I’m in the mood to stir the pot, so here it goes. What is the main difference you see to the Reyes contract movement verses the Wright contract movement? To me it’s an organization that is actually attempting to sign a player. The communication from the front office is so different for Wrights contract compared to Reyes. Just look at the following timelines.
Reyes Contract Negotiations:
05/30/2011, Fred Wilpon: “He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money, he’s had everything wrong with him, he won’t get it.” 1
11/11/2011: Reyes receives a formal offer from Miami
11/15/2011, Sandy Alderson: “I don’t want to give you the false impression that we or they are anywhere along a road, I still think it’s early, notwithstanding all the background noise from the last week.” 2
11/23/2011: Mets offer arbitration to Jose Reyes
12/01/2011, Sandy Alderson: “I certainly would hope we’ll have conversations certainly by the time we get to Dallas [winter meetings], or at Dallas. There have not been any discussions in recent days, but I do expect to have them over the next handful of days.” 3
12/04/2011, Sandy Alderson: (Alderson commenting on rumors that Reyes signed with Miami) “I’ve heard what you’ve heard. I have no way of verifying that independently. We’ll see whether those rumors turn out to be true. If they are true, I think that Jose at this point is beyond where we would have been.” 4
12/07/2011, Jose Reyes: The Mets don’t do anything to have me. It is what it is, man. This is a business and I have to move on. It’s over. I can’t be crying about that, because they don’t show me anything. They don’t push anything to have me there. Why should I be worried about it if they didn’t want me?” 5
12/07/2011, Sandy Alderson: “Well, on Sunday I knew it wasn’t happening. I more or less had a confirmation it wasn’t happening on Sunday morning. On Saturday night I had a very strong feeling that it was not going to happen — very strong if not certain sense that it was not going to happen. But as late as Saturday morning and through the course of Friday I thought it might be a possibility. In fact, I actually got excited about the possibility during that 18 hours or so. So working that chronology back, I would say at the beginning of that week I had some sense maybe there was a possibility. But that was all a function of what the market might have been. Our approach the whole way was to say, ‘Look, we kind of know what we can do here. We know it’s important to Jose.’ And try to match what we can do with what’s important to him. And see if that’s consistent with his other options — not looking for a discount, but hoping that the market would line up with us.”
“If you’re asking whether I should have sent him a box of chocolates, perhaps I should have done that. On the other hand, the box of chocolates wouldn’t have cost $106 million either.” 6
David Wright Contract Negotiations:
05/30/2011, Fred Wilpon: “A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.” 1
11/08/2012, Sandy Alderson: Conversations are ongoing. Other than that, I really can’t say much. One of the things that we have done is we have agreed with David’s representatives that there not be a great deal of discussion publicly about where we are. So in deference to that understanding with the other side, I respectfully decline to comment.” As compared with the talks last off-season, the GM added: “There’s much more engagement. Let’s put it that way.” Sandy also shared during this interview that he personally visited with David in Virginia recently. 7
11/27/2012: Mets have made formal offers to David Wright. Multiple reports were outlined via anonymous sources through Mets beat reporters on Twitter.
11/27/2012, David Wright: “I have said from Day 1 that I want to play my entire career with the New York Mets. I remain hopeful that goal can be achieved. However, I am disappointed by the reports that I have read today which are inaccurate,” 8
Keep in mind during the time of the Reyes negotiations, the Mets let go of 10% of their work force, shut down their Gulf Coast minor league affiliate and were looking for investor’s to purchase ten 20 million dollar shares of the team as well as waiting for the outcome of the Madoff settlement. Oh yea, they also just realized they lost 70 million from the 2011 season. So the circumstances are very different compared to this year where the team has lost only 20 million and they are re-establishing their Gulf Coast affiliate. In January of 2012 they also hired a financial consultant to help streamline their budget processes.
So the 2 main things I see are different financial circumstances and different engagement. They weren’t reaching out directly to Reyes like they did to Wright. There were no formal contract offers to Reyes like there was to Wright. They discussed contract ranges with Reyes’s agents but they knew they were not in the ballpark so they pulled away and made moves like offering arbitration in order to obtain additional picks. Wright is not even a free agent yet but they are clearly demonstrating that they want him as Mr. Met for his entire career. The other minor view I see is Fred Wilpon’s assessment of the two players. His comments in the New Yorker clearly show that he feels both players are overrated but there is more angst in his tone and it is specific to the team’s view of his value. All this tells me that the Mets want to get it done and it is up to David.
