Lagares Locked Up

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

4 year contract clears arb years and 1st FA year.

This is something.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 4 year contract clears arb years and 1st FA year. This is something.

woah, thought Duda was the next guy up for this.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Are you April Foolin'?

[MFS62]

Being reported by Jim Bowden at ESPN.
Good deal.
Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 4 year contract clears arb years and 1st FA year. This is something.

Something doesn't add up. (Am I missing something?) According to Baseball Reference, Lagares wouldn't become a free agent until after 2019. So if the new contract covers his first year of free agency, wouldn't it have to run through 2020? A contract starting in 2015 would have to be a six-year contract in order to do that.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 4 year contract clears arb years and 1st FA year. This is something. Something doesn't add up. (Am I missing something?) According to Baseball Reference, Lagares wouldn't become a free agent until after 2019. So if the new contract covers his first year of free agency, wouldn't it have to run through 2020? A contract starting in 2015 would have to be a six-year contract in order to do that.

Probably starts in 2016.

Seems like it might not be finalized yet though. Guess that's we get for listening to ESPN for hard facts.

[TransMonk]

I'm guessing this was the logical next step after dealing den Dekker.

[TransMonk]

Per Rubin:

Lagares and the Mets have agreed to a contract extension through 2019, with an option for the following year, sources told ESPN.com.

The deal covers all of Lagares' arbitration years and guarantees him more than $20 million. It also includes a team option for 2020, which would be the first season that Lagares otherwise would be eligible for free agency.

http://espn.go.com/newyork/mlb/story/_/id/12598620/juan-lagares-new-york-mets-reach-contract-extension

[Benjamin Grimm]

That means, with the option year in 2020, the Mets will have him under control until he's almost 32 years old.

[Guest d'Kong76]

It's like the Mets are becoming a baseball team again!!

[Frayed Knot]

This makes more sense than the Duda rumors along the same lines. Laggy is younger and can still make contributions defensively in the event his hitting declines or at least never improves.
On the flip side, Duda's predecessor showed what a power-hitting 1st baseman who stops hitting for power is worth. Plus even a short-ish contract w/Duda takes you to age 32 or 33.

[Edgy MD]

It had to happen.

[dgwphotography]

This week has to be an elaborate April Fools joke, doesn't it?

It's getting harder and harder to fight the optimism building up inside. I just know that if I give into it, they will do something to crush my spirit again...

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I dunno. What this says to me is the org believes he can hit. Compare that to just a year ago when they were prepared to go with Chris Young in case they had to.

[Edgy MD]

How about this? We've gone from "What outfield?" to multi-year contracts at all three positions.

A lot of fleeting ghosts have haunted our opening day outfields in recent years:

2014: Andrew Brown, lf, making one of only 39 starts as a Met.
2013: Collin Cowgill, cf, making one of only 12 starts as a Met.
2012: Andres Torres, cf, making one of only 125 starts as a Met.
2011: Willie Harris, lf, making one of only 65 starts as a Met.
2010: Gary Matthews, Jr., cf, making one of only 20 starts across two tenures as a Met.
2009: Daniel Murphy, lf, making one of only 57 starts as a Met outfielder.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I'd almost forgotten Murphy-in-the-outfield.

dgwphotography wrote: It's getting harder and harder to fight the optimism building up inside. I just know that if I give into it, they will do something to crush my spirit again...

I'm right with you, Bud. It's an Eli's-Coming-Hide-Your-Heart-Away kinda feeling, like "You Gotta Not Believe So Much."

[G-Fafif]

Glad the thread title doesn't refer to overzealous law enforcement officials in Arizona.

Contract is a bargain considering Juan will likely be playing center and left simultaneously this year.

Is this the first Mets extension since Wright's?

[Edgy MD]

Yeah. They signed Niese to an extension at the beginning of the 2012 season, and Wright to one after it.

We are swimming in Niese through 2016 with options for 2017 and 2018.

[Zvon]

Wow. Surprising. I love this

[Edgy MD]

Daniel Murphy: Now motivated and determined? Or embittered and encumbered?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was thinking "bedazzled" and "fabulous" but I'm probably wrong.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Daniel Murphy: Now motivated and determined? Or embittered and encumbered?

Holy hell, either way, can you imagine the batting-cage hours he's putting in this year? His eyes will have callouses.

[Frayed Knot]

I'm fine with this signing (assuming it comes off) but it really doesn't change much.
Lagares was tied to the team for those years anyway so all this does is set the cost in concrete for both parties and, if the option is picked up, buy one extra year. And if he bombs or booms starting with this season then one side or the other is uttering about what he should be making instead of what he's obligated to be paid - but that's a problem for accountants and agents, not fans.

[Lefty Specialist]

I like it. I think Lagares will have a good year and will be a steal over the life of the deal.

[Frayed Knot]

Deal apparently signed and delivered (not sure if they sealed it).

"I love the Mets," Lagares said Wednesday, before the deal was completed. "That's the team that gave me an opportunity when I was 16 years old.
They gave me an opportunity to play in the big leagues with them, too. That's the thing I played my whole career for. This is what I want to do."

[batmagadanleadoff]

If Lagares is truly anywhere near as valuable as his WAR suggests, the Mets got a steal at that price -- a CF'er entering his prime putting up MVP WAR numbers.

My hunch, tthough, is that the Mets would make out even in arbitration, on the assumption that defensive value doesn't bring in its real worth in that setting.

[Edgy MD]

I'm still pissed about the scoreboard-expansion press release debacle. I don't know that I'll ever get over that one.