Sandy Alderson is extremely happy with the Spring the Mets have had, and what he likes most is the camaraderie between the players and how they’ve invested in each other. He credits Mike Barwis and Kevin Long for some of that. He’s also very happy with the Mets record in Spring Training
Alderson said that the Mets will likely go with three lefthanders in the bullpen, saying it is very possible. He made the deal for two established lefthanders with Sean Gilmartin in mind because there was no real track record with him and he was kind of a wild card. So they wanted to address getting an experienced primary and secondary lefty specialist while they see what they have in Gilmartin.
As far as signing players to extensions it’s more about service time and less about age. “It reflects our interest in keeping our players together, and I think it reflects an interest on the part of the players in wanting to stay with the Mets.”
Alderson would like to have a little more balance on the bench with only one lefty bat in Kirk Nieuwenhuis. But in the end he prefers to just go with the best and most talented players they have and that’s what’s more important.
Sandy says it’s going to be a very tough division this season between the Nationals, Mets and Marlins. But he’s happy that the perception is changing about the Mets as a competitive team.
