Adam Rubin of ESPN New York caught up with Sandy Alderson this morning at Citi Field who told him that the 2013 Opening Day roster will closely resemble the one at the end of 2012.
Rubin speculates that minus Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Kelly Shoppach, Andres Torres and possibly Scott Hairston, things are going to look very similar, a fact that even GM Sandy Alderson acknowledged:
“I would expect the roster will look similar to the way it did at the end of last year — with some exceptions,” Alderson said Tuesday. “It’s hard to speculate. When you think about it, the trade market, signing free agents and so forth, it’s relatively young in the season. It’s hard, really, to accurately predict where things will end up.”
With regard to payroll, Rubin adds that although David Wright reduced the amount he was owed in 2013 as part of his new deal, Jason Bay deferred money as part of his buyout and Mets officials swear the payroll can inch slightly higher in 2013. Still, Alderson acknowledged, the Mets may not use the available payroll.
“We’re not going to spend the money in mid-December just because we have it. We may spend it in January. We may spend it at some other time. We may not spend it.”
