Here's the panic. So I ran it to Craig. He gave the typical panic, which is $46 million, $42 million.

Right. But technically it could be more for Boba Schett. That's a panic move. That's not the panic move.

Because they were offering Kyle Tucker 60. So the Mets are clearly okay and comfortable with what I like to call the short-term contract tax,

which is we're going to pay a certain amount of money on a shorter-term deal.

Right.

They were going to spend 60, so we're going to spend a portion of that anyways.

And it's different than just saying, Juan Soto makes 50, Aaron Judge makes this.

Dude, they signed long-term deals.

You're paying a premium to get a guy on a short-term deal.

So that's BS. That's not the panic.

The panic, to me, and I'm okay with it, is agreeing to an opt-out after the first year.

Because what you're agreeing to do is not only give up the draft pick compensation associated

with signing a free agent who rejected the qualifying offer, but you're okay giving that up and also

losing the player after one year. So you're essentially, it's like a trade at the trade deadline,

you're trading two potentially good prospects for a rental.

And I don't think knowing David Stearns, he really ideally wants to do that.

In fact, screw it.

He told me the one time I had a face-to-face with him because I pushed him about Jordan Montgomery.

I did.

And then obviously I got that wrong about signing him. And he said, do you really want to give up the draft picks attached to it for a guy

who can opt out after one year? And I understood the point. So to do this. So why would he do

this then? That's where you could argue it's a little level of panic. Even though I agree.

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