New York Mets News: Arbitration Updates For Familia, Walker

New York Mets News: The arbitration process is in full swing for the Mets, who had nine players arbitration eligible this offseason.

With the offseason winding down, it is arbitration time in MLB. This is an uncomfortable time for teams, as they sometimes have to go to court arguing against players saying why they do not deserve to make a certain amount of money. For the New York Mets this could be a busy time, as they have nine players that are arbitration eligible this offseason.

Four of those players have already settled with the Mets outside of court. The Mets agreed to one year deals worth $4.325 million with Harvey, $5.3 million with Reed, $1.05 million with Torres and $625,000 with Edgin.

Harvey, Edgin and Torres were all arbitration-eligible for the first time in their careers. Harvey was projected at the highest earnings of the group at $4.7 million. Edgin, who will be returning from Tommy John surgery, was projected at $600,000, while Torres comes in at a projected $800,000.

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Reed was the highest projected of that group of players, at $5.7 million. Reed was solid for the Mets at the backend of their bullpen once he was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks, and should figure to play a big role once again for the Mets at the end of games.

Ruben Tejada is the only player that remains without a settlement that did not file. MLBTradeRumors.com projects Tejada at $2.5 million, which is a hefty amount for a bench player. There were rumors earlier in the offseason that the Mets could move on from Tejada, and their offseason moves have done nothing to dispel that. It is hard to imagine the Mets keeping him around at that price.

The last four players that the Mets have that are arbitration eligible have all filed the amounts they think they deserve for the 2016 season. This group consists of Juerys Familia and Jenrry Mejia, who are both first time eligible, Lucas Duda, who is in his second year of arbitration eligibility, and the recently acquired Neil Walker, who is in his final year of arbitration before he can become a free agent.

Mejia, who filed at $2.595 million, had the Mets counter with $2.345 million. With a gap that small, there is a good chance the two sides can come to an agreement outside of court. MLBTradeRumors projected him at $2.6 million, so the Mets are coming out ahead according to their projections. Mejia will have to finish serving his 100-game suspension, but the Mets want him back. The $2.595 he filed for is the same amount that his contract was worth in 2015.

In his place stepped Familia, and he is now locked into the role. Familia was outstanding for the Mets, finishing the season with 43 saves and a 1.85 ERA. Mejia filed for $4.8 million, while the Mets sent in $3.3 million. That is a rather large gap, but Familia will be getting a nice raise this season after an impressive season being the closer for the first time. $523,925 is what Familia earned last season, so a multi-million dollar raise will be in the works.

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Duda was a slight disappointment at times this season, as he saw drops in his home run and RBI numbers from 2014 to 2015. But, his service time as increased so he will be in line for another raise. He filed for $7.4 million, while the Mets countered with $5.9 million. Duda was paid $4.2 million for the 2015 season.

The biggest payday of the arbitration process for the Mets will be going to Neil Walker. The Mets acquired Walker from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Jon Niese earlier in the offseason in part because the Pirates were unwilling to pay the raise that Walker is due. Walker will be receiving a hefty payday, as he filed for $11.8 million and the Mets countered with $9.4 million. In 2015, Walker got paid $8 million and the increase he is due is as big a reason as any as why he is with the Mets now.

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The Mets will be busy in the coming days and weeks as they will work hard to avoid going to court against their players and try settling outside to new one-year deals for the upcoming season.

*All salary and salary projections are from MLBTradeRumors.com*

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New York Mets News: Arbitration Updates For Jeurys Familia, Neil Walker and More

By Kenneth Teape | Jan 17, 2016

New York Mets News: The arbitration process is in full swing for the Mets, who had nine players arbitration eligible this offseason.

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