Steve Cohen and the New York Mets’ perilous pursuit of free agency
By Bill Felber
2013
Far and away the big catch of the 2012-13 winter was Zack Greinke, who signed a six-year, $147 million contract with the Dodgers. Greinke was 1-3 in three postseason appearances for L.A., his team losing out in the 2013 NLCS and 2014 NLDS.
Opting out after three years, he signed a new deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, of which there will be more to say later.
The year’s second-biggest catch was outfielder Josh Hamilton, who signed with for five years and $123 million with the Angels. Two years and one fruitless postseason appearance later (Hamilton was hitless in 13 ALDS at bats against the 2014 Royals), the Angels agreed to pay Texas about $73.5 million to take him off their hands. He batted .167 against Toronto in the 2015 ALDS and retired after 2017.
The offseason’s third-biggest signee was pitcher Anibal Sanchez, who accepted $80 million to pitch five seasons for Detroit. The Tigers got two productive seasons out of Sanchez, including 2013 and 2014 playoff appearances. He went 1-2 and the Tigers were eliminated by the Red Sox in the ALCS, then by the Orioles in the division round.
The fourth big deal that winter went to B.J. Upton, who signed a five-year, $75.5 million contract with the Braves. Upton played one postseason series for Atlanta, that coming against the Dodgers in the 2013 NLDS. He was hitless and Atlanta bowed out.
For his career, Upton batted .198 in Atlanta before being unloaded to San Diego in April of 2015. By the time the deal expired, he had been shuffled to Toronto, then back to San Diego, then back to Toronto again. He did play in nine postseason games for the 2016 Jays, batting .191.