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[Ceetar]

If David WERE to walk away, I'm sure it wouldn't be empty handed. The Wilpons would work some sort of deal out with him behind the scenes. Bonilla like or A-Rod like or whatever.

[Chad ochoseis]

Frayed Knot wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: I think Wright is warming up to be a pinch-hitter come September so the fans can cheer him one last time, then he retires. That solves the insurance problem. The net outcome of which is Wright taking the money owed to him and in effect donating to the bottom line of the Mets and the insurance carrier. Not sure that would be the option I'd choose.

...which was the point I was making. There's zero chance that Wright will ever be what he was, and no more than a slim chance that he'll be even a replacement level player again. The Mets would probably love to activate him briefly for sentimental/PR reasons, and then possibly employ him in a non-playing role (that was Gwreck's original suggestion, which started the whole Wright tangent). But doing that would cost the Mets the insurance they're owed, unless Wright agrees to retire.

Wright's owed $47M over 2018-2020, and insurance probably covers a large chunk of that. So it could be very pricy for the Mets to employ Wright again in any capacity. And, as sweet a guy as Wright is, I doubt he'd do the Mets and the insurance company a favor and retire, leaving $47M on the table. Even Cuddyer only left $12M, I think.

But the Mets have some leverage with the insurer, as they probably have a choice as to whether to activate Wright from the 60 day DL if he's only partially healed. So they can go to the insurer and say "Let us activate Wright for a month so he can get his last hurrah before taking a job in the org, and we'll accept a little less than what we're owed. Say no, and we'll just keep him on the 60 day DL for the next three years, as we can do because his shoulder is still weak, and you'll be on the hook for ever penny of his salary."

[Frayed Knot]

But here's the thing (and this aspect of the discussion is going on in two different threads now): the Mets can't just unilaterally decide to throw David Wright into the permanent DL dungeon and throw
away the key.

It's why I brought up the Prince Fielder exception where medical people deemed him completely disabled (from a baseball standpoint) to the point of forever being unable to rehab and get back to playing.
Maybe that will be the case with Wright in the future but it's not now and the fact that he played last night suggests we're getting further from that point, not closer.

The insurance only "owes" their part of Wright's salary when he can't play. What they're not on the hook for is a situation where he can but is no longer worth the contract the Mets signed him to
however many years go; hell, there are teams all over the league with 35 y/o players in that spot. But absent the sort of permanently disabled determination, a team trying to keep a medically cleared
player permanently DL'd against his will so as to not pay his salary and/or recoup as much of it as possible from an insurance policy invites both a player grievance and charges of insurance fraud.

[smg58]

Let's see how Wright looks before passing judgement. You obviously can't take him for granted, but he's here and under contract. As long as there is at least some chance that he will be useful next season, you might as well give him the opportunity.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I don't know why folks wouldn't. The Moustakas stampede can wait.

[Centerfield]

Of course. A team cannot keep healthy player on the DL and collect insurance. As you mention it will invite a grievance and constitutes insurance fraud. But Wright is not healthy. And will never be healthy again.

With his spinal stenosis, for Wright to have any chance to play, he has to perform hours of preparation, go through a rigorous stretching program, and even then, he can only play certain games. Right now, though he may be DH-ing in St. Lucie, he's certainly not healthy in that he has a pinched nerve that prevents him from throwing, and therefore, can't play the field.

If the Mets were competitive, there would be no way they could waste a roster spot on that player.

It's not clear what the insurance policy says in such a situation. But it certainly matters. And that's exactly why Met fans are concerned with the specifics of that policy.

Just speculation, but I wonder if a deal is already in place.

"Hey insurance company, we both know David isn't healthy and would be justified to sit on the 60 day through the end of the season. Still, we'd like to get him some pinch hitting appearances and give him a chance to stop on the field and wave his hat. How about you let this go, and instead of picking up 75%, we drop it down to 65%. Deal?"

I can see an insurance company going for this. Negotiations over coverage are as old as insurance itself.

[ashie62]

I would like to think there is a way for David to gets some September at bats and the money issues work out to the satisfaction of all.

Not interested in Moustakas. Why pay for his career year?

[Vic Sage]

To Vic's point that the Wilpons would use the money to buy a jackalope ranch in Mauritania or something, it's possible, but a separate issue. I'd like the Mets to preserve the resources they have; rich and stupid is at least marginally better than poor and stupid.

The Pons have so much debt to service that i don't think the jackalope population in Mauritania is facing an imminent boom. And my suspicion is that our team's payroll will be equally boomless.

Edited August 23, 2017 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

The truth is we're all pretty much utterly ignorant as to whether Wright is progressing or not. The notion that there is 0% chance of this happening and a higher likelihood of that happening is all speculation.

Fortunately for everybody, he's put himself back out on the field, allowing all a chance to make an assessment over the remaining weeks. And that's important information to glean before making any of these calls, along with "Is Nimmo a leadoff hitter?" "Is Cecchini a big league infielder?" "Can Flores be an everyday threat?" "Which of these pitchers look like they can be part of a better big league staff next season?" "How much of a backup plan do we need on Smith and Rosario?"

The bus may have crashed, but he story isn't written.

[Frayed Knot]

Centerfield wrote: But Wright is not healthy. And will never be healthy again.

Well, what constitutes not healthy enough to be what he once was vs not healthy enough to ever play again is the part still to be determined before the insurance company willingly swoops in and picks
up their obligation of the remaining contract.
I'm just fighting the notion that the verdict is already in on this issue or that the Mets can unilaterally decree it simply because it's in their financial interest to do so.


Whether David gets a handful of PH appearances towards the tail end of this season barely matters in this whole thing. I assume the policy pays for when he is on the DL and stops while he's not so if he
joins the team when the rosters expand in September it'll cost the Mets one month of salary. BFD.
It's what kind of shape he's in from 2018 on where the real question still lies and we simply haven't got the answer to that right now. If he can play then either the Mets have to buy him out in order to make
him go away or accept a desk job, or keep an overpriced player on their roster (not the first time, won't be the last). And if he can't play then he won't and the insurance covers part of it - aka: status quo.

[Vic Sage]

what the Mets need isn't available on the FA market. Moustakas is probably the best available, but he's the wrong type of player. They need to trade for Machado, or somebody of that level/age, to make an impact at 3b. But that means paying one of those guys a max-deal, so its unlikely that will happen, given the contract they just gave to Cespedes.

[ashie62]

Maybe Rosario becomes a Machado, Lindor or Correa?

Not that it wouldn't be nice to have another one.