Mark Herrmann of Newsday, was in Virginia Beach tonight where David Wright held his annual charity fundraiser for children near his hometown.
Among those in attendance were Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon and general manager Sandy Alderson who both said the Mets are not done building and spending this offseason.
According to Herrmann, Alderson would not discuss individual players, but when he was asked if shortstop Stephen Drew was still on his radar, he said, “All remaining free agents are on our radar.”
Jeff Wilpon added: “I approve of what Sandy said. How’s that? Sandy and his staff have done a good job. And there probably will be a couple more things that might happen between now and the end of the offseason.”
As you may by now have heard, the Mets “reportedly” offered Grant Balfour a two-year, $12 million dollar deal on Thursday before the free agent closer opted to sign with the Rays so he could remain closer to home. I was actually surprised when I heard the news.
Meanwhile, David Wright approves of all the new Mets additions.
“I think Sandy will be the first one to tell you that there is room for improvement,” Wright said. “With the additions that we’ve made, there is no question that on Opening Day this year, we will be a better team than we were on Opening Day last year.”
This offseason has been fun to cover for me compared to the three previous ones. I loved the Granderson and Colon pickups, and frowned upon the Young signing, but all in all it’s been a refreshing departure from the last few Winters.
But let’s not get too carried away. We’re still not out of the woods yet, and there’s still much to do. Plus, until I see payroll back at a level commensurate with the high ticket prices the Mets charge I won’t be swayed.
I do hope that Sandy and Jeff weren’t just playing to the crowd tonight. My wish is that they can still improve one of either the shortstop or first base situations before the team heads to St. Lucie next month. Time will tell.
