The New York Mets signed free-agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer on Monday, the first day of the General Manager’s meetings in Phoenix, Arizona.
The deal is of the two-year variety, worth $21 million. Cuddyer, who will make $8.5 million next year and $12.5 million in 2016, had a $15.3 million qualifying offer from the Colorado Rockies which he had a until Monday to accept or decline, according to ESPN. The Mets lose their first-round (15th overall) pick in next year’s draft by signing Cuddyer.
"I don't think it's any secret that we're looking to improve offensively, and there's not a lot of options out there on the free-agent market or even in the trade market," Mets assistant GM John Ricco said. "Based on what we've learned, at least to this point, it's going to be pretty pricey. We thought this was a way to clearly upgrade our team and our lineup. ... [General Manager] Sandy [Alderson] has talked about we're looking to turn the corner here and start to compete in 2015. I think this is a message that we're going to be aggressive. Right out of the box we had a guy we liked, and we went and got him."
Ricco also said that they had decided that it was worth giving up draft picks to get their guy.
Cuddyer played in just 49 games for the Rockies this past season. Hamstring and shoulder injuries prevented him from playing more games. In those 49 games he hit .332/.376/.579 and had ten homeruns and 31 RBIs, according to the New York Post.
On Monday Cuddyer had his physical and passed. He will join Curtis Granderson and Juan Lagares as the Mets primary outfielders.