The New York Mets are enduring a postseason run for the ages, but let's not forget about the potentially devastating offseason the team may experience if they lose Yoenis Cespedes and Daniel Murphy.
Perhaps the biggest concern surrounds Cespedes because he'll be in high demand, but the latest rumors indicate the Mets could find a way to lessen the blow if they lose him in free agency.
Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon could be an option for New York.
"Gordon has a $14-million player option, which everyone expects he'll turn down, leading to him becoming a free agent," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "He really has no choice but to turn down the one year as he'd easily get five times that (or much more) with free agency possible."
"Gordon should be on the radar of a few teams this offseason," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "The Indians, Orioles, Mets, Tigers, and perhaps even the Red Sox could all be suitors for the Gold Glove left fielder."
Gordon and the Royals have not had contract extension talks this season, and although rumors suggested he'd like to stay in Kansas City and that the team plans to make a push to retain him, it seems unlikely they'd be able to afford the outfielder.
Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star previously suggested that a five-year, $90 million contract could be the type of deal Gordon lands, which would be much cheaper than Cespedes and perhaps more cost effective for the Mets.
"Cespedes is expected to receive a free-agent deal of at least five years for well more than $100 million, perhaps over $150 million. And realistically, that may take him out of Mets territory," Heyman added in a separate piece.
"The Mets agreed to the Cespedes camp suggestion to abolish the clause that would have required them to wait until May 15 to sign him, which would have effectively killed their chances to keep him long-term. But that maneuver cost them nothing, and in fact only made them look interested. While they surely do have some interest at some level, whether they are, in fact, intent on keeping Cespedes remains to be seen.
"The Mets do seem to loves Cespedes (though he doesn't walk much, which doesn't fit their strong, stated preference), but based on talks with Mets people, one rival executive opined, 'I will be shocked if they sign Cespedes.'"
Similarly, Gordon remains one of the top free agents heading into the offseason, but he's being overshadowed by Cespedes, David Price, Zack Greinke, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Johnny Cueto. That could be advantageous for the Mets, who could use his stellar defense and consistent bat on their team.
However, another issue would be making room for Gordon. Michael Conforto appears to be a big aspect of the team's future and he best profiles as a corner outfielder. Curtis Granderson is under contract through 2017 and he figures to remain in right field, while the team will also need to find playing time for Michael Cuddyer, who is owed $12.5 million in 2016 before he becomes a free agent.
It's possible they could look to move Juan Lagares in the offseason since they already tried to do that before this year's trade deadline. Lagares, 26, is under a team-friendly contract ($22.5 million through 2019), so he could garner interest on the market. This would lessen the logjam in the outfield and also free up some money in the payroll.
But still, the Mets would need a center fielder. Conforto and Gordon have never played the position, which further complicates the matter. Granderson has played a majority of his career in center field, but the last time he spent a lot of time there was in 2012.
Gordon does remain an intriguing free agent option for the Mets if they can somehow make it work, but if Cespedes signs elsewhere and the Mets don't find it necessary to pay for another outfielder, it's likely Conforto, Lagares and Granderson will be the unit they go with to begin 2016.
