Could Mets Have Eliminated K-Rod’s Option?

With Francisco Rodriguez coming back to Citi Field this weekend for the first time since his trade to the Brewers, the New York Post is reporting that Sandy Alderson may have been a little too quick to deal him.

The Post writes:

An industry source indicated it’s possible the Mets and Rodriguez could have worked out a deal to eliminate the option had the pitcher’s new agent, Scott Boras, been given time to negotiate with the team.

Alderson, of course, smartly wanted to get rid of the $17.5 million vesting option. Plus, he knew K-Rod’s old agent never submitted the list of teams to which K-Rod would refuse to be traded, and didn’t want Boras to cause any problems with that.

In trading Rodriguez while the option was still in place, Alderson virtually assured that the “future considerations” the Mets got for him likely will not be significant. Perhaps if Alderson had made the same deal to make the option disappear, he could have gotten more. But that would have meant dealing with Boras — never an appealing thought, especially when failure could have put the 2012 season in jeopardy.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Alderson did the right thing by trading K-Rod, but perhaps he was a but hasty. I can only assume he looked into the possibility of making a deal to eliminate the option earlier in the season. But why would K-Rod and his former agent do it? Why give away $17.5 million?

Boras, of course, had an incentive. Had the option vested, he wouldn’t have made a dime off of it. Now, he’ll get his commission for the next contract he gets for K-Rod. Boras is a truly disgusting human being.

Incidentally, I was stunned when the option was dropped. I thought that was against the Players Association rules. I remember when the Mariners were trying to deal Alex Rodriguez to the Red Sox before ultimately shipping him to the Yankees. The Sox and A-Rod made a deal to reduce the overall value of his contract by some $15 million. But the union said no. Unlike the NFL where contracts are often reworked to give a team more flexibility, that is not allowed in baseball. Perhaps that only applies to guaranteed money, and since K-Rod’s deal was not guaranteed, he was allowed to make a deal.

In any case, that 2012 payroll-busting option is gone. The bullpen might be hurting, but in the long run, that is the best thing for the Mets.