According to Sandy Alderson, the Mets are unlikely to trade any of the team’s top young starters during the offseason. While the Mets will certainly be looking for upgrades on offense, Alderson thinks that dealing any of them will end up hurting the team unless somebody is willing to make them a great offer.
“I can’t see it happening,” Alderson said Wednesday about the quartet of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. “You never know what comes up. But I think it’s unlikely.”
“You have to look at: Are you improving the team or weakening the team? If you start talking about trading one of our starting pitchers, you have to be careful about weakening the team. We’re fairly resolute about what we’re going to do and not do with regard to those four, but we’ll see what happens.” (Adam Rubin, ESPN NY)
Alderson also added that the Mets have not ruled out the possibility of re-signing veteran right hander, Bartolo Colon. Colon won 14 games this season with a 4.16 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 31 starts. He was also a key piece in the bullpen during the playoffs as he dominated with a 2.08 ERA and seven strikeouts during 8.2 innings pitched.
“He proved in the postseason that he can pitch out of the pen,” Alderson said. “Whether he would do that on a full-time basis, or be a swing man/middle guy, or even step into the rotation in the event of injuries, I think we’re still open-minded about the possibility of Bartolo.” (Adam Rubin, ESPN NY)
It’s good to see that the Mets are open minded about Colon, but I doubt he would be willing to accept a bullpen role. Since he’s pitched so well over the past two years, I think someone will give him a secure starting job and pay him more money than the Mets will want to give.
