For a few hours, it looked as if the New York Mets and starting pitcher Dillon Gee would be going to battle in arbitration, but late on Friday night, the two sides reportedly came to an agreement.
Source: Dillon Gee and #Mets have settled at $3.625M -- exact midpoint of figures exchanged.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) January 18, 2014
ESPN’s Adam Rubin is reporting that Gee and the Mets settled on a $3.625 million deal for the 2014 season, and non-coincidentally, it was directly between Gee’s offer and that of the Mets. Gee’s representation reportedly asked for $4.05 million with the Mets looking for $3.2 million, but apparently, it was a quick conversation that centered the two parties at the midpoint.
Gee had an up-and-down season in 2013, but the end result was a quality campaign. The 27-year-old right-hander finished with a solid 3.62 ERA in 199 innings, but after a subpar 1st half where he put up a 4.32 ERA, he was lights-out after the All-Star break. In his final 88.2 innings, Gee cruised to a 2.74 ERA with a microscopic walk rate of just 1.52 BB/9, and if that was a long-term fix, the Mets will be receiving a big-time bargain at $3.625 million.
In all fairness, Gee’s upside probably isn’t as high as his 2nd half would suggest, but at worst, the Mets are getting a solid mid-rotation starter for a big-time bargain compared to the open market, and they could be in line for much more.