Jeff Wilpon spoke to the media today before their final game of the season against the Miami Marlins. In that press conference, the owner touched on a variety of topics including the team’s next GM and roster construction in 2019.
The biggest thing of note in the press conference might have been the blame game that he played against the front office led by Sandy Alderson, who he claims largely is responsible for the team’s lack of spending.
Wilpon said that the reason that the team has not spent heavily on the free agent market over the last few years was largely due to Alderson’s recommendation not to. He claims that Alderson also recommended that the organization not utilize resources to expand the analytics department.
When asked about whether or not that would change in the future he said that will largely depend on the new GM’s decision about whether or not they want to.
That remained the tone of the remainder of the press conference as he said the new GM will decide on the coaching staff and front office configuration as well. However, Wilpon would like to see Omar Minaya, John Ricco, and J.P. Ricciardi as well as Mickey Callaway and his staff return in 2019. He did admit that they are all “part of the failure this year,” though.
Speaking of which, Wilpon further said that none of the three current acting GM’s will be next in line to hold down the possession solely in the long-term as the new GM or President of Baseball Operations will be a fresh face, with the old school vs. analytics-driven personnel still up for debate. The COO did say that it likely will end up being somewhat of a “hybrid” between the two.
The team plans to start interviewing candidates next week, but are under the impression the search could last past the GM Meetings in November. If that does happen, the triumvirate of Ricco, Ricciardi, and Minaya will be in charge of starting the Mets offseason for the new guy.
Lastly, Wilpon talked about payroll and who the team could pursue which he largely deferred to the new GM. However, he made it clear there is no finite number for the payroll at this time and did not comment on whether the team will receive any payroll relief as a result of insurance policies for David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes. Wilpon cited a right-handed bat, the bullpen, catcher, and another infielder as positions of need this offseason.
