What Cuddyer Retirement Could Mean For Mets

All he has known for the last 18 years of his life was playing baseball.; Now that's over with. This past Friday, now former Mets left fielder Michael Cuddyer has decided to call it a career after injuries have cost him playing time over the last four years. During the length of a good 18 year career, Cuddyer has been a pretty reliable player. At the plate, he averaged 21 home runs and 84 RBI's a year, hitting .277 over his career. He finished his career with a .277 average, 197 homers and 794 RBIs in 15 big league seasons. Those numbers were split between the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies and New York Mets An interesting note is that he is retiring at the same time as former Twins teammates Torii Hunter and LaTroy Hawkins.

Cuddyer put up decent numbers while playing here in New York. He wasn't able to contribute quite the same way he once had, but considering the fact that he was 36 years old and was still a little bit productive, you have to be impressed by it. Another way to look at it is that he helped bridge the gap in left field until Michael Conforto came up and was ready to play everyday. Yes it kind of sucks that it was Cuddyer getting hurt that lead to Conforto getting more playing time, but credit has to be given to Cuddyer for being able to play when he got on the field.

Now then, this does help the Mets out a little bit. The retirement of Cuddyer may have left as much as $10 million for the team to work with in free agency, depending on how the exact finances work out. This could be really huge for the Mets going into the 2016 season. I'm already impressed by what the Mets have already done so far in free agency, bringing in Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera. So far its a good start from what they did at the Winter Meetings in Nashville last week. Now they have to finish the job and add another missing element to their team. One big thing is still evident is they are missing a big bat in the lineup. Sure they have Lucas Duda who can hit for Power (but is inconsistent) and Curtis Granderson (who's mostly used as a leadoff hitter). Then there's David Wright, and as much as I love Wright (being my favorite player) he isn't the same player he was a couple of years ago. So they need a consistent power hitter in their lineup.

Three names have come up as to potential suitors for the Mets. Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton, and even take a look at Chris Davis. Daivs is the stretch of the three names that are listed. The Orioles want to keep him, but they apparently were frustrated enough by agent Scott Boras’ foot dragging to pull a seven-year, $150 million offer away to explore other options (WFAN). If the Mets can land him, somehow, he'd be a perfect fit for the Porch (whatever they're going to call it next season) in right field. That porch in righ could be very inviting for a guy who has hit 159 homers and won two AL home run crowns over the last four seasons. So if the Mets can somehow pull it off, why not go for it right?

The other two options on the table for the Mets are Cespedes and Upton.  With Cespedes, everybody knows about the hot run he had the last two months of the year, with those 17 monster home runs. He wasn't quite as effective in the post season, but you at least have an idea of how effective a hitter he can be. I think the asking price is too high at the moment, but if given time and no bites on the market, he may become desperate enough to take any offer that comes his way just to keep playing baseball. He has all the signs of becoming a consistent 30-homer, 100-plus RBI hitter who plays a solid outfield. Then there's Justin Upton, who is still sitting out on the market. Upton has put up good numbers in the past, having hit 29 homers and 102 RBI in Atlanta just two years ago. He was also able to smack 26 homers to go along with 81 RBI in San Diego last year. Not quite as good as what he produced in Atlanta two years ago but still good offensive numbers in a park that isn't quite as hitter friendly as Atlanta. Upton really has improved as a fielder over the last couple of years. Look at last year, he made only three errors in left field. He’s still got a lot of baseball left, as he's just 28 years old, so there is plenty of upside to trying to bring Upton on board. The thing is that Mets would have to pay as dearly for him as for Cespedes. But remember, they’ve got that money.

The Mets now have the money with Cuddyer retiring, but the bigger question is can they use it wisely to improve upon what they already have on the field right now? Only time will tell!