LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — In light of the Mets and their 29 competitors departing Disney World on Thursday, how about you pause wishing upon a star and we’ll figure out how the Mets can mount a respectable 2018 season within their apparent payroll limitations?
The latest step occurred here at the Winter Meetings, where the Mets jumped on the reliever wave and signed Anthony Swarzak to a two-year, $14 million contract as long as the 32-year-old passes his physical exam. It could work, and it helps that new Mets manager Mickey Callaway worked with Swarzak on the 2015 Indians. Or Swarzak could look more like the guy whom the Yankees outrighted off their roster just last year.
Assuming that acquisition gives the Mets another $20 million to $25 million to add to their payroll, with two clear needs to fill, as easy as 1-2, here’s how The Post would distribute those funds in a way that would enhance the Mets’ power, versatility and clubhouse culture:
1) Trade for Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis
Callaway can’t take credit or blame for anything that Kipnis accomplished during their time together on the Indians, since they didn’t work directly together. Yet Callaway obviously has a level of knowledge and comfort with Kipnis, who endured a terrible 2017 but played quite well in 2016 and even better before that.
Another second-base option, Ian Kinsler, went off the board late Wednesday night when he waived his no-trade powers to join the Angels in a trade from Detroit.
“It leaves us with a lot of other choices,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said Thursday.
Some of those choices, like Pittsburgh’s Josh Harrison and the Phillies’ Cesar Hernandez likely stand out of reach because they would cost considerable talent and the Mets don’t possess a strong farm system. Others, like free agent and old pal Neil Walker and ex-Yankee Starlin Castro, don’t excite much.
A Kipnis trade would resemble a free-agent signing, thanks to 1) the lousy .232/.291/.414 slash line he tallied last season; 2) the emergence of Giovanny Urshela at third base, which shifted Jose Ramirez to second base for the Indians; and 3) the nearly $31 million that Kipnis has guaranteed over the next two years, including a $2.5 million buyout (against a $16.5 million team option) for 2020.
The Indians, who want to clear Kipnis’ salary to enhance their efforts to retain Carlos Santana, probably will have to pay down some of that $31 million. The Mets should make sure no one outbids them, as Kipnis provides a pinch of flexibility (he shifted to center field late in 2017 after returning from a right hamstring injury) and plenty of leadership.
2) Sign Jay Bruce
The free-agent outfielder’s market remains murky, as it does for all bats. I still think he’d rather sign elsewhere, all things being equal. Nevertheless, with his stellar 2017 at as a Met before getting dealt to Cleveland (another Callaway connection), Bruce wiped away the New York questions he created with his awful 2016. He could help out at first base if Dominic Smith proves not ready or play right field assuming Michael Conforto won’t be ready for Opening Day.
If Bruce, 30, costs three years and, let’s say, $42 million, then the Mets should just suck it up and pay the man, since both they and their new manager know independently what he adds to both a lineup and a clubhouse.
Bruce and Kipnis would give the Mets track records and personalities on a position-player group sorely lacking in both. Shoot, maybe there’d even be room to bring back Jose Reyes for a low salary ($1 million?) as a utility man and mentor to Amed Rosario.
While this roster would still need plenty to go right, it would enter spring training with a fighting chance, a fresh vibe and many familiar faces for Callaway. If it isn’t quite a Disney feel-good story, it would at least make Mets fans feel better than they do right now.