The New York Mets made it official, signing LHP Jonathon Niese to a five year, $25.5 million contract extension. The deal is through his first year of free agent eligibility and includes two team options that could cover his next two free agent years. This is fair market value if you compare it to the deals pitchers like Derek Holland (5 years, $28.5 million), Clay Buccholz (4, $30) and Trevor Cahill (5, $30.5) got. It also signifies a change of times where organizations make long term commitment to their young starting pitchers. They pay more money in the short term (prearbitration and beginning part of arbitration) in exchange a potentially team friendly contract towards the end, assuming the pitcher's stock continues to rise. While the team could have the upper hand towards the end of this deal, there is also the risk of injury or ineffective pitching which could make this a bad contract.
Teams do their due dilligence before extending a pitcher like this. More often than not, deals similar to this work out. The best sign of this extension is the thoughts and hope that the Mets are back in business. It was clearly obvious that the team was hamstrung (no pun intended) when it came to finances due to the litigation surrounding the Bernard Madoff case. It seems, a least a little bit, that the resolution of the case has put the Wilpons in a better position financially with the hopes of investing more money into their payroll, something they did not do last year and would not do this offseason.
Sandy Alderson has been quoted on a number of occasions stating things like if the Mets are in contention come July or August, there would be resources available to acquire a player or two for a playoff chase. It was unlikely anything like that would have been possible last year. As a fan, that is good to know. More importantly, it is a sign that the team will look to hold on to their homegrown players, another area Alderson alluded to. He would like to build a homegrown "core" of players and chances are, they will be retained.
A David Wright contract extension remains possible, though it will have to do more with his performance this season and his ability to stay healthy. Ike Davis could reasonably be extended either this season or next year, if the team chooses to. RA Dickey is another possibility to be extended, even if it is a matter of simply picking up his 2013 option and adding one for 2014. If the finances are improved, it is a good sign for pitchers like Matt Harvey, Zach Wheeler, Jeurys Familia and even Jennry Mejia if they show signs of reaching full potential.
The Niese extension is an exciting sign for the "new" Mets. As the concern for future seems to be Sandy Alderson's top priority, there should be little fear in the team losing younger talented players to free agency. If and when the team finally comes back to being a contender, there is more of a hope that it will remain in contension for a long time.
Teams do their due dilligence before extending a pitcher like this. More often than not, deals similar to this work out. The best sign of this extension is the thoughts and hope that the Mets are back in business. It was clearly obvious that the team was hamstrung (no pun intended) when it came to finances due to the litigation surrounding the Bernard Madoff case. It seems, a least a little bit, that the resolution of the case has put the Wilpons in a better position financially with the hopes of investing more money into their payroll, something they did not do last year and would not do this offseason.
Sandy Alderson has been quoted on a number of occasions stating things like if the Mets are in contention come July or August, there would be resources available to acquire a player or two for a playoff chase. It was unlikely anything like that would have been possible last year. As a fan, that is good to know. More importantly, it is a sign that the team will look to hold on to their homegrown players, another area Alderson alluded to. He would like to build a homegrown "core" of players and chances are, they will be retained.
A David Wright contract extension remains possible, though it will have to do more with his performance this season and his ability to stay healthy. Ike Davis could reasonably be extended either this season or next year, if the team chooses to. RA Dickey is another possibility to be extended, even if it is a matter of simply picking up his 2013 option and adding one for 2014. If the finances are improved, it is a good sign for pitchers like Matt Harvey, Zach Wheeler, Jeurys Familia and even Jennry Mejia if they show signs of reaching full potential.
The Niese extension is an exciting sign for the "new" Mets. As the concern for future seems to be Sandy Alderson's top priority, there should be little fear in the team losing younger talented players to free agency. If and when the team finally comes back to being a contender, there is more of a hope that it will remain in contension for a long time.
picture courtesy of www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2011/07
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