The John Maine Situation

The Mets have until Thursday’s non-tender deadline to offer a contract to John Maine, or else he will become a free agent. Maine earned $3.3 million in a one-year contract he signed last January, and as Adam Rubin of ESPN New York points out, arbitration-eligible players cannot earn less than 80 percent of the prior year’s salary, meaning the minimum he is allowed to earn is approximately $2.5 million if the Mets offer him a contract for next season. Rubin says Maine is recovering well from July surgery to repair the capsule in his throwing shoulder. I’d have to believe the Mets are just going to let Maine go. From a performance standpoint, I would think the Mets could at least get a more stable arm for the same price as Maine, but from a cost perspective, they could combine the money saved from non-tendering Maine and whatever available funds they have already allocated for a starting pitcher and probably acquire someone better anyway. No matter what, I don’...