Sandy Alderson is gambling that his patient approach this offseason will ultimately pay off as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes.
The Mets have been very quiet thus far this offseason. In regards to major league transactions, the team picked up Asdrubal Cabrera‘s and Jerry Blevins‘ 2018 options on Nov. 3 and added Anthony Swarzak on a two-year, $14 million deal during the Winter Meetings on Dec. 13.
In regards to minor league transactions they signed Zach Borenstein, Matt Purke, and Jose Lobaton to deals.
That’s been all aside from their selection and immediate trade of Burch Smith in the Rule 5 Draft.
After picking up Cabrera’s and Blevins’ options, Alderson indicated that the Mets have around $30 million to spend this offseason. With Swarzak’s deal being backloaded, they have only committed $5.5 million out of that $30 million for the upcoming season.
It’s possible that the Mets will not even spend $30 million this offseason to improve the team. During the Winter Meetings, Alderson downplayed the team’s payroll.
“I would spend a little less time thinking about our payroll,” said Alderson. “We’re trying to put the best team on the field that we possibly can. We want to fill a number of different roles.”
He mentioned the health of players like Michael Conforto having a bigger impact on the team in 2018 than a larger payroll.
However, Alderson’s lack of moves may also be due to waiting out the market for bargain deals.
He wouldn’t be alone in the waiting game either. Another National League East front office executive described that as his team’s approach.
“Sometimes, you can get the better deals after the meetings, by waiting and going into January,” the executive said. “It’s a gamble, but for us, we’ll wait and see what happens.”
Last offseason, after Neil Walker accepted the Mets’ qualifying offer, the Mets only signed three other major league players.
One of them was Yoenis Cespedes who the team signed in late November. The other two were Blevins and Fernando Salas who they didn’t sign until early February.
The Mets were able to snag Blevins for $6.5 million after waiting out his market. That was even after he came off an excellent campaign in 2016 that included a 2.79 ERA, 1.214 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts in 42 innings and 73 appearances.
Perhaps the Mets could luck out again with a player or two in the next couple of months
“The seemingly tepid market so far for outfielder Jay Bruce could bring his contract expectations back from the four-to-five year range into their comfort zone of three years,” wrote Ackert.
“They may even be able to land a second baseman at a team-friendly rate,” she continued.
It is not 100 percent clear whether Alderson is truly playing the waiting game for better deals or if he is banking on a healthier team to play like it did in 2015 and 2016.
Either way, Alderson is gambling this offseason.
