Mets fans felt mixed views on Thursday after Sandy Alderson admitted the club are still looking for new players, despite their already-burgeoning roster.
The general manager spoke to the Daily Pennsylvanian about life at Citi Field and revealed the club is still on the hunt for more players before Spring Training.
“The offseason develops over time in segments, and right now there are still a lot of players out there,” he said.
“The question with teams is: How much money do they have left and what are their needs?”
Alderson also insisted the club have ‘turned a corner’ on talent acquisition and payroll flexibility, and so his focus now was on winning baseball games.
This is all good news for Mets fans and those betting MLB World Series; few of us turn down the chance to greet a new player to Queens. But there is a real concern this roster may become overcrowded before the season begins.
As we found when comparing our 2013 roster to projected 2014, an extra arm has been added to our starting rotation (partly down to Matt Harvey’s absence until September), The addition of Daisuke Matsuzaka to compete with John Lannan and Jenrry Mejia for our final rotation spot made sense on many levels.
This leaves the question – who, if anyone, should Alderson bring in? New players like Bartolo Colon and Matsuzaka need time to settle, to know they are wanted and to not feel threatened by further arrivals. We played well last season and should build on that, not overhaul the entire roster.
The Wilpons got a reprieve from that massive $250 million debt payment originally due in June and when you couple that with what Alderson said, the message is that money is no longer the issue it once was.
But then why was it reported from a team source that the Mets were looking for a veteran reliever on a low base salary? Would such things matter to a team whose financial worries were in the rear view mirror as they would want us to believe?
Clearly there are still some mixed messages coming from the Mets. So, look out for some new signings if they happen, but do not be too disappointed if none materialize. The good news is that 2014 already looks more promising than last year, so let’s not get carried away.
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This Fan Shot was contributed by Alex J.. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 25,000 Mets fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to [email protected]. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.
