They are calling it a 'bell-shaped contract' that Wright has just agreed to.

This means that the big chunk of the contract is in the middle of the deal with the beginning and end years having much less.

This was a very smart move by both parties.

The Mets will be paying a lot for a Very Solid (hopefully) Wright in his prime and then during Wright's aging years will be payed much less.

This is smart cuz the Mets will be able sign players who will probably be needed cuz Wright won't be as good.

For Wright its very smart because he won't be under horrible scrutiny for being an aged star making so much money.

Let's face it. Wright is going to be under scrutiny the rest of his time in NY. With that contract? How could it be any other way? The Mets need several players NOW. With this contract and possibly Dickey's to follow, considering the team's financial constraints, how are the six or so holes going to be filled? In my opinion, trading Dickey has now become a must. Aside from Wilmer Flores, the Mets don't have a reputable bat close to coming up from the minors. IF the Mets don't trade Dickey, then the team will be stuck in neutral. And if Wright thought he was under scrutiny BEFORE the big contract. Just wait until he's on a team with a malnourished offense, where the opposing pitchers are all too willing to pitch around him. That's been a recipe for elevated strikeout numbers in the past. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

The Mets will not be good in 2013, so don't even expect it.

Management knows this, they are building for 2014

Dickey doesn't have much value long term so I can't see trading him. The Mets should do everything they can to sign him. If you're thinking of trading somebody, Niese will have to be the guy. He finished last year pretty well (for a change) and they have him signed for a few years at not a lot of money, although I would not have signed him to that deal myself. I would have waited a year. But if they had done something this offseason, I wouldn't have minded because he did finish the season well. Other teams may look at it as affordable and that he is a pitcher on the rise. Maybe you can use him to fill a couple of holes.

I don't mind the Wright extension. He's making about what Longoria and Zimmerman are making which is about right and you have a pretty good idea what you're going to get from him if he stays healthy. Longo and Zimm have spent more time DL'd than Wright has over the years and they got paid. Wright will catch more scrutiny because his supporting cast is horrible while the Rays and Nats survived fairly well when their third basemen were DL'd last year.

Eddie Coleman mentioned that Wright worked with the Mets to structure the contract so that he is making less money in his declining years so that the Mets will have some financial flexibility to add players to the team. He didn't want to have a contract that would hamstring the team at a time when they would be looking to be adding players. May as well pay him more up front because the Mets aren't in a position to add players yet. Maybe after next season they will be able to. Good move by Wright, his agent, and the Mets to structure it this way, if anything for public relations and to make the fans feel better about the investment.