Mets GM Sandy Alderson was a guest on WOR 710 this evening, and he weighed in on a variety of topics with radio host Pete McCarthy.
Obviously, chief among everything was the team’s status with free agent Yoenis Cespedes. Here’s a basic rundown of what he had to say…
Right off the bat, it was surprising to learn that the Mets have had no direct contact with Cespedes who went into silence mode right after the wild card game ended. However, he recently reached out to the organization via text just to say that he still has a desire to return.
Alderson believes that the team is in a better position to sign Cespedes than they were last year at this time. While he hopes that both sides can get something done, free agency makes things a little bit more to predict this year compared to last for a variety of reasons including a less bloated market for sluggers and Cespedes is now more of a known factor as to what you can expect production wise.
“I think we’re gonna have to wait a while to see how this turns out. But I think he wants to be back.”
Sandy completely understands how important signing Cespedes is to Mets fans as the cries for Yo are nearly inescapable. He also wants to dispel the talk that his love of golf is an issue. It in fact is not an issue and he can play golf whenever he wants during his leisure time.
Sandy would like to have some resolution before the end of the Winter Meetings one way or another.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mike Puma of the NY Post reported that three other teams besides the Mets are in the market for Cespedes and that a deal could be done by early December. Some of the buzz out there has the Washington Nationals as one of those teams.
Sandy brought up the name of Jose Bautista when asked if the Mets had any fallback options should they fail to sign Cespedes. Last week it was reported that the Mets reached out to Bautista and that they have an open dialog.
I still believe that in the end, the Mets will do what it takes to re-sign Cespedes even if it means giving him the fifth year that he craves. A four year deal for Bautista would be an exponentially awful idea when compared to five years for Cespedes.
Additionally, Cespedes loves New York, the fans and his teammates. He has his ranch a stone’s throw away from the Mets spring training home in Port St. Lucie, he is treated like royalty by the staff, and he truly enjoys being the focal point of the Mets offense.
A few more things that Sandy discussed…
Even if Yoenis Cespedes comes back, Michael Conforto is going to have a bigger role next season and the plan is that he’ll be an everyday player against both right and left handed pitching. He’ll only sit against the toughest southpaws Sandy said.
That leads us to Jay Bruce who has left an extremely sour taste in Sandy’s mouth. You could really tell it was a sore subject and at one point he even used Bruce as evidence to dispel the myth of clutch hitting. Paraphrasing here… “What was he batting like .400 with RISP when we traded for him? How did that work out?” That was too funny. Bruce is as good as gone.
Sandy said Wright has put on some pounds, but is still not cleared for baseball activities. They are counting on him to play third base next season, but if it doesn’t work out that way, he is glad the infield has so much flexibility with Jose Reyes, Wilmer Flores and even Asdrubal Cabrera who could play third if needed.
And speaking of flexibility, Sandy said that when Neil Walker called him to accept the qualifying offer, he said he would be willing to play all four infield positions and he’ll even play in the outfield if that’s what the team wants. Thanks, but no thanks Neil…
That’s all she wrote…
