Happy holidays, everyone. What’s better at holiday time than unexpected joys? A bite into a chocolate chip cookie you didn’t realize had peanut butter in it, too. A remote control car with extra big wheels and not just the lame normal-sized ones your classmate bragged about back in November at his birthday party. A miscalculated amount of cash in an envelope from a relative. These three New York Mets free agents all have a chance to feel something along those lines.
Although none had a truly incredible year, a thinning market at their positions or at least an overzealous plan to pay players fitting their description could soon reward them with more money than they expected. These three Mets players should be getting paid more than expected this offseason.
1) Jose Quintana is a starting pitcher and they’re all getting paid
A handful of moments stand out to me as the ones where I was most proud of my son. His first steps. His first words. The first time he picked up a ball and threw it with his left hand. It didn’t go thump. A cartoonish cash register sound went off. The kid might be a journeyman pitcher in Major League Baseball one day.
Jose Quintana is much better than your typical veteran nomad. Accomplished as he is, teams realize Quintana is nearing the end of his career. Nonetheless, a lefty hurler coming off of a good year with a strong finish should be able to get a sweet one-year contract in this free agent market.
At 36 next season, Quintana is bound to slow down soon. The biggest concern might be the injury bug which eliminated him from more than half of the 2023 season. Mets fans can look at him fondly, though. He had an overall 3.70 ERA in his 44 starts while wearing the orange and blue. This past year was a little over at 3.75. The real sales pitch with him needs to include a 3.18 ERA in 12 second-half starts highlighted by a 0.72 ERA in September.
2) Harrison Bader is the best free agent center fielder out there
From the start of free agency, no center fielder was better than Harrison Bader. That tells us a lot about the choices out there. Bader did not have a very good year. He lost his starting job by the end of it and hardly participated in the playoffs beyond defensive replacement duties.
Amazingly one of the team’s better hitters in the early part of the year, he went face-first into a proverbial wall and never seemed to peel himself off of it. His .236/.284/.373 slash line with the Mets last year were all below the .242/.306/.392 he has hit for his career.
For what it’s worth, Bader actually did precisely what he should have for the Mets just not spread out evenly enough. The kind of offensive numbers he had in 2024 paired with the usual defensive greatness is what any team signing Bader should expect in the coming year.
Does he receive another one-year deal worth $10.5 million? It seems pricey for a guy who lacks everyday tools. However, he should still earn significantly more than any other center fielder in free agency and more than the fans can rationalize a player of his skills deserve.
Bader was a good Mets player but at $10.5 million, the Mets were buying him at fair market value in a free agent pool where the demand surpassed the supply.
3) Jesse Winker is the right mix of affordable yet talented
Jesse Winker bounced back nicely with the Washington Nationals and continued to pile on the season numbers during his time with the Mets. The Nationals numbers in 101 games were still far better. He slashed .257/.374/.419 with 11 home runs versus the .243/.318/.365 with 3 as a member of the Mets. An incredibly rough September is what threw a cold towel on an otherwise very good year for a guy who one year prior barely did anything offensively for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Winker was only on a $2 million deal and should have secured himself a nice raise with his next free agent contract. The best free agent comparison is Joc Pederson whose two-year deal worth $37 million with an opt out after 2025 provides the goal for what Winker should aim to get in the future. Right now, a short-term deal with some value of significance should be more in line with what he makes.
Winker suits a team best as the left-handed platoon partner at DH with the ability to play some corner outfield. He didn’t have nearly as good of a season as Pederson, however, a player option for a second year shouldn’t be impossible.
The only remaining player in free agency anything like him is Alex Verdugo. Verdugo is coming off of a bad year and should be viewed more favorably as a defender. Winker won’t have an entire mansion made of gold because of his next contract. He can certainly add some more shine on his teeth.
This article was originally published on risingapple.com as 3 NY Mets players who should be able to get paid more than expected this offseason.