The New York Mets actually spent some money on Wednesday, signing Juan Lagares to a four-year extension through 2019, buying out all of his arbitration years. The Mets also hold a club option on Lagares for 2020, which would be his first free agent year. He’s guaranteed at least $20 million through the life of the deal.
#Mets & Juan Lagares have agreed on a 4-year extension with a club option…deal expected to be over $20m covers all arb yrs &1FAyr w opt
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) April 1, 2015
The 26-year old Lagares isn’t a great hitter at all – in 237 career games, he has a .262/.302/.368 triple slash with just eight homers and 19 stolen bases.
But Lagares *is* one of the best defensive players in baseball. In 1,849 innings in the Mets outfield, Lagares has accrued an insane +56 DRS and 43.0 UZR. The only outfielder even close to those numbers is Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward, and the only player in baseball at any position better is Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons.
It’s a decent deal for the Mets, who are betting on Lagares staying healthy and effective in center field during the life of his contract. However, let’s not pretend this is a slam dunk – remember when the Pirates signed Jose Tabata long-term through his arbitration years in 2011, only to see him completely fall apart and plummet down their outfield depth chart? The same thing could happen with Lagares, turning this seemingly inoffensive deal into a slog for the Mets to deal with over the next few seasons.
UPDATE: the total value is $23 million, and the club option is for $9.5 million.
Once finalized, Juan Lagares' deal with the Mets will be four years and $23M. The club option for 2020 is worth $9.5M with a $500K buyout.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 1, 2015
It’ll max out at $32 million over five years if the option is exercised.
