New York Mets: The Worst Free Agent Signings in Franchise History

As another baseball offseason is upon us, it means that it is also another chance for the New York Mets to build a championship-winning team. It will be very interesting to see what the Mets do this offseason, whether or not they start rebuilding for the future or try to acquire some big-name free agents.

One thing that’s for sure is that the Mets have never been afraid to go out and spend money. They have thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at players and have seen very little return on investment.

It is time for the club to start rebuilding because it seems like almost every player they sign turns out to be a flop. Before the team makes any major moves this offseason, maybe they should go back and check their track record of previous signings first.

The following players are the worst free agent signings in the history of the New York Mets.

Kaz Matsui (3 Years, $20 Million)

After the New York Yankees acquired Hideki Matsui one season before, the Mets tried to one-up them by signing another Japanese star in Kaz Matsui prior to the 2004 season. When the Mets acquired Matsui, they were said to be getting a player who could hit for both average and power, steal bases and field exceptionally well.

Unfortunately for Mets fans, he could do none of those things. Not only did Matsui only hit 11 home runs in almost three seasons with the Mets, he also had to switch from shortstop to second base because he could not handle the position. At least the Mets were smart enough to trade him in the final year of his contract so they got something back for their big mistake.

Vince Coleman (4 Years, $11.95 Million)

The only good thing that came out of this signing was that the Mets traded him for Kevin McReynolds, who went on to do some pretty good things for the team.

When the Mets signed Vince Coleman to a four-year deal, they were getting a player who had led the National League in stolen bases for the previous six seasons before coming to New York. They thought he could be the guy to replace Darryl Strawberry, but instead he was nothing but a headache. Actually he was a migraine.

Coleman was injured for more than half of the Mets' games in his first couple of seasons, but the worst part was the off-field distractions that he caused. Whether it was arguing with management or injuring his own teammate Dwight Gooden, the guy was always causing problems. He even tossed a lit firecracker outside the stadium parking lot, which ended up injuring some fans. I truly wonder what was going through his head at the time.

Bobby Bonilla (5 Years, $29 Million)

In 1992, Bobby Bonilla signed a five-year, $29 million deal that made him the highest paid player in baseball history at the time.

Before Bonilla signed with the Mets, he was coming off of a year in which he batted over .300 with 100 RBI.

Right from the start, it was apparent that Bonilla could not handle the pressure of playing in New York. In his first season with the team, he hit a mere .249 and failed to reach 20 home runs.

Even though it did get a little better for Bonilla, he is still a signing the team wishes it could take back. Anyone who is the highest-paid player in the league must produce, and Bobby Bonilla was flat out incapable of doing so. 

Luis Castillo (4 Years, $25 Million)

As terrible of a signing as Kaz Matsui was, he still is not the worst free-agent second baseman the New York Mets ever acquired. That award goes to Luis Castillo.

Castillo was supposed to be a key piece in building a championship team, just like he was for the Marlins. Instead, he was a big reason for the club’s failures.

During Castillo’s time in New York, he was either sidelined with injuries or producing subpar numbers. Not to mention the onetime 60 base stealer could not manage to swipe more than 20 bases in any of his seasons with the team. Even though the Mets acquired Castillo when he was 32 years old, he still was considered reasonably young by baseball standards.

After Kaz, who knew it could get any worse.

Oliver Perez (3 Years, $36 Million)

When the Mets re-signed Oliver Perez in 2009, they were willing to give $12 million a year to a guy who had a career losing record as starter in the big leagues. Let me just give you his stat lines in New York after he signed his three-year deal.

           W-L     ERA     Innings Pitched

2009:  3-4     6.82    66.0

2010:  0-5     6.80    46.1

These numbers say it all about what type of signing Oliver Perez was for the New York Mets.

Jason Bay (4 Years, $66 Million)

For the life of me, I will never understand how a guy can go from hitting 36 home runs and 119 RBI in one season to hitting only 6 home runs and 47 RBI just the year after. Granted, Jason Bay played in 56 more games when he had that monstrous year in Boston, but it still has to be noted that the guy simply forgot how to hit when he came to the Mets.

It’s not like Bay was a one-hit wonder before the Mets signed him. He is a guy who had hit more than 30 home runs and 100 RBI three times in his career before joining New York in 2010.

The worst part about the whole deal was the fact that the Mets guaranteed him $66 million over four years. To say the Mets have had an extremely bad return on investment in regard to Bay would be putting it very lightly.