With Yoenis Cespedes accepting a four-year, $110 million offer from the New York Mets on Tuesday, let's revisit where the team's payroll stands.
Cespedes, 31, will earn $22.5 million in 2017, followed by salaries of $29 million, $29 million and $29.5 million in the ensuing years.
Estimates are given for the salaries of the Mets' arbitration-eligible players. If no salary is listed, the player is not yet eligible for arbitration or has agreed to the MLB minimum salary. And we'll use a round number of $500,000 -- just less than the 2016 MLB minimum salary -- since a new collective bargaining agreement is not yet complete.
Remember, the Mets are expected to subtract a salary such as Curtis Granderson's $15 million or Jay Bruce's $13 million with Cespedes having returned. That would reduce the payroll, although it should be offset by further bullpen additions. Trading Granderson or Bruce also should put Brandon Nimmo back on the team as the fifth outfielder.
Also, don't quibble about which player is a placeholder below. Particularly in the bullpen, some of the names will be pushed off by higher-profile additions later this offseason.
Rotation:
1. Jacob deGrom $4.225M
2. Matt Harvey $5.325M
3. Steven Matz
5. Zack Wheeler $1.0M
Bullpen:
6. Jeurys Familia $7.375M
7. Addison Reed $7.9M
8. Josh Edgin $725K
10. Josh Smoker
11. Seth Lugo
12. Erik Goeddel
Starters:
13. Travis d'Arnaud $1.9M
14. Lucas Duda $7.315M
15. Neil Walker $17.2M
16. David Wright $20M
17. Asdrubal Cabrera $8.25M
18. Cespedes $22.5M
19. Granderson $15M
20. Bruce $13M
Bench
21. Wilmer Flores $2.9M
22. Rene Rivera $2.3M
23. Jose Reyes
24. Juan Lagares $4.5M
25. Michael Conforto
Projection: The Mets' payroll currently stands at roughly $145,415,000.
Also potentially reducing the Mets' obligation: Wright's contract is 75 percent covered by insurance if he does not return, and Familia potentially could be facing a suspension, during which time the Mets would not be responsible for his salary.
