With the General Managers Meetings at a close, Assistant GM John Ricco and his small entourage return home to Flushing where they will speak to Sandy Alderson and discuss all the things they’ve learned and any information that was gathered.
“We’re still kind of thinking about what the best direction would be based on what we’ve learned,” Ricco said. “We’re always ready to make a move, but given the fact we played all the way up until a week ago and we’re still kind of digesting the information we got here.”
Nobody expected anything to happen in Boca Raton, Florida as the Mets made it clear that the team needed clarification on the Daniel Murphy situation first, before they could begin the task of reconstructing roster for the 2016 season.
Murphy must decide today by 5:00 PM, if he intends to accept or decline his qualifying offer from the Mets. Once that domino falls we should start hearing more substantive rumors and perhaps even see the front office make a deal or announce a signing.
“We had a lot of different meetings. We were able to get a pretty clear idea on some clubs… We also met with agents for the key players we think might be fits. So we head back. We’ll regroup with Sandy back in New York and further define the plan for the offseason” Ricco explained before heading to the airport.
There was one juicy rumor regarding the Mets during the meetings. But that one had a shelf life of about three hours and ended when the Braves dealt shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Angels.
The Mets did their due diligence and checked in with the Braves, but Atlanta had no intentions of dealing their All-World defensive star within the division and made the Amazins an offer they could refuse, and they did.
One takeaway from the GM Meetings was that many teams checked in with the Mets and inquired about the young starting pitching. Ricco told reporters they were a hot commodity, but cautioned that neither of them were being shopped. The answer was no, he said. “We told them it was very unlikely.”
The Mets have no plans to trade Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard or Steven Matz, and even Zack Wheeler isn’t expected to be dealt.
“I hear a lot about our pitching. I think that opened some people’s eyes. I think everybody kind of knew we had some talent coming and had talent in the system, but when it got to the big leagues and did what it did and got us to the World Series, it validated a lot of things.”
At the Safe at Home Dinner in Manhattan last night, Don Mattingly, Brian Cashman and David Cone raved about the Mets’ starting pitchers.
“They’re in a good spot, without a doubt,” said Cone. “When you have that many power arms, it’s a good foundation to build from. They’re the envy of both leagues right now with that kind of starting pitching.” (Daily News)
“That is where great teams are built — on the mound,” Mattingly added. “You can talk about offense, whatever, but they’ve got good, young starting pitching that’s going to be controllable and in the house for a while. They’re going to be a handful.”
“They have got what a lot of people want,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “They have got some high-end of what a lot of people want, and it’s controllable, which is envious.”
It’s great to hear how much respect other teams have for our starting pitching, clearly the Mets are well situated in the rotation for years to come.
That’s why it’s imperative we take advantage of this window to field the best team we can with an offense that can provide the run support we need, and a bullpen that can protect our leads.
These next two months represent the most important offseason in ten years for the Mets. It is imperative that they get the job done and put us back in the postseason in 2016. And I believe they will when all is said and done.
