Some interesting news was broken last night by SI.com’s Jon Heyman. Let’s take the two tidbits in order.
An Angel Pagan, Heyman wrote that the Mets expect to tender him a contract for 2012. Remember, Pagan is arbitration-eligible, so the Mets can expect him to receive a raise over his 2011 salary of $3.5 million- to, say, $4.5 million (MLB Trade Rumors estimates his 2012 salary at $4.7 million). Given the organization’s discontent with Pagan, that seems high. But if Sandy Alderson has looked around at the alternative free agent center fielders, he knows that replacing Pagan’s modest 2011 production (.262/.322/.372) won’t be easy.
I take this as Adam Rubin does- this could easily be just posturing for potential trading partners. Personally, I get the feeling Angel Pagan is past his sell-by date. Just my impression. His defensive regression in 2011 was scary.
Regarding Capuano, whose $1.5 million, one-year base salary last season ended up closer to $4 million including incentives, the Mets are apparently not interested at a two-year price. This strikes me as logical- Capuano just had his first healthy year since 2006, and that isn’t someone you then lock up for multiple years. The concern, as usual here- Heyman writes on Twitter that “#mets made great deal for capuano last winter. But now he’s priced himself out. he seeks 2 yrs; mets eye 1-yr bargains”.
So is it that Capuano is not a wise move at two years? Or that the Mets aren’t going to have the money/permission from ownership to sign any pitchers to two-year deals? This, sadly, is the age we are living in. Finally, a General Manager who understands the market is hired; his bankroll has disappeared.
1 Comment
Capuano is not worth watching unless you live in El Paso and there’s no high school football that night. And El Paso is what they should do with his potential contract.