Estimates and tender decisions for the Mets’ eight arbitration-eligible players

In addition to all of the free agents the Mets have, the team also has eight players eligible for arbitration. MLB Trade Rumors has published its estimates for what salary the players would receive. Let’s use that and discuss all eight players and if the Mets should tender them a contract at that price point.

Paul Blackburn – $4.4 million
Shortly after he was acquired, it seemed a no-brainer that the Mets would tender Blackburn. Then he suffered a back injury and had surgery to fix a cerebrospinal fluid leak in mid-October, with the Mets announcing the recovery time would be about 4.5 months. Blackburn will likely miss the start of Spring Training. He’s out of options, too. It’s a coin flip if the Mets should offer him arbitration but the guess here is that they will.

Tylor Megill – $2.1 million
Just when it looked like the bloom was fully off, Megill gave the club some good innings down the stretch of the regular season before getting knocked around in the postseason, as he allowed 5 ER in 4.1 IP. Still, he’s a serviceable depth starter and FanGraphs lists him with an option remaining, so the Mets will retain him.

David Peterson – $4.4 million
He had a terrific season after returning from his hip injury and has leapfrogged Megill in the minds of everyone. There’s no doubt the Mets will pick up his option. Our own Steven Shrager raised the possibility of buying out a year or two of Peterson’s free agent years, which is something the Mets should do if they’re not trying to get out from underneath any of the Luxury Tax thresholds.

Sean Reid-Foley – $900,000
When he wasn’t injured, Reid-Foley turned in some valuable relief innings last year. While his health seems like a constant concern, at this price, it’s pretty much a sure thing the Mets will tender him a contract.

DJ Stewart – $1.7 million
After his strong showing in the second half of 2023, Stewart turned back into a pumpkin last season. He’s out of options so it seems unlikely that the Mets would bring him back. Could be someone they extend an NRI to later in the offseason if he doesn’t find an MLB job elsewhere.

Tyrone Taylor – $2.9 million
After a brutal May, Taylor put up a strong remainder of the season and there’s no doubt the Mets will offer him a contract. The real question is if they’ll go with him as their starting center fielder in 2025, which is where he ended the 2024 campaign.

Luis Torrens – $1.1 million
While he wasn’t able to keep up his hot start at the plate, Torrens remained an effective backup catcher and there’s no reason for the Mets to look elsewhere to fill that position, making this another player they’ll retain. It helps that there’s no one ready to step in from the minors at this position. But the Mets have plenty of interesting catching prospects in the lower minors to keep an eye on.

Alex Young – $1.4 million
This group started with a player who is a coin flip and will end with one, too. Young was decent for the Mets last year but his peripherals tell a different story, as he had a 4.70 FIP with the club. The dollar figure isn’t much but he’s out of options. The Mets may tender him a contract because the outlay is so small. But this is the type of pitcher you can find during the season without too much trouble, if the need arises.

*****

Sean Manaea officially declined his player option and is now a free agent.