Michael Cuddyer got to do what he wanted to do in 2015: play with his childhood friend David Wright. Cuddyer turned down a qualifying offer with the Colorado Rockies last offseason to sign a two-year deal with the Mets. Despite the opportunity to play for the Rockies and earn $15.3 million, Cuddyer signed for $8.5 million in 2015 and $12.5 in 2016. However, Cuddyer is choosing to walk away from the $12.5 million next season.
Cuddyer made the surprising announcement on the Players Tribune: he would retire:
I’ve made the decision to retire. With one year left on my contract, it is especially difficult to imagine not suiting up in a Mets uniform for one more year. As an athlete, retiring is the toughest decision you have to make and I don’t make it lightly. I’ve always run out every hit like it was my last. As an untested high school kid drafted with a dream, I’ve never taken a single moment in the Majors for granted. It goes against every grain in my body to consider a future without the game. But after 15 years, the toll on my body has finally caught up to me.
The move is impressive, considering Cuddyer could have spent the entire 2016 season on the disabled list and collected the full pay. But, walking away was the professional thing to do, he explained:
Over the last four years, I was on the disabled list six times. I missed 150-200 games over that time span — a broken shoulder, a strained oblique, a torn-up knee, a bulging disc in my neck. I pushed through it. Mentally, I was able to overcome it for a long time, but the physical and emotional taxation took its toll. Part of being a professional is to know yourself and to know your limits. Chasing the ideal of professionalism became a theme throughout my career.
Cuddyer did not have a starting role going into 2016, either.
With Curtis Granderson in right field and budding star Michael Conforto taking over left field, Cuddyer was probably going to serve as an extra man on the Mets roster. The Mets need to figure out center field heading into 2016. None of Cuddyer, Conforto, or Granderson are candidates for that position. The Mets will now have extra money to shore up the hole in center and add a starting pitcher, after trading Jon Niese to the Pirates for second baseman Neil Walker.
The Mets of course gave up a first round draft pick to sign Cuddyer just a year ago. That is a steep price to pay for one year of Cuddyer, but the Mets made it to the World Series and are likely comfortable with the result. Cuddyer batted .259 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI in 117 games for the Mets.
Cuddyer's career began with the Minnesota Twins in 2001 and he spent three years with the Colorado Rockies before moving to the Mets in 2015. Cuddyer was an All-Star in 2011 with the Twins and 2013 with the Rockies. In the latter he won a Silver Slugger award. In his career, Cuddyer batted .277 with 197 home runs and 794 runs batted in.
Read Cuddyer's full retirement article here. It's a good read.
