The New York Mets offered David Wright a seven-year contract extension worth somewhere between $119-129 million on Tuesday afternoon, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
The Mets offer, which jumped a year and $20 million from yesterday’s reports, will test whether Wright really wants to be a Met for the rest of his career or whether he has just said the right things for years.
The majority of Mets fans have been enthused by the offer. They see it as a testament to owner Fred Wilpon’s financial security.
The negative, though, is that Wright is already 30 years old. Wright is in the prime of his career and the Mets haven’t even completed the post-Omar Minaya turnaround. Since 2011, they have cut almost $50 million in payroll and still have $56 million tied up in just five players.
By the time Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey develop into a formidable top-of-the-rotation duo, Brandon Nimmo becomes a major league right fielder and the Mets can bring in some players through free agency, Wright will be on the decline.
If Wright agrees to sign with the Mets, he’ll be one of the richest players in baseball for the next seven years, but he’ll also have to likely endure at least a few more seasons of losing baseball.
The money doesn’t seem to be that much of a factor. Wright is getting a lot, but if he waited until next winter and put up similar numbers from April to September, he could make even more.
But Wright has said that he needed more than just money. He wanted a vision of where Mets’ GM Sandy Alderson was taking this team.
If Wright accepts the offer, Mets fans will not only celebrate the return of their star player, but they’ll also have direction. At least enough to convince Wright to spend the prime of his career in a rebuilding phase in New York.
Pete Barrett is a sophomore at Gettysburg College and writes the Around the Atlantic/Mid-Atlantic Column for D3hoops.com. You can follow him on twitter @PeteBarrettJr.
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