28
2011
Sandy Alderson Conference Call Recap w/Video
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- The Mets are done dealing so don’t expect any last minuted deals at the buzzer before the trade deadline expires on Sunday night at midnight. Alderson is fully aware that by trading Beltran, he’s made it a little tougher on the remaining players to try and compete, but he says they are a “pretty tough group” and still have “lots of motivated players”. It’s for their sake that he will not trade away anymore players unless he is blown away.
- Zack Wheeler will be assigned to Class A St. Lucie, the same level he pitched while in the San Francisco system. He does not foresee Wheeler being ready to contribute in 2012, and maybe there’s an outside shot at 2013, but he would rather just let Wheeler develop at his own pace.
- Alderson admitted that his primary target was Wheeler all along, and that the Giants left the table, but came back because they were really motivated to add Beltran. Once he and Giants GM Brian Sabean started talking again, everything happened quickly and fell into place.
- They love Wheeler’s potential and love his high ceiling. They admit his lack of control is a problem, but they expect it’s nothing serious and that it will eventually correct itself. They were looking for “big upside” and they feel they got that with Zack Wheeler.
“What made Zack stand out to us was his overall potential, certainly reflected in his draft status in ’09 (sixth overall). But more important, since that time, during the course of the last 10 days or so, we have had our professional scouting staff all over the United States watching players in individual organizations. As a result of that process, we felt you don’t get access to a player like Wheeler very often.”
- Not that it really matters anymore, but the American League teams that did have interest in Beltran, all wanted him as a right fielder and not as a designated hitter. Also, Alderson was considering other packages that included as many as three lesser prospects, but in the end they opted to go with who he felt was the pick of the litter.
- Alderson said that the K-Rod and Beltran deals combined, saved the Mets about $5 million, which he hopes to reinvest in the team. He thanked ownership for absorbing most of Beltran’s remaining contract so that they were able to make a deal for a better level of prospects.
- Jose Reyes is now a top priority and the team will begin negotiations with the All Star shortstop as soon as this season concludes, as per the wishes of Reyes and his agent.
Thoughts
I’m happy to see that Alderson is considering the fact that his team is playing hard and I applaud him for taking a stand not to trade anymore players while the team is competing as well as it has.
Essentially, he did what he felt he had to do for the longterm prosperity of the team in dealing K-Rod and Beltran, but he did so while trying not to totally undermine a team that isn’t ready to give up.
Balancing those two things isn’t very easy and that’s why teams are either described as buyers or sellers. The Mets right now are probably smack dab in the middle.
That said, I would like to see the Mets pick up a small piece that can potentially help the team as a show of supporting their efforts to keep fighting for that wild card. It would be a good move as well as a vote of confidence for all of them.
Video courtesy of SNY
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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the team was set in december of last year, it didn’t matter how the mets were playing certain players were targeted to be release, traded or not signed… money saving sandy!!! at his best!!!
How much money did he save?
well, from 140 million the mets will be at around 100 million, and that is IF reyes decides to sign here, if not, it’ll be around 90.. money saving sandy!!
Oh, they will? Odd, but a team official, Alderson himself, says he’s looking at $120 million next year.
And do you think Reyes will sign for $10 million a year?
Donal – stop wasting your knowledge and your time with this, some are hopeless………
Almost all the reports I read all day yesterday including right here said that Wheeler was the centerpiece of the package the Mets were getting? So is that it, just Wheeler, and he’s stil a project? So we traded Beltran for a Single-A prospect what’s the big deal here?
the #35 prospect in the country. A pitcher with a very high ceiling. Every prospect is a project. Not all of them have the potential to be a legit ace.
What should he have gotten for a 2 month rental?
Not saying it was good or bad, but th way everyone reported this deal it was said Wheeler was the centerpiece of a package. It was on Amazin Avenue, Mets Today and here. Those exact words. That to me implies more than one player. And by the raves I saw on Twitter and comments here, MetsBlog, etc. it was like Sandy Alderson walked on water. We got a Single-A prospect. Great. Lets move on and we’ll check back in two-three years.
True bout waiting, but it is still impressive. First of all, Joe’s been ranting about this all week: most of the speculation was just writers trying to get a scoop with any thread of an idea about what is happening.
Second, the reality is Alderson had next to no leverage. The perception of a lot of so called experts is that the best he could get was a couple of roster filler. the fact that he turned it into getting a major prospect is fairly impressive. Another body or 2 would have been the cherry on top.
It’s amazing really, if you listen to the “talking heads” at the MLB network (Dan Plesac and Harold Reynolds in particular) they were like, “you have to get more for the best hitter on the market!” Wow, didn’t know these morons were GM’s. I would like to know if Omar Minaya had traded Beltran for 3 middle of the road, low impact minor leaguers if that would’ve made them happy?
Okay, off that soapbox. I think Alderson did a great job in landing Wheeler (#35 on BA prospect list currently) when the “experts” thought they’d not get a top 40 prospect. Wheeler certainly has some risk (control being primary) but he has HUGE, HUGE upside. Omar Minaya wouldn’t have held out for a player like this. He would’ve taken the much lesser offer in order to make the deal. In the end, if Wheeler reaches his potential this deal is better for the Mets than if they had taken 2 or 3 lesser prospects who likely would have been fringe contributors at best. Kudos to Sandy for this trade!
Let’s face it. Beltran was done a s a MET and quite truthfully he will go down as a one at bat bad souvenir with a history of leg injuries. In truth he just may have been the player that kept fans in the seat and in a march to the World Serious. When healthy I truly do not remember him being in a slump. I have watched the Mets since thier inception and mine and I believe that he is a prolific baseball player with some bad luck. WHast did he do on his first night as a Giant. 0 for 4 and a strikeout. I can hear the Giants fans already….they knew it….a bust……gimper……and Carlos faces it again. Tomorrow he will be 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored and it will fly by as routine.
So goes Carlos, whose playoff run for Astros set such high standards, not to mention the Mets contract, that he was doomed to giving it all without the biggest achievement in baseball. ANd fickle fans that never ever played the game.
Best of Luck to a real baseball player…….