Surprise! The Mets just signed outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two-year deal, $21 million.
Welcome to New York @mcuddy3! We've signed outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two-year contract. #Mets pic.twitter.com/1pwpJzESmB
— New York Mets (@Mets) November 10, 2014
Double surprise! The Mets apparently have money to spend. Or at least they are pretending like they might. You see, this is a something of an annual tradition for the Mets where they sign a veteran to a short-term but somewhat expensive contract (see Bartolo Colon and Curtis Granderson last year). It makes the roster marginally better and gives just enough hope to their fans that the Mets might be ready to start spending big again and competing in the NL East.
The second part of that annual tradition is that they then do almost nothing else. Mets fans just keep on waiting and waiting and waiting for the Wilpons to finally emerge from their post-Madoff austerity plan and invest in making the club a winner. With each modest investment, that hope springs once again. This Cuddyer signing is no different.
By all rights, the Mets should be looking to make a move up the standing in the NL East. They’ve got a terrific young pitching staff, especially with Matt Harvey due back this season. But they also had a number of holes to fill in their lineup coming into the postseason. Adding Cuddyer fills one of those holes. Maybe. Cuddyer has been great for the Rockies for the last three seasons, but he’s also been playing at Coors Field for the last three seasons. Now he’s 36 years old and heading to a ballpark that suppresses offense.
It also still leaves the Mets with other holes to fill. They need help at shortstop, a platoon partner for Lucas Duda at first base and some depth in their bullpen. These are things that the Mets could find one the free agent market if they are willing to open up their wallets a bit more. That’s a big “if” though.
This could be just another feign by the Mets to try and keep their fan base just barely hanging on. It is a move that keeps the Mets just barely good enough to not be awful, but not nearly good enough to be a real factor in their division. Oh, and it will also cost them their first round pick, which is a pretty steep cost if this proves to be nothing more than a misdirection aimed at convincing season ticket holders to renew.
What the Mets do or don’t do next will quickly let the fans know whether or not they are being had again. If they sign another quality free agent, then maybe the Wilpons are finally ready to win. But if they trade Daniel Murphy to avoid paying his arbitration raise, it’s one step forward but one step back. Perhaps that is being a bit negative towards the Mets, but let’s not forget that the Mets were heavily shopping Bartolo Colon at the trade deadline just a few months back.
This just isn’t a team that has demonstrated any sort of commitment to trying to win yet. Signing Cuddyer is a good start, or at least the idea of the signing is, the actual cost-benefit of it might not be, but they are going to have to do a whole lot more before anyone will believe that Mets are really going to be a factor in 2015.
