NEW YORK — There was a time when the most important priority early in a New York Mets offseason was outlining how much the team could possibly spend over the winter. Times have changed. The Mets have had the highest payroll in the sport in each of the past two seasons, and this winter they have an enormous amount of cash coming off the ledger.
Advertisement “We’ve got financial flexibility,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said last week. “We have a lot of money coming off the books. I would expect us to spend some of that, a good portion of that, to complement our team and improve our team heading into next year.
” Ahead of the official start of the offseason after the World Series, let’s explore what that financial flexibility looks like for the Mets. This is Part 1 in a two-part story. In Part 2 later this week, I’ll look at what kind of team the Mets can build at different price points.
What option decisions must be made within 5 days of the World Series ending? Manaea can opt out of the final year of his two-year deal, in which he’s slated to earn $13.5 million in 2025. Had Manaea merely continued his pace over the first four months of the season, making 30-plus starts with around a league-average ERA, he probably would have opted out.
But given his sparkling performance from late July on, Manaea will definitely opt out, and he should end up signing for at least three years. If Manaea opts out, the Mets must add $500,000 to their luxury ta.