Unless Jay Bruce can play second or third base, the Mets still have a significant hole to address on their roster.
Who among Josh Harrison, Neil Walker, Todd Frazier, Eduardo Nunez and Jose Reyes, if any, will it be as general manager Sandy Alderson attempts to construct a lineup that can keep the Mets competitive in 2018?
Asked Wednesday at Citi Field, after Bruce was reintroduced following his addition on a three-year contract worth $39 million, if the Mets could still add a significant contract this offseason, Alderson said: “I think so.”
Now it’s a matter of what constitutes “significant,” as Alderson attempts to trim a payroll that reached $155 million last season. Bruce’s addition puts the Mets in the $135 million neighborhood.
Harrison, who has requested a trade from the Pirates, is the sexiest name of the group. Though the Mets and Pirates have discussed a deal that would send Harrison to Flushing for Brandon Nimmo, talks have stalled, according to an industry source. At issue appears to be the Mets’ unwillingness to surrender Nimmo, given Harrison’s remaining contract.
Harrison, who will make $10.25 million in 2018, is under club control for three seasons (including two team options). The total value of his remaining contract is $32.25 million.
One line of thinking is Harrison could be overpriced in this market. That is, if the Mets declined Harrison’s options and allowed him to become a free agent, he would probably be valued at significantly less than the money remaining on his contract.
Though Harrison would fill a need at second base, there seems to be legitimate debate within the organization whether he’s a better player than Nimmo, who posted a .260/.379/.418 slash line with five homers and 21 RBIs in 69 games for the Mets. Harrison, 30, slashed .272/.339/.432 with 16 home runs in 128 games.
The Mets have five years of control remaining with the 24-year-old Nimmo, who is expected to begin the season as part of a platoon in center field with Juan Lagares. Trading Nimmo and taking on Harrison’s contract would leave the Mets exceptionally thin in the outfield and potentially without the payroll flexibility to land a replacement. Though Harrison can play the outfield, he has almost exclusively played in the infield the past two seasons and has never played center.
Before their signing of Bruce, the Mets discussed with the Pirates a deal that would have sent Nimmo to the Pirates for Andrew McCutchen, as first reported by The Athletic. McCutchen was traded to the Giants this week.
“A trade [for an infielder] is a possibility if we were to try to improve in that area,” Alderson said. “I think we would prefer to sign a free agent, because it doesn’t require us to give up any talent.
“We have talent to give up. It’s not like we don’t have any players that anybody wants. We talk about our farm system, it’s not as strong as it used to be, but we’ve got pretty good players that people want.”
Other than Bruce, the Mets have signed Adrian Gonzalez to a one-year contract in which they will pay the veteran first baseman only the minimum on the $22.4 million he is owed for this season.
The deal became official Wednesday, after the 35-year-old Gonzalez, who played in only 71 games last season because of back injuries, passed a physical.
The Mets also signed reliever Anthony Swarzak to a two-year contract worth $14 million. But Alderson doesn’t anticipate any further bullpen moves.
“Some have talked about the bullpen, how we need to add a bullpen arm,” Alderson said. “I am not really convinced we do, nor are a lot of people in the organization. On the one hand you want to have demonstrated performers. On the other hand you want some flexibility too. Right now we like where we are, but that doesn’t mean we don’t continue to look to see what is available to us.”