Alderson: I Was “Never Told To Dump Payroll”

Speaking to reporters at Citi Field on Wednesday, Sandy Alderson said he was never told to dump payroll by the Mets owners, Fred and Jeff Wilpon.

He went on to say that the $9 million that was saved in trades involving Addison Reed, Jay Bruce, Neil Walker and Lucas Duda is not “earmarked” for next season and described the 2018 payroll as “flexible.”

As of now, the players under contract for next season include Yoenis Cespedes ($29 million), David Wright ($20 million), and Juan Lagares ($6.5 million). Jerry Blevins‘ $7 million club option is sure to be picked up, and adding in deferred salaries for Carlos Beltran, Bret Saberhagen, and of course Bobby Bonilla, that accounts for $67 million of payroll.

That $67 million does not include Asdrubal Cabrera‘s $8.5 million club option, or salaries the Mets will have to pay to other players via either contract renewals, arbitration or free agents. The biggest question marks are whether or not they pick up Cabrera’s option, and how much David Wright does or doesn’t play (if he doesn’t play but also doesn’t retire, his contract is insured).