Monday brings the next step for many of baseball’s top free agents, and two Mets reside in that mix.
For Yoenis Cespedes, this will be a mere formality. For Neil Walker, however, it could be the resolution.
Cespedes and Walker are among the 10 free agents who have until 5 p.m. (ET) Monday to decide whether to accept the qualifying offer — a one-year, $17.2 million contract for 2017 — that they received last week. Cespedes will obviously reject it; he opted out of a far greater guarantee (two years and $47.5 million) from the Mets to explore free agency for a second straight winter.
Walker, though, faces a tougher decision. The 31-year-old enjoyed a fine first season with the Mets, tallying a .273/.339/.436 slash line, with 23 homers, in 113 games. He also established himself as a positive clubhouse presence on a team that lost its captain, David Wright, to a season-ending neck injury in May.
Yet the second baseman suffered his own serious injury, not playing after Aug. 27 and undergoing surgery in September to repair a herniated disk in his back. While the procedure is regarded as routine, it’s not quite what suitors are looking for in a free agent, particularly when signing a player would require the forfeiture of a draft pick (and the Mets, if they lose Walker, gaining a supplemental draft selection). If Walker accepts the qualifying offer, he could enjoy a one-year payday at a rate likely higher than what he would get in a multi-year agreement and the opportunity to boost his appeal for a year from now.
The Mets and Walker have not engaged in any substantive discussions about a long-term extension, a person familiar with the situation said on Sunday, even though both Walker and Mets general manager Sandy Alderson expressed enthusiasm over such an arrangement back in September.
For the moment, the Mets appeared content to see whether Walker would accept the qualifying offer. Walker is represented by well-known agent Casey Close.
The market for second basemen doesn’t appear particularly robust this winter, which should enhance the Mets’ chances at retaining Walker. One potential exception: The Dodgers, who face the free agency of not only their own second baseman, Chase Utley, but also that of their third baseman, Justin Turner, the ex-Met who also can play second.
As for Cespedes, Alderson has made clear his desire to retain the electric outfielder and ideally resolve the issue by the Winter Meetings in December. No other team will hesitate to sacrifice a draft pick for a player of Cespedes’ quality. Rather, the key issues figure to be the dollars and years necessary to corral the All-Star.