Edwin Encarnacion: The Mets Are Flying Commercial Again

The Mets are choosing to fly and do business on the cheap again. Edwin Encarnacion is a first baseman. The Mets need a first baseman. Edwin Encarnacion is a proven power bat. The Mets need another power bat to complement Yoenis Cespedes in their lineup. What’s the problem here?

Surprisingly, Edwin Encarnacion is still hawking his talent on the free agent market. He’s been hit with a perfect storm that has ambushed his anticipated value. He can probably be had for 60 cents on a dollar. But except for very brief flurries of rumors, the Mets have not been part of the discussion on Encarnacion, despite the fact that he would be a perfect fit on their team.

At this point, it would be hard to imagine that the Mets consider Lucas Duda as their first baseman of the future, much less even this season as he’s coming back from injuries and they have no idea what they’re going to get from him.

The Mets: Flying on the Cheap

And it’s always too easy when you get into these things that seemingly would be logical steps for any other team to take, to say, “Hey, don’t forget, we’re talking about the Mets here.” As if we’re talking about a team that is handicapped in some way.

While the metropolis of Los Angeles may have more people living in their market, New York has twice as many baseball fans living in its market. The intra-city rivalry between the Mets and Yankees is fierce and long-standing. Over the years, New York has made it clear that it is only interested in a team that wins. The Yankees have always tried at least that standard. The Mets, on the other hand, not so much.

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The Mets made it to the World Series two years ago, and the city was lit up with excitement for them as the team representing the Big Apple, many Yankees fans included. This year, though, what do we see? We see the Mets bringing back two key players in Cespedes and Neil Walker, followed by Sandy Alderson standing before the cameras wiping his hands as if to say, “Okay, see, we did something. We’re done now.” Forgetting, of course, that all he’s really accomplished is to bring the team back to where it was last year.

There isn’t a team in baseball that hasn’t been burned by ill advised contracts. And the Mets, as their fans well know, have had their share of them. All teams are now taking a second, and sometimes even a third look at long-term contracts before assuming the risks involved. But it’s one thing to be wary of taking risks. And quite another thing to be wary of taking on risk and being cheap at the same time. Regrettably, that is the perception the Mets have earned for themselves in New York.

The Mets Could Light Up New York

See, it’s one thing to be Warren Buffet, who with his billions chooses to live a very quiet and frugal lifestyle in Omaha, Nebraska. That is a personal decision that he is entitled to make for himself. But when you own a major league franchise, and especially one that is located in New York, it should be understood that you have a responsibility to the fans who follow and support your team.

No one expects the Wilpons to go broke. They almost succeeded in doing that themselves when they teamed up with Bernie Madoff. But at the same time, the perception that you are at least trying to win titles has to be there. And it’s not been there with the Mets since the Wilpons took over.

Edwin Encarnacion is the type of player who can put a team over the hump. Moreover, consistency has been his middle name. Coupled with the pitching the Mets have, the team could automatically transform itself into a team that could conceivably even give the Cubs a run for their money. Could, that is. Could.