What 2012 Could Look Like with Reyes
There is so much talk that the Mets will not be able to afford to keep both Jose Reyes and David Wright. Such talk is frankly moronic. Despite their money problems, the Mets are a high revenue team by virtue of the city in which they play. There is no reason the Mets cannot have two or more highly paid players.
Sandy Alderson has said the 2012 payroll will not exceed $120 million. I suspect it will be closer to $100 million, but we’ll see. Let’s take a look at the possible 2012 roster, and you’ll see how easily the Mets can fit the salaries of Reyes and Wright into the plan:
Johan Santana — $24 million (actual)
R.A. Dickey — $4.75 million (actual)
Jonathon Niese — $1 million
Dillon Gee — $500,000
Matt Harvey — $500,000
D.J. Carrasco — $1.2 million (actual)
Bobby Parnell — $1 million
Pedro Beato — $500,000
4 relievers — $2 million
Josh Thole — $1 million
Ronny Paulino — $2 million
David Wright — $15.250 million (actual)
Jose Reyes — $17 million
Ike Davis — $1 million
Daniel Murphy — $1 million
Justin Turner — $500,000
Ruben Tejada — $500,000
Jason Bay — $18.130 million (actual)
Angel Pagan — $5 million
Jason Pridie — $500,000
Lucas Duda — $500,000
Starting rf — $5 million
$63,330,000 (actual)
$22,500,000 (rest of team)
$17,000,000 (Reyes)
Total: $102,830,000
A few notes:
— You will notice Mike Pelfrey is not on the roster. I honestly don’t think he will be on the team next year. At a projected $6 million, he is just too expensive for his production.
— This is assuming Francisco Rodriguez’s option does not vest. Look at how damaging it would be.
— I budgeted $5 million for a starting right fielder. That seems about right.
— This is not the team I hope the Mets field next season. There is time to write about that. This is just one possibility based on who is on the team now.
So the Mets are a little above $100 million with Reyes earning $17 million. Even if they pay him $20 million and keep Pelfrey, that puts them at around $110 million — all within Alderson’s estimate.
So enough with the talk about not being able to afford Wright and Reyes. It’s actually quite simple.