PHOENIX -- Newly signed outfielder Michael Cuddyer indicated the allure of playing for a contending team, his relationship with childhood friend David Wright and being based on the East Coast were the primary factors in his decision to sign a two-year, $21 million deal with the New York Mets.
"It really wasn't about the money," Cuddyer said Tuesday, a day after passing a physical. "As hard as it is for some to believe, it's not always about the money. And this was one of those cases. I think just the excitement of being able to come to the East, come play for the Mets, that was the biggest attraction. You get to the point that I'm at in my career, that's the thing that's important: One, to win. And wanting to be closer to home. Both of those issues were nailed in this signing, for me at least."
Cuddyer, 35, turned down a one-year, $15.3 million qualifying offer from the Colorado Rockies. Had the Mets' offer not existed, Cuddyer said he would have returned to Coors Field next season.
Wright badly wanted Cuddyer to sign with the Mets. Cuddyer said the first call he received after the season was from the Mets' captain. Wright said by the end of the recruiting process, he was calling Cuddyer multiple times a day.
Both players hail from the Norfolk, Virginia, area. Although Cuddyer was a high school senior when Wright was in the eighth grade, the two had the same trainer and began a friendship even back then.
"Michael and I have kept in touch for quite some time now," Wright said. "Michael was one of the first ones -- or probably the first one, at least that I can remember as a younger player -- being drafted high and making it to the major leagues. He was a guy that was a role model not only for me, but for the teams that I played on, and really a role model for the entire area. To come from our relatively small town, to make it to the big leagues, to see him playing in the postseason, for me I feel like I was able to accomplish my goals and my dreams and it made it easier seeing Michael was doing it."
General manager Sandy Alderson described adding an outfielder as the organization's "highest priority" entering the offseason.
"We're extraordinarily pleased to have Michael Cuddyer in a Mets uniform going into 2015," Alderson said. "He's just an outstanding player, a terrific right-handed hitter. He's going to give us a lot more balance in our lineup, a length in our lineup. He's versatile defensively. He's been in the postseason, I think, six times. A former All-Star. There's not a lot more I can say about Michael as a player."
Cuddyer said he had played phone tag with manager Terry Collins on Tuesday. Collins will need to determine which corner outfield spots Curtis Granderson and Cuddyer will play. Granderson, the incumbent right fielder, has far more experience than Cuddyer in left field and has expressed a willingness to shift, but Alderson said there has been no final determination and the team is fortunate both players are versatile and receptive to playing either spot.
Cuddyer also could see some action at first base against left-handed pitching over Lucas Duda, although Alderson cautioned against presuming Duda will not be a full-time player.
"I've played so many spots in my career," Cuddyer said. "I've played everywhere. The main goal for me is to win ballgames. So wherever Terry feels that I'll be more beneficial to the club, whether it's right field or left field, that's fine with me. Obviously going into it I've played many, many more games in right field than I have left field. But, at the same time, you go out there and you be an athlete and you let that take over."