The money is flying around baseball! Sure there's the impending doom associated with a potential work stoppage attached to it, but for now let's enjoy some usually less-heralded franchise breaking the bank. The Rangers have spent over a half-billion dollars to sign Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. And as Mets owner Steve Cohen enters his first full offseason, he opened up the piggy bank to add another ace.
Max Scherzer signed a three-year deal (with an opt-out after Year 2) for $130 million, the largest deal handed out in team history on a per-year basis. What are the others to which it's comparable, and how did those others turn out?
1) Max Scherzer - Three years, $130 million ($43.3 mill. annually): Similar to the deal Trevor Bauer signed last year with the Dodgers, the Mets are paying big, big money on a short-term deal with the 37-year-old Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young winner hasn't shown any signs of age, coming off a year with the Nationals and Dodgers in which he pitched to a 2.46 ERA (including a 1.98 in 11 starts with LA) and struck out 236 batters in 179 innings. He and Jacob deGrom are the unquestioned best 1-2 combo in the big leagues.
2) Francisco Lindor - Ten years, $341 million ($34.1 mill. annually): In terms of length and pure dollars, Lindor signed the biggest deal in team history last winter, going into his age-27 season. Year 1 was, frankly, a disappointment, as the shortstop hit just .230 with a .734 OPS, both career lows. But the four-time All-Star is still in the prime of his career, and it could very well be the Year 1 adjustment. There's no reason to worry (yet).
T3) Jacob deGrom - Five years, $137.5 million ($27.5 mill. annually): The three largest deals in team history are all on the roster at the same time. deGrom inked his deal prior to the 2019 season, and it's easy to argue the he's played well above the contract's value. He won the Cy Young in 2019, his numbers actually improved in the abbreviated 2020 (ERA down .05 runs, strikeouts per nine went up by 2.5!) and he was on pace for a historic 2021 before an injury prematurely ended the season.
He is under contract through 2023, with a team option for 2024, and barring that injury carrying over, it's impossible to think the deal wouldn't have been an overwhelming success.
T3) Yoenis Cespedes - Three years, $110 million ($27.5 mill. annually): Originally signing a three-year, $75-million deal in 2016, he opted out after the first year and got even more money from the team, with a no-trade clause, prior to 2017. Of course, after being otherworldly in 2015 and an All-Star in '16, the wheels fell off. He played just 81 games in '17 after signing the deal with hamstring issues. The next year he played just 38 games before undergoing season-ending surgery on both heels.
Then, of course, in 2019 the boar incident happened and he didn't play, then in 2020 was hitting .161 through eight games when he briefly went AWOL and opted out of the rest of the season. Of all the big-time deals, this is the only true disaster.
5) Johan Santana - Six years, $137.5 million ($22.9 mill. annually): It's interesting that deGrom got the exact same dollar amount that Santana did, but in five years instead of six. Santana, of course, signed his after being traded to New York from Minnesota prior to 2008 and was immediately a workhorse, leading the majors in ERA and the NL in starts (34) and innings (234.1). Injuries, of course, took their toll. He made 25 and 29 starts, respectively, in 2009 and 2010, and missed all of 2011 with a shoulder injury. He threw the no-hitter in 2012, but injuries after that effectively ended what could have been a Hall of Fame career - it was certainly a Cooperstown-worthy peak.
6) David Wright - Eight years, $138 million ($17.3 mill. annually): The Mets made an exception to their general policy to not sign players in their 30s to large contracts. Alas, the 30-year-old Wright's deal was considered team-friendly around baseball when he signed it prior to 2013, as he was seen as one of the best players and role models in the game.
An All-Star in '13, he only played in 112 games, and although he was healthy in 2014 he set career lows in home runs (eight) and OPS (.698) thanks largely to a shoulder injury. Then the spinal stenosis diagnosis came in 2015, and he played just 77 games between 2015-18.
7) Carlos Beltran - Seven years, $119 million ($17 mill. annually): The first $100 million contract in team history, Beltran's came after his historic 2004 postseason with Houston. He was certainly productive in his time with the Mets, making five All-Star teams, winning three Gold Gloves and two more Silver Slugger awards. His offensive WAR is third-highest in team history, behind only Wright and Darryl Strawberry, and he's top-10 in franchise history in pretty much every offensive category.