With the New York Mets’ finances a continuing mystery, General Manager Sandy Alderson may have to work on the cheap to fill the many holes on his roster. Low cost additions often come at the cost of quality, with utility players and lottery tickets being less likely to deliver solid production than the next tier of players. The Mets may be able to take advantage of an opportunity to land a former marquee talent on the cheap thanks to the latest funny money trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. The deal was set up to get the Dodgers under the luxury tax threshold, and in order to do that they sent three high salaried players to the Braves, including former All Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez was waived after he was acquired by Atlanta, leaving him free to sign with any team for the league minimum, which should pique the interest of the Mets.
The Mets are expected to take a run at Gonzalez, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports. Gonzalez’s value is at an all time low after a back injury wrecked his season. The Dodgers handed first base to Cody Bellinger, who Pipped Gonzalez by hitting 39 homers and winning the National League Rookie of the Year award, leaving Gonzalez without a job. Gonzalez was set to earn $22 million this season, but with the Braves waiving him they are on the hook for that money, leaving him free to sign anywhere he wants for the league minimum. This could set up a good match between Gonzalez, who is a proven veteran hitter and solid defender, and the Mets. The Mets need a short term first baseman to buy themselves some time to let Dominic Smith continue to develop, while Gonzalez would need an opportunity to play every day to re-establish his value in the hopes of landing a multi-year deal next winter.
This would be a low risk proposition for the Mets, who would only be on the hook for the league minimum and could save some valuable resources for other positions, such as second base and the corner outfield. Gonzalez had also been remarkably consistent prior to 2017, recording at least 18 homers and 90 RBI’s every year between 2007 and 2016. There had been signs that Gonzalez was starting to decline prior to his injury, but if he can deliver 70% of what he normally does it would still serve as a short term upgrade over Dominic Smith. This is the type of signing that makes all the sense in the world, and it would depend on if anyone else is willing to give Gonzalez an opportunity like the Mets would provide. It certainly appears like a match can be made, but we’ll see if anything comes of this rumor.
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