Intertwined in president of baseball operations David Stearns’ search for new talent with the Mets will be deciding how to proceed with some of the old.
The Mets have 16 arbitration-eligible players, the most of any National League team. The high count is partly a byproduct of acquiring older, experienced players for gaps that couldn’t be filled through the farm system in recent seasons.
Stearns and his staff must decide by Nov. 17 whether to tender contracts to the arbitration-eligible players.
A closer look (with all salary projections from MLB Trade Rumors):
Pete Alonso
The only question might be how far beyond $20 million he gets in his final season before free agency. He’s projected at $22 million and recently hired Scott Boras as his agent.
Prediction: Tendered
Jeff Brigham
The right-handed reliever was good early, but began a fade in June and never really recovered. Projected at $1.1 million for next season.
Prediction: Non-tendered
Sam Coonrod
Team officials raved about his stuff, but health was an issue. High upside at the projected $900,000.
Prediction: Tendered
John Curtiss
Had a rocky first season back after Tommy John surgery and finished on the injured list. Projected at $1 million.
Prediction: Non-tendered
Trevor Gott
The reliever had a roller-coaster season after arriving from the Mariners in July, but part of his appeal to the front office was his club control for next season. Projected at $2 million.
Prediction: Tendered
Luis Guillorme
The infielder struggled, got demoted to Triple-A Syracuse and then spent two months on the injured list upon his return. He figures to be a trade candidate, but his $1.7 million projection for next season might make that difficult.
Prediction: Non-tendered
Elieser Hernandez
The right-hander didn’t throw a pitch for the Mets after spending most of the season on the injured list. Projected at $1.6 million.
Prediction: Non-tendered
Tim Locastro
The Mets loved his speed, but he is without remaining minor league options and projected at $1.6 million for next season.
Prediction: Non-tendered
Joey Lucchesi
Gave the Mets quality starts and has minor league options remaining. The Mets need the pitching depth, and the projected $2 million for the left-hander seems reasonable.
Prediction: Tendered
Danny Mendick
The 30-year-old infielder didn’t produce at the plate in his limited opportunities. Projected at $1.1 million for next season.
Prediction: Non-tendered
Rafael Ortega
The 32-year-old outfielder gave the Mets a solid defensive presence after the trade deadline, but might not fit for next season.
Prediction: Non-tendered
Michael Perez
The Mets have liked him as an emergency catching option, but at the moment Tomas Nido remains in the system and signed for next season.
Prediction: Non-tendered
David Peterson
The lefty pitched much better in the second half than in the first. He’s projected for $2 million next season.
Prediction: Tendered
Drew Smith
The right-handed reliever has the stuff, but the results haven’t followed. Maybe a visit to the organization’s new pitching lab would help. Projected at $2.3 million for next season.
Prediction: Tendered
DJ Stewart
Lefty bat that showed plenty of pop when he received a chance to play. Worth another look for the projected $1.5 million.
Prediction: Tendered
Daniel Vogelbach
Stearns acquired the lefty DH with the Brewers, but is there a fit for him on the Mets? And if so, in what role? A trade might be the likelier scenario than Vogelbach playing for the team next season, but for a projected $2.6 million, there is value in him.
Prediction: Tendered
Step right up & greet the (ex-)Mets
Four notable former Mets are still going in the postseason. We’ll list them here in terms of probable approval rating among Mets fans.
1. Zack Wheeler: The right-hander might still be beloved by Mets fans if he had signed outside the NL East. That’s especially true after former general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s comment (in attempting to defend the Mets for not extending him an offer) that Wheeler cashed in on two good halves of a season. Wheeler, even in a Phillies uniform, is respected by Mets fans.
2. Tommy Pham: He was the Mets’ best hitter for a two-month stretch, earning him a trade to the Diamondbacks. Pham wasn’t around long enough to become a fan favorite or disliked. He probably falls into “neutral” on the favorability scale.
3. Justin Verlander: He was just beginning to find his groove on the mound and become popular with the fan base (even if he never seemed to fit in the clubhouse) when the Mets traded him back to the Astros. But in the grand scheme, the Mets sputtered with Verlander, and his brief tenure is largely defined by the team’s disappointing play that forced the decision to deal him.
4. Max Scherzer: Fair or not, many Mets fans seemed relieved when the right-hander got traded to Texas. The combination of Scherzer’s late-season struggles last season (against the Braves in the final weekend and facing the Padres in the wild-card round) coupled with his inconsistency this year spelled doom for the future Hall of Famer’s Mets legacy.
A Young man’s game
Chris Young interviewed for the Mets’ GM vacancy three years ago, but the position as structured was under Sandy Alderson, whose duties in the first season of Steve Cohen’s ownership included overseeing baseball operations.
In search of larger responsibilities, the former pitcher — who spent 2011-12 with the Mets — took the Rangers’ GM job, which placed him in charge of the team’s baseball operations.
The Rangers are now within four victories of the World Series after a three-game sweep of the Orioles in the ALDS.
Young’s signature moves this season included trading for Jordan Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman, former Yankees who bolstered the starting rotation and bullpen, respectively.
Under Young’s watch, the Rangers also signed Corey Seager to a 10-year contract worth $325 million.
A former Princeton baseball and basketball standout, Young left an impression on a young Mets teammate in 2012.
“C.Y. knew how to use his strengths well,” said Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, whose rookie season as a pitcher overlapped with Young’s final year in New York. “His intellect allowed his stuff to play up because of how prepared he was both mentally and physically. He was always willing to listen to try to get better and equally available to share his experiences to help his teammates reach their potential.”
Lindor played hurt
Francisco Lindor began a second straight offseason with surgery: The Mets announced Wednesday that the shortstop had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.
Last October, he underwent an appendectomy, the timing of which could have removed him from NLDS action had the Mets beaten the Padres in the wild-card round.
The Mets expect Lindor at full strength for spring training.
Playing through the bone spur for most of this season — he learned about it early in the year, according to a source — Lindor still joined the 30-30 club and had a Gold Glove-type season. Finalists for the award will be announced later this month.
