Mets Eat Salaries

The Mets released P Oliver Perez, who was due $12 million.

The New York Mets have well-known financial issues. Last month, it was revealed the Mets borrowed money from MLB last year. It was also revealed that they were looking into securing another loan for basic operating expenses. With that being said, it is completely baffling as to why they're cutting high-salary players and eating the money. The Mets announced in a span of three days that they're releasing 2B Luis Castillo and P Oliver Perez. With Castillo being released, the Mets have to still pay him $6 million. Perez will be owed a whopping $12 million to not provide any services for the Mets.

Mets also released 2B Luis Castillo, who was due $6 million.

Perez said he believes he was given a fair chance by the new Mets' regime, different than the views Castillo expressed. Castillo has already caught on with another team, signing a minor-league deal with the NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies. Perez will look to catch on with another team also, though he can just go on vacation and collect $12 million for the year. The Mets' new regime consists of a new manager in Terry Collins, and a new general manager in Sandy Alderson. Clearly, they are trying to rid themselves of expensive contracts brought on by former general manager Omar Minaya.

From a baseball standpoint, it's good to see the Mets making these kind of moves because they are sold on putting the best product on the field. However, with the Wilpon brothers' refusal to sell the majority of the team, cutting those players is not the best move. If the Mets can't afford to pay basic operating expenses with no assistance, how can they pay two players $18 million for nothing? It would've been extremely hard to trade both players, since they were so ineffective and expensive. However, packaging them with attractive players in a trade could've been an option.

It's surprising the Mets haven't received criticism for those moves. When the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA traded G Marcus Thornton to the Sacramento Kings for F Carl Landry, many people criticized the deal. The Hornets have been in financial problems for a couple of years, forcing owner George Shinn to sell the team to the NBA outright. All of the owners in the league owns a stake in the team, which is why some owners became upset they were taking on more salary. They also received criticism from the media, yet the media has not criticized the Mets for their moves. Maybe more criticism will come. However, the Mets better put out a better product than last year.