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Curtis Granderson’s Contract Could Crush New York Mets

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By @BZarp

Curtis Granderson

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

After an up and down season in his first year with the New York Mets, the team is hoping for more production and consistency from Curtis Granderson in his second season with the club. The Mets are betting that improvement from Granderson and a healthy David Wright will make a meaningful difference for the team’s offense in 2015. But what if that doesn’t happen? What if Granderson’s performance only continues to decline?

The Mets still owe Granderson $47 million over the next three years, which is a substantial amount for a player who will be 34 on opening day. More importantly, Granderson suffered through a wildly inconsistent and ultimately disappointing season in 2014, and despite ending it healthy and hitting 20 home runs, the Mets can’t afford three more years of Granderson hitting just .227 with an OPS of .714 the way he did in 2014. If Granderson performs at that level for the next three seasons, his contract will crush the Mets and may prevent them from reaching the level of success they have their eyes set on over the next several years.

Despite a few notable, big-money free agent signings over the past few years, the Mets’ front office has been either unwilling or unable to raise the team’s payroll to a level fans believe is necessary to compete for championships and a level befitting of a big market team. That means the Mets can’t afford to misfire on any big money free-agent signings, most notably Granderson.

The Mets whiffed and then some on the signing of Jason Bay a few years back, a signing that set them back a great deal. Granderson is far from reaching the depths of Bay’s time in New York, but his performance in 2014 doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence for the three years remaining on his contract.

There is still hope for Granderson, especially with the Mets hiring Kevin Long as the team’s new hitting coach. Those two worked well together during Granderson’s time with the New York Yankees, but if he can’t become more consistent and more productive than he was in 2014 during the remainder of his contract, he will be little more than dead weight on the Mets’ roster, as well as on their payroll. Considering the money left on his contract and the Mets’ limited payroll flexibility, without improvement from Granderson, his contract will crush the Mets and hinder them from becoming the contending team they envision.

Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com.  Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.

Related links:

Curtis Granderson’s Reunion With Former Hitting Coach Will Lead To Bounce Back Year With New York Mets

Predicting the New York Mets’ Starting Lineup for 2015

5 New York Mets Who Must Be Better in 2015 

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