The Mets’ offseason kept chugging along this week, highlighted by the GM Meetings in California. Though no signing or trades came during the meetings, there was plenty of bulletin-board material with regards to comments from Sandy Alderson to rumors abound.

GM Meetings

The GM meetings were this week from Tuesday to Thursday, and Sandy Alderson brought Ian Levin, Bryn Alderson and others to presumably lay the groundwork for trades and signings in the months to come.

The Mets haven’t settled on hiring a GM (more on that in a moment), so Alderson is essentially the primary decision maker for the team until they do. (It’s also assumed the Mets been spurned by front office executives because Alderson would be the final decision maker no matter who is in charge.) Because of this front-facing position he’s in with the lack of a GM, Alderson spoke to the media on Tuesday. He spoke about:

  • The shortcomings of the GM search
  • Robinson Cano returning to the team next season
  • The need for starting pitching

Alderson also traded sly jabs with Scott Boras, the super agent who represents, among other players, Michael Conforto. The outfielder reportedly declined his qualifying offer.) After Boras called Conforto the “King of Queens” and the “ace of many GMs’ hearts,” Alderson, with a smirk, called Boras’ comments a “blowhard in a house of cards.” Note: this will not affect their working relationship, as money always talks.

One positive out of the meetings was Mets brass met with Javier Baez’s camp, presumably to discuss a long-term deal. The Mets also reportedly met with Boras with regards to Kris Bryant.

MMO’s Mike Mayer, Sal Manzo and myself talked about the meetings on the latest Get Metsmerized podcast, too.

Adam Cromie & the GM Search

Adam Cromie, a former assistant general manager with the Nationals, bubbled to the surface of the Mets’ front office search this week.

Cromie left baseball four years ago to pursue a legal career with Jones Day, but he reportedly got far enough along in the process to get a face-to-face with owner Steve Cohen on Tuesday. It was assumed that if that meeting went well, Cromie would get the GM job, but it’s been five days since that meeting and his candidacy has seemingly cooled.

Another former Nationals AGM, Sam Mondry-Cohen, also arose as a candidate for a position in the front office, but it’s been mum on that front, as well.

Fall & Winter League Updates

Two of the Mets’ top prospects performed well in their offseason leagues this week.

In the Arizona Fall League, Brett Baty closed the week with two three-hit games for the Salt River Rafters, then with an appearance in the Arizona Fall League All-Star Game, where he went 1-for-3 with a double.

Ronny Mauricio, playing for the Tigres del Licey, is off to a 14-for-41 start in 12 games in the Dominican Winter League. He’s yet to walk, but he has a pair of doubles and home runs.

What’s Next

The deadline to accept a qualifying offer is Tuesday at 5 p.m., so those will officially be decided and paperwork filed by then. We know Conforto is declining, so Noah Syndergaard will have to make a decision. Across baseball, it’s been reported guys like Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager will decline their options. There are no reports of any player accepting the QO so far.

After that, there is the expectation there will be movement on larger headline players without a qualifying offer attached (Javier Báez, Kris Bryant, Robbie Ray) before the potential labor lockout, which would start after midnight on December 2. A player like Steven Matz, who attended the GM meetings and spoke with teams last week, could be looking at a deal soon, too.