Mets agree to salaries with 13 players
Mets infielder Pete Alonso gets ready to bat during a spring training game against the Cardinals on Sunday at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets agreed to 2022 salaries with 13 of their 14 arbitration-eligible players — including Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz — on Tuesday, allowing them to almost entirely avoid highly unusual and potentially awkward in-season hearings.
Getting a major raise heading into his fourth season, Alonso will make $7.4 million, a source said. Nimmo will get $7 million and Edwin Diaz $10.2 million in their last year before reaching free agency.
“I’m really happy for us,” Diaz said of his deal. “Now focus on the season and go win games.”
The only arbitration-eligible Met who did not settle was righthander Chris Bassitt, obtained via trade with the Athletics this month. His salary is set to be determined by an arbitration hearing in the coming weeks.
The others who settled included, according to sources and reports: Jeff McNeil ($3M), J.D. Davis ($2.76M), Dominic Smith ($3.95M), Seth Lugo ($3.925M), Trevor Williams ($3.9M), Miguel Castro ($2.62M), Luis Guillorme ($875,000), Joey Lucchesi ($1.15M). Salaries for Drew Smith and Tomas Nido were not publicly known.
The rush of news on his subject was because of the Tuesday afternoon deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players — usually those with at least three years but fewer than six years in the majors — to exchange desired salary figures. The lockout delayed this process from January/February to late March/April.
Injury news
James McCann was scratched from the Mets’ lineup Tuesday because of back tightness.
He and manager Buck Showalter said he would’ve played if it was during the regular season. But McCann’s back issues last year were “one of the reasons we’re trying to get ahead of it,” Showalter said.
This problem is different than the previous one, according to McCann, who called last year’s “almost debilitating,” as opposed to this new “general tightness.”
“I shut it down as soon as it started to tighten up,” McCann said, “just to be safe.”
Starling Marte (sore left oblique) started hitting off a tee Monday, Showalter said.
Back to the WBC
Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, at Mets camp as a guest instructor for a few days, revealed he will manage Italy during the World Baseball Classic next year.
He has been recruiting outfielder Brandon Nimmo and lefthander Joey Lucchesi, he said, and the Orioles’ Trey Mancini already has committed to playing.
“We’re not going to sneak up on anybody, but I was always a big fan of the Classic,” said Piazza, who lives in Italy most of the year. “I talked to a lot of guys who are interested. We want everyone healthy, nobody to get hurt and want everyone to play well and enjoy international baseball, which I’m a fan of.”
Nimmo, who is from Wyoming but is of Italian descent, played for Italy during the WBC in 2017, the last time the typically quadrennial event was held. It was supposed to happen last year but was canceled because of the pandemic.
Extra bases
Piazza on the Mets’ major offseason spending: “It’s really encouraging to see that the organization is committed to putting a good team on the field. But that’s just one step . . . You can make every move in the world, but if you don’t play as a team, you’re not going to be successful.” . . . Despite not having a game scheduled Wednesday, the Mets still will work out. They don’t plan on having any true off days during this abbreviated camp . . . Glen Cove native and Chaminade High School alumnus Joe Suozzi made an appearance at major-league spring training, serving as a baserunner during a rundown drill.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
