Pros and Cons of New York Mets' Surprise Michael Cuddyer Free-Agent Splash

The New York Mets stunned the baseball world on Monday when they announced the signing of veteran outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two-year contract worth $21 million.

This deal seemed like it would make a lot of sense heading into the offseason, but after the Colorado Rockies extended Cuddyer the $15.3 million qualifying offer, the Mets and Cuddyer no longer seemed like a logical match. It appeared unlikely that Cuddyer would get more money elsewhere and also that the Mets would be willing to give up their first-round draft pick in order to sign him.

However, despite the qualifying offer, the Mets pounced on the opportunity to add Cuddyer, and in doing so bolstered their lineup for the next two seasons.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of the signings.

Pros

First off, and most importantly, Michael Cuddyer is a really good hitter.

The Mets are an intriguing team in the near future because of their pitching, but as long as their offense remains mediocre at best, they’ll likely stay out of the playoff conversation. Adding Cuddyer gives the Mets a player who has a career line of .279/.347/.466, giving New York a talented hitter with extra-base power who also fits into its patient-approach philosophy.

Cuddyer also fills a hole for the Mets in the outfield. The Mets could have the makings of a well above-average outfield if Curtis Granderson has a bounce-back season and Juan Lagares continues playing great defense, and Cuddyer could fill the last corner spot as a bat-first option.

Cuddyer also can play first base. Considering Lucas Duda’s struggles against left-handed pitching, having Cuddyer on the roster should give the Mets a lot more lineup flexibility.

The move also doesn’t block the Mets’ hopeful future outfielders. By acquiring a veteran to a long-term deal they would have risked not having a space available for highly regarded prospects Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto. With that being said, teams shouldn’t acquire players with specific prospects in mind, as prospects fail more often than not and that would be bad business.

Cons

Unfortunately, this signing has a lot of cons, the biggest being the sacrificing of the 15th overall pick in the draft.

Sometimes it is hard for fans to realize the importance of draft picks in baseball because the odds of a player panning out are much lower than in other sports, and even when they do pan out, it is not for a number of years.

When running a successful organization—especially when you are limited financially like the Mets are—it is crucial to have talent and depth in your farm system. Look at the St. Louis Cardinals, for example, who consistently hit on their first-round picks that then often become crucial parts of their team. Without a first-round pick, the future of the Mets farm system takes a hit.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Also, it is not just the player the Mets would pick at No. 15 that they are losing, but also the slot money tied to that draft pick, which impacts the Mets' entire 2015 draft by giving them less money to work with.

Losing a draft pick is often worth it when signing free agents, but it is hard to defend losing the 15th overall pick to sign an aging outfielder with health problems to a two-year contract.

Cuddyer has put up impressive numbers while playing with the Rockies, hitting over .330 the past two seasons, but as is the case with all players in Colorado, the ballpark tends to inflate their numbers. While it is possible that Cuddyer is still a very good hitter, it is unlikely he will be able to replicate his numbers from the last two seasons.

He has also been unable to stay healthy while in Colorado the past three years, playing in just 280 of a possible 486 games, including just 49 last season. If Cuddyer doesn’t stay healthy while in New York, signing him and giving up the draft pick will almost surely be a mistake.

Even if he does stay healthy and hits, Cuddyer is still not a good defensive outfielder. For a team built on pitching like the Mets, outfield defense is crucial. While sacrificing some defense for offense could be a necessity because of the team’s financial limitations, Cuddyer could be a problem defensively during the next two years.

Conclusion

It is easy to have an instant reaction to this signing, but in reality it cannot be graded until the rest of the offseason plays out.

If the Mets continue to pursue free agents and improve their roster, it becomes much more defensible.

Giving up their first-round pick to sign someone for two years is ridiculous, but giving up the pick along with their much-less-valuable second-rounder while signing Cuddyer and someone else significant could put the Mets over the top and into the playoff conversation. However, if this is all they do this offseason, it is likely an abomination of a contract.

The biggest takeaway from this signing is the organization’s aggressiveness. Sandy Alderson would not give away the draft pick for a two-year contract unless he expected the team to win during that two-year window. Alderson began to act like this last offseason when he signed Granderson, but this move is much more aggressive and for the short term, which should excite fans.

With that being said, the Mets are still not a playoff team as currently constructed unless every player stays healthy and plays up to their ability. They need to make additional moves in order to bolster their offense, ideally with the addition of a shortstop via trade or free agency.

This aggressive move implies that might be the case, but knowing the Mets and their financial woes, it also wouldn’t be surprising if they sat on their hands the rest of the offseason.

All stats courtesy Baseball-Reference.

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