Quotes obtained from the following articles
1: Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker: Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/30/110530fa_fact_toobin#ixzz2DWrNz4LC
2: Anthony DiComo MLB.com http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111114&content_id=25972726&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
3: Adam Rubin ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7303482/new-york-mets-gm-jose-reyes-front-quiet-talks-expected
4: Adam Rubin ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/36857/alderson-on-losing-reyes
5: Adam Rubin ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7328244/jose-reyes-sounded-hurt-new-york-mets-never-made-offer
6: Adam Rubin ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/37093/alderson-should-have-sent-chocolate
7: Adam Rubin, ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/58761/alderson-discusses-hot-stove
8: Zach Links, MLBTR.com: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/11/david-wright-reports-are-inaccurate.html
14 comments
TX
11/28/2012-11:22am at 11:22 am (UTC -4)
Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Enter the Mets, stage left…
Stick
11/28/2012-11:24am at 11:24 am (UTC -4)
biggest difference? The Mets botched it by not trying to extend him right after the season before he became a FA (IOW, exactly where Wright is now).
Just can’t compare otherwise a guy looking to extend a year early and one that is already a FA.
TRS86
11/28/2012-1:07pm at 1:07 pm (UTC -4)
Well here is the issue. Is it possible heading into that season they weren’t even sure anymore how much Reyes was worth? Is it also possible that Reyes’ camp really wanted nothing to do with signing for a discount and would have rather let him play out a good year first? Is it also possible that the Wilpons were so terrified of the money situation they were unsure if they could afford him and Wright so they set a firm offer and the rest is history?
Stick
11/28/2012-1:17pm at 1:17 pm (UTC -4)
all possible. But I think key to i was Reyes was coming off of a bad, injury-riddled year. So that part of what Sandy said (wanting to see him healthy) rings true.
TRS86
11/28/2012-1:19pm at 1:19 pm (UTC -4)
Of course it does. I can’t imagine either group being interested in an extension after that season.
srt
11/28/2012-11:39am at 11:39 am (UTC -4)
Ha! I remember SA quote on the Reyes situation on 12/07/11. I haven’t been able to find it since I first read it a year ago. Glad you dug this up.
To me that proved that if the Mets could have gotten Reyes at their price, they would have signed him. But once Miami offered 100 (and plus) it was over. And there was very little chance the Mets were getting Reyes at their price.
I believe they’re looking to extend Wright. But there’s a number they’re not going to go over (and possibly years).
I’m not sure why some of these negotiations were leaked but I’ve read it’s to make Wright look like the bad guy when he rejects their offer.
Stick
11/28/2012-12:35pm at 12:35 pm (UTC -4)
just a huge, huge difference though. If they don’t want to meet the number for Wright, they can trade him. But last year with Reyes, he was just gone.
Mr North Jersey
11/28/2012-12:53pm at 12:53 pm (UTC -4)
Biggest difference Reyes was a free agent Wright is not and when Reyes was not a free agent it happened in the off season where the FO was just coming in and did not want to negotiate an extension before watching Reyes play. When attempts were made during the season Reyes preferred to wait till after the season.
Timing in sports has always been key and it would of been interesting if Miami did not launch their new stadium last year but rather this one or Reyes would of become a free agent this season opposed to last how things would of broke down.
But it is what it is Miami was at the right place at the right time for Reyes and the Mets would not match Miami so Tejada is our SS.
SaltyGary
11/28/2012-2:03pm at 2:03 pm (UTC -4)
See I don’t see that as a difference at all. Essentially if Wright isn’t signed now, he is gone. So in a way it’s like he is a free agent.
Mr North Jersey
11/28/2012-2:11pm at 2:11 pm (UTC -4)
You think if Wright was a free agent last year the Mets would of taken the same approach they are right now? Cause I don’t. They are trying to keep Wright from testing free agency after being unable to talk extensions during this past season with the understanding that Wright will not negotiate come the next regular season.
SaltyGary
11/28/2012-2:49pm at 2:49 pm (UTC -4)
No I don’t think they would be taking the same approach because with all the financial issues, I feel they would of had to let him walk. But in reverse I feel if Reyes was the one up now instead of Wright, they wouldn’t try and lock him up, I think they are thankful that financial issues forced them to make a decision they deep down wanted to make.
Prismo
11/28/2012-1:34pm at 1:34 pm (UTC -4)
Would like to say that you did an excellent job on this post Gary. I appreciate all the effort I’m sure it took to track down the quotes!
Stick
11/28/2012-1:55pm at 1:55 pm (UTC -4)
I’m too lazy. I would have just made up a couple and paraphrased the rest.
SaltyGary
11/28/2012-2:05pm at 2:05 pm (UTC -4)
Thanks! It really just took ten minutes. You can go to Rubin’s profile and enter a date range for all of his articles while makes it real easy to get the chain of events.