Sandy Alderson spoke to the press after the Todd Frazier about the remainder of the offseason, in which he had this to say about what the team is looking for still:
“I think as long as the market is what it is, you’ve got to constantly keep your eyes open … I think right now we’re probably more curious about pitching than we are about position players.”
Alderson essentially admitted what recent reports had suggested that the team is looking into the idea of adding a starting pitcher and/or LOOGY option.
Over the last few days, the Mets have been connected to Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, and Jason Vargas to varying degrees.
After signing Todd Frazier, the Mets payroll currently projects to be $145 million which is only $10 million short of the payroll the team had last season.
If the Mets were to add both a LOOGY and starting pitcher, the team would almost certainly have to pass their club-record payroll from last season.
Earlier in the offseason, many reports had the Mets lowering payroll by potentially $20 million, but clearly, something has changed as that no longer appears to be the plan. Instead, it appears they are going to try and complete the team in areas they did not expect to address. Alderson said in November that a starter was the fourth priority on a list of three.
So why has this changed?
Nobody can tell for sure, but it is certainly possible that the Wilpons feel pressure to spend after hearing a large amount of fan backlash. Maybe this was really their plan all along?
Nobody knows and in all honesty, nobody probably cares about what has made them more willing to spend. Most people just care that it now appears they are going to spend and that they are likely going to spend more than they ever have in team history.
Making a team that is capable of contending is what matters to everyone. The Mets have to spend money to make that happen.
