch to build an entire team in the NY market.

That's my concern. I love the rotation (which seems harder to build these days, despite what Tampa and Washington have done). Dickey, Harvey, Niese, Johan, Wheeler would be a great rotation.

But there is a real (desperate) need for offense. Ike Davis can be a serviceable contributor. But aside from Wright (and maybe Davis), there really isn't much. The days of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" are long gone. That's not how baseball works in 2013.

[joncarlos]

Jonathan Niese and Dillon Gee say hi.

In the hypothetical world where that craptastic offense is carried above .500 by 4 ace pitchers, Niese is a 5 and Gee is a middle reliever. Maybe Niese gets flipped for a league average hitter at C, OF or MI, but that's about the extent of his usefulness in this scenario. Or, more likely, he covers for the fact that all 4 of Johan/Dickey/Wheeler/Harvey never throw 180 good innings in the same season.

[roadtrip68]

The Mets needed this to happen. Their fanbase would have rioted had they traded him mid-season.

Throughout the entire tenure of their franchise, they've never had a star player remain with them his entire career. The only player who fits that bill is Ed Kranepool, who was far from a star. Wright can now retire a Met and be the face of the franchise long after he's retired.

Good post!

[Roto Rooter]

Also stop penciling in Johan Santana as a guarantee in the rotation. No hitter aside he hasn't been Santana-like in roughly 3 years. He's a back of the rotation starter at this point and even thats a stretch since he can't even stay on the mound.