Team sources told Mike Puma of the New York Post that New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson is likely to return to the team for the 2018 season.
Alderson, 69, signed an extension in 2014 that ends at the conclusion of the 2017 season leaving some to wonder if he would retire.
Less than two years ago Alderson underwent surgery and received chemotherapy treatments for cancer but he has shown no signs of wearing down this year.
“If you had seen him going into the trade deadline he was as energetic as ever,” a team official told the Post. “The conversations we’ve had are a lot about next year and Sandy certainly seems like he is all in. He remains as involved in the organization as ever. I would be surprised if he walked away.”
The Mets owners aren’t blaming the 2017 injury-riddled disappointment on the GM, and instead letting him decided his fate with the team.
After back-to-back playoff appearances, that included a World Series run in 2015, the Mets are currently in third place and 11.5 games back of a wild card spot.
Most of the Mets rotation has seen time on the DL this year with their young ace Noah Syndergaard making only five starts before going down with a partial tear of his right lat. Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler are with him on the DL right now.
The Mets have also been without their closer Jeurys Familia for a majority of the season because of a suspension and surgery to remove a blood clot.
In the piece, Puma writes “signs point to general manager Sandy Alderson returning to lead the front office.” This makes me think that the Mets could bring back Alderson, but in a President of Baseball Operations role (much like Theo Epstein, Dave Dombrowski) that has become popular in baseball recently.
The GM would then likely be one of John Ricco who is currently the assistant GM, or J.P. Ricciardi who is currently a special assistant to the GM and has previous GM experience with the Toronto Blue Jays.
