Mets’ Offseason Decisions: Who to Let Go?
One of the first things on the Mets’ offseason agenda will be deciding who to offer a contract to among the players who are eligible for arbitration or remain under club control because they don’t have enough service time to become a free agent.
Clubs either “tender” a contract to those who they want back, or “non-tender” a player, who then becomes a free agent eligible to be signed by all 30 teams. The deadline to make that decision has yet to be announced, but last year it was Nov. 17.
Salary projections in parenthesis for the eight players who are eligible for arbitration were done by Matt Swartz and published by MLB Trade Rumors. My two cents is in bold.
PAUL BLACKBURN
Paul Blackburn ($4.4 million) went 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in five starts for the Mets after being acquired from the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old is an eight-year veteran with a 4.85 career ERA. He had back surgery on Oct. 11 to repair a cerebrospinal fluid leak that will put him out of action for up to five months, but if the recovery goes well, he may be ready for Opening Day.
With the Mets set to lose up to three starters from their rotation to free agency (Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea, who has an opt out), president of baseball operations David Stearns said Wednesday there are lots of innings to fill. Still, Blackburn projects as a borderline No. 5 starter when healthy. With the added injury concerns, it makes sense to move on.
