New York Mets: Stay away from free agent Lorenzo Cain

Lorenzo Cain is on the New York Mets radar as a free agent, but he should not be.

The New York Mets will be shopping the waiver wire soon enough. They call it the “hot stove” season. The Mets have holes to fill as we know. Sandy Alderson and his staff will be going over the waiver wire to see what acquisitions might make the team even better for Mickey Callaway in his first season. What are the Mets going to do?

Well, according to Jon Heyman, a Kansas City outfielder may be on their radar (via IB Times). Lorenzo Cain has rejected a qualifying offer from the Royals, leaving the Mets and the San Francisco Giants among teams on Cain’s radar. The Mets could certainly use a versatile outfielder, and Cain has played all three positions (predominantly CF and RF). Should they make a move?

For a couple of reasons, the answer is no. It’s not that Cain isn’t qualified. His numbers certainly render him qualified. But unless the contract is team friendly, Sandy Alderson needs to look elsewhere.

More from Empire Writes Back

If you look at the numbers it will be a pure yes. Cain is a career .290 hitter. He has stolen 127 bases in 152 tries for success percentage of 83.5%. He has performed well in the playoffs with a career average of .295.

In the field he has been able to sustain a .985 fielding percentage. You would think he has all the tools, right?

His age is the first big barrier on this. Lorenzo Cain is 31 years old. Yes that is the prime of his career but it is clearly the back-end. Players don’t typically go up from this age they go down. Unless of course, your name is Bonds and you are tak….. oh never mind.

According to Spotrac, Cain’s biggest contract was his last when he earned $17.5 million over two years. This is going to be his one chance for that huge multi-year deal. If he is looking for four years, do the Mets really want to lock up a 31-year-old outfielder for that long? Unless they can get out after two I would think not. It goes against the way they have been building this team.

Next: The five best shortstops in Mets history

Look at his games per season as well. 2017 was the first season Cain played in over 150 games. In a contract year, players are always healthy enough to do more than is the norm. His previous high was 140 in 2015. At 31 years old that is likely to start to go down, not up. Is it really worth the investment? Unless it’s Mets-friendly, they should look elsewhere.

Home/New York Mets