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The Mets surprised just about everyone yesterday by signing Michael Cuddyer to a two-year, $21 million contract. Specifically, Cuddyer is set to earn $8.5 million in 2015 and $12.5 million in 2016. With that, the Mets' payroll is set to hit its highest Opening Day mark since 2011—assuming the Mets retain the rest of the players on their roster, including those eligible for arbitration. Here's a quick breakdown of the potential Opening Day 25-man roster and those players' salaries, with arbitration estimates from MLB Trade Rumors.
| Pos | Player | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| C | Travis d'Arnaud | $500,000 |
| 1B | Lucas Duda* | $4,300,000 |
| 2B | Daniel Murphy* | $8,300,000 |
| 3B | David Wright | $20,000,000 |
| SS | Wilmer Flores | $500,000 |
| LF | Curtis Granderson | $16,000,000 |
| CF | Juan Lagares | $500,000 |
| RF | Michael Cuddyer | $8,500,000 |
| BE | Eric Young Jr.* | $2,300,000 |
| BE | Anthony Recker | $500,000 |
| BE | Eric Campbell | $500,000 |
| BE | Matt den Dekker | $500,000 |
| BE | Ruben Tejada* | $1,700,000 |
| SP | Matt Harvey | $500,000 |
| SP | Zack Wheeler | $500,000 |
| SP | Jacob deGrom | $500,000 |
| SP | Jon Niese | $7,050,000 |
| SP | Bartolo Colon | $11,000,000 |
| RP | Jenrry Mejia* | $3,100,000 |
| RP | Jeurys Familia | $500,000 |
| RP | Carlos Torres | $500,000 |
| RP | Vic Black | $500,000 |
| RP | Josh Edgin | $500,000 |
| RP | Bobby Parnell* | $3,700,000 |
| RP | Dillon Gee* | $5,100,000 |
| Total | $97,550,000 |
*arbitration estimate
Beyond 2015, the Mets are now locked in to $57.5 million in commitments to four players in 2016: Wright, Granderson, Cuddyer, and Niese. For 2017, they're locked in to $35.5 million in commitments to Wright, Granderson, and Niese. And from there, only David Wright is guaranteed a salary from the Mets: $20 million in 2018, $15 million in 2019, and $12 million in 2020.