Mets cut Luke Voit, Phil Bickford after they fail to make Opening Day roster
The Mets released a pair of veterans and will not have to pay for a contract that an arbitrator ruled a player deserved.
Reliever Phil Bickford and first baseman Luke Voit are now free agents after they did not make the team out of camp, a setback that will especially matter for Bickford.
Bickford, a 28-year-old righty who came over from the Dodgers at the trade deadline last year, beat the Mets in an arbitration case in early February.
His camp wanted $900,000, and the Mets countered with $815,000. An arbitrator sided with Bickford — who will not see his money.
In an odd rule of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement that was highlighted recently by the Giants cutting J.D. Davis, pre-arbitration settlements are guaranteed, while salaries decided by arbitration panels are not.
Thus, Bickford will only earn termination pay from his days on the roster of about $218,000, a source said. If he had settled, he would have been entitled to the entire amount the sides settled upon.
Bickford struggled upon joining the Mets last year before adding a changeup and allowing one earned run in 10 ²/₃ September innings.
This spring, Bickford — part of a crowded bullpen competition until the Mets designated him for assignment on Saturday — allowed three earned runs in 4 ²/₃ innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.
After Bickford cleared waivers, the Mets could have continued paying the $900,000 and outrighted him to Triple-A Syracuse. Instead, Bickford was cut.
The Voit decision was a bit more clear-cut after the slugger had a statistically poor spring. The 33-year-old, who was in camp on a minor league deal, went 4-for-34 (.118) with a home run, three walks and 14 strikeouts in the Grapefruit League.
J.D. Martinez was signed to be the designated hitter (once ready) and Zack Short and Joey Wendle will be backup infielders.
At the moment, D.J. Stewart projects as the Opening Day DH and was brought to New York with the club, though his spot is not official as the Mets search for other bats who shake loose of opposing teams.
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Ji Man Choi, who was fighting for the same first base/DH opportunities as Voit and who also failed to make the club out of camp, will not trigger his opt-out clause, a source told The Post’s Mike Puma. Choi will remain with the organization in Syracuse.
Voit’s bat has tailed off considerably since emerging as a standout with the Yankees, even leading the majors in home runs (22) in the shortened, 2020 season.
Voit has not approached that level again, first suffering injuries (a torn meniscus, an oblique strain and knee inflammation) that ruined his ’21 season before his production plummeted (a combined .691 OPS with the Padres, Nationals and Brewers since).
Voit had crushed Triple-A pitching for two months with Syracuse last season before opting out of his pact in early August. It does not appear as if he will be returning to Syracuse this year.
