Mets extend Jeff McNeill

Mets and second baseman Jeff McNeil ESPN’s Jeff Passan agrees to 4-year, $50MM contract extension reportThe deal includes a five-season club option, with the potential to extend up to $63.75 million over five years. The deal buys the client’s last two arbitration seasons at Paragon Sports International, while the Mets dominate McNeil’s first three free agent seasons.

McNeil and the Mets were unable to reach an agreement over a full year’s salary for the upcoming season and looked set to go to arbitration. He applied for his $7.75 million shortly after winning his first National batting his league title in 2021, but the Mets matched with his $6.25 million figure. These amounts can be waived because McNeil’s final two-year arbitration period is fixed. At the midpoint between these two amounts he counts 2023 and McNeil could have made a profit of $13 million to $12 million. Heading into the final arbitration season, the Mets have also secured an extra $30MM to secure his two-year free agency season and a reasonably priced club option for his third free agency year. Guaranteed somewhere in the

McNeil, who turned 31 in April, has been locked through at least a 34-year-old campaign and possibly a 35-year-old season. .326/.382/.454, .326/.382/.454 at bat, 9 at-bats, 39 doubles, triples, 4 stolen bases, 589 at-bats. Not surprisingly, that season he was nominated for his second career All-Star and won his Slugger Silver Award in his league at the National.

McNeill was one of the toughest strikeouts in the majors, posting a career-low 10.4% of at-bats. He doesn’t walk much, and will continue to do so in 2022 (6.8%), but it’s hard to dispute the results. McNeil benefited to some extent from a career-high .353 ball-in-play average, but his batting skills and tendency to find gaps, even as that mark slipped toward the .324 mark he carried in the 2022 season. Allows him to remain a well above average hitter for most of the 2018-21 season.

The 2022 season was also arguably the best defensive season of McNeil’s career. Defensively, his run saves (3), ultimate his zone his rating (3.5), and above-average outs (7) each have pegged him as a strong handler for grabs at second base. He also scored short minutes (278 innings) in the outfield corner and garnered above-average reviews for his work there. Second baseman continues to be his home field in the Diamonds, but McNeil has shown in the past to be a capable third baseman, left fielder or right fielder, which only adds to his value with the Mets.

Of course, we’re talking about the Mets, so the financial impact of the deal goes well beyond the $50 million McNeill himself receives. If McNeill wins the arbitration hearing and secures a $7.75 million salary, the Mets will pay his $6.975 million in taxes on his salary, leaving his $14.725 million total outlay. will be Instead, the Mets are now taxed based on the average annual value of $12.5MM for McNeill’s contracts. That means they’ll be paying his $11.25 million in taxes on McNeill’s contract this year. This makes him $4.275 million more than he was due to pay if he won the arbitration hearing.

Extending McNeil has future tax benefits beyond the obvious value of keeping a good player at a reasonable rate over the next five years. Had McNeil won the arbitration hearing next month and batted for his title, he would have had a strong case. Given another strong season, he will join the Rays over his current contract’s $12.5MM AAV in his final Arb season, when the Mets are likely to be in the top tier of luxury penalties again. It is very likely that it was (the excess is taxed at the 110% clip). Assuming McNeill has a healthy and productive 2023 campaign, the extension could save the Mets around $1 million off their extravagant ledger for the 2024 season.

Minor details like that aside, the main advantage for the Mets is simply to keep a two-time All-Star and, if McNeill is in good health, pay an annualized rate below his true open market value. The 2024-25 offseason begins. 251/.319/.360 batting line in 2021, because his lack of power (besides the 2019 Juiced Ball campaign) leaves him with quite a few losses. , the Mets certainly have some risks. wet floor. The Mets had already dominated McNeill’s 31st and his 32nd seasons.

That said, the aforementioned 21-year campaign was the only below-average offensive season of McNeill’s career, and his contact skills and defensive aptitude at multiple positions put him in the mid-thirties. It’s always been a useful player. It’s unrealistic to expect him to replicate his 2022 work in the next few years, but there’s also little reason to think that this deal will somehow turn into a terrible failure.

McNeill joins Max Scherzer ($43MM), Justin Verlander ($43MM), Francisco Lindor ($34.1MM), Brandon Nemo ($20.5MM), Starling Marte ($20.75MM), Edwin Diaz ($21.25MM), Ancient Chiga ($15MM), Jose Quintana ($13MM) and Thomas Nido ($2.1MM) as the player stuck to his 2024 salary.

Assuming McNeil’s salary is evenly distributed, ten players are guaranteed just over $225 million, plus four club options (Mark Cana, Eduardo Escobar, Brooks Rayleigh, Darrin Ruff), two player options (Omar Narvaez, Adam Ottavino) and the headlines for the nine-player arbitration class are: Pete Alonso All can be added to your bill.