It has been over two years since Sandy Alderson formally met with the New York media. The last time we saw Alderson, he was stepping down from his role as the the team’s general manager, a position he held for nine years.
Alderson was taking a leave of absence to get treatment for cancer, but took the opportunity to fall on his sword for a Mets team that had underperformed.
“With respect to the future,” Alderson said, “I would say two things: One is that notwithstanding the good prognosis, my health is an uncertainty going forward. Secondly, if I were to look at it on the merits, I’m not sure that coming back is warranted.”
Now fast-forwarding 29 months later, Alderson is back with the Mets, where he will serve as team president under new owner Steve Cohen.
The tone of these two press conferences could not be juxtaposed any greater, as the somber Alderson of the past has been replaced with an exuberant executive, brimming with the possibilities that lie ahead.
Here are some of the key takeaway’s from Alderson’s return speaking to the media on Tuesday.
Working With Steve Cohen
When asked why he was returning to the Mets at 72 years old, Alderson’s response was pretty simple.
“Because of Steve.”
He answered this multiple times throughout his near hour-long media session, as he could not speak any higher of the Mets new owner.
Alderson has been speaking with Cohen multiple times everyday for some time now, as the two men have been anxiously planning their next steps to lead the Mets. He described a very healthy dialogue that has existed with Cohen, in which Alderson has been able to teach the new owner about the baseball industry.
“He’s a total professional and he’s had a lot of experiences in baseball and I’ve got a lot to learn. I can’t think of a better person to learn from.” Cohen said of Alderson
Part of the reason that Cohen hired Alderson for this role is his great experience not only in baseball, but also with the Mets specifically. Alderson is returning to a role he is familiar with, although he now has more freedom to express and put his own ideas into motion.
“I think intellectually this is going to be real challenge for me. Steve is so animated and into it, and I think in a positive way.”
While Cohen is certainly going to be involved in the decision-making process, he is also set to let the baseball people run baseball operations.
“As he said he’s got a day job. He probably needs that day job to pay for some of the potential losses we have with the Mets. From my standpoint that’s a good thing.” Alderson said.
Constructing a New Front Office
Over the last few weeks, we have gotten some sense of how the Mets will be structured moving forward. Alderson is not planning on running baseball operations himself, and will instead look to make some key hires that will run the show on a day-to-day basis.
“I’m not going to make the baseball decisions. I expect to have seat at the table, but I don’t expect to be seated at the head of the table.” Alderson explained.
On Saturday, Alderson conducted his first interview with a candidate to become the new president of baseball -operations. While he did not indicate who that candidate was, Alderson did make it seem like a hire would be made sooner rather than later.
“This shouldn’t take a long time. Wouldn’t want to put a time limit on it, but we understand it’s important to get people in place.”
While they wait to find their new leader of baseball ops, the Mets still have a small front office of incumbents in place that can run the show in the meantime. Alderson has been communicating with these people for about an hour every day, while already speaking to the agents of free agents, as well as player’s currently on the roster.
Before building out a new front office, Cohen and Alderson felt it was best to clean house from the past regime to start fresh. Alderson decided to do this before a new executive was hired, allowing this new baseball head to build out a team of people that they would like to work with.
It is important for there to be cohesion in the decision-making process and how individuals interact plays a key role in that collaboration. Alderson believes the new president of baseball operations is the most important hire and everything else will fall into place from there.
‘What we are looking for is the most accomplished baseball person we can find. And from there the rest of the structure will flow. It’s very possible we will have a general manager beneath that person. But I think we are going to allow that person to have some input for how that structure is ultimately created.”
Differences Between Owners
If there is one word to describe Sandy Alderson, professional is one of the first that comes to mind. With that being said, Alderson was not going to go out of his way to rip the past regime of the Wilpons and Saul Katz.
Still, there were instances where it was clear that Alderson pointed to past grievances with the former owners.
“It’s really about changing the underlying perception so that when things happen, they aren’t interpreted consistently negatively.”
Alderson mentioned that when he started in New York, he noticed advertising campaigns that were geared towards the ineptitude of the Mets. For years, he tried to push back against that notion, but was unable to bring the franchise towards sustained respectability.
“You don’t change perception, without some sort of consistently successful message.”
With the way that this press conference went today, it appears public perception of the Mets is rapidly shifting. There is now a great chance that the Mets find the type of long-term success that makes them a desirable destination for players and executives around the industry.
“Suddenly, overnight, I think people are interested in working for the Mets who were perhaps not before. I think players are interested in playing for the Mets.” Alderson said.
Now that Cohen is in place, the Mets suddenly have the financial flexibility to explore all avenues to improve. These increased capabilities are attractive to Alderson, as he tries to build out a winner in Queens.
“Today, given what we want to achieve. It’s not about how much less we can get someone for. It’s about getting somebody. We now can emphasis the acquisition, rather than the cost.”
Alderson referenced the Cleveland Indians decision to waive reliever Brad Hand as the type of move the Mets couldn’t make before, but now could take advantage of. Owed $10 million next season, Hand could have been had by any team that claimed him on waivers.
Unfortunately the sale wasn’t far enough along at that point for the Mets to make that move, but in the future that is an opportunity Alderson thinks they will jump on.
“We are going to make sure we have enough meat and potatoes, but we are going to be shopping at the gourmet section as well.”
When asked about how it feels to be shopping in the gourmet section? Alderson replied, “I don’t know, I got to find where it is.”
While he was careful not to speak despairingly about the Wilpons, it was evident that Alderson believes the Mets are heading in a different direction under new ownership.
“There is no question that their ownership styles will differ. There is no question that there will be differences in the way we operate. Differences in our emphasis. Differences in our sheer capacity to do things. But what brought me back was Steve. I think there are immense possibilities in connection with this team.”
Building Out the Current Roster
Considering the fact that Steve Cohen put a three-to-five year window on when he would like to win his first World Series, the Mets are clearly in win-now mode.
Luckily they head into the offseason with a strong roster to build from, largely due to Alderson’s past regime with the club.
“I think we have real strengths. From an offensive standpoint, there’s definitely some first division, championship pieces. Jacob deGrom is by definition an ace. He’s the definition of Cy Young,” Alderson said.
On the other hand, the Mets also have some holes on their roster that need to be filled, as their pitching staff is among the top areas of concern heading into free agency.
“We need to shore up some positions. Our pitching staff is thin. Our depth at AA and AAA is thin or thinner. The bullpen has been inconsistent.”
Alderson also noted a need to add catching and overall team defense along with the pitching. He even took part blame in the Mets defensive woes, as they prioritized offense during his tenure as GM.
“There is a foundation. And if we can add the right pieces. We can be pretty good, pretty quickly and that’s my goal for 2021.”
Passion for the New York Mets
While we need not harp on Sandy Alderson’s age, it is fair to wonder how much this long-time baseball executive has left in the tank. Alderson is taking on a very prominent role at a time where retirement could have been on the table.
Instead it seems like Steve Cohen has rejuvenated Alderson with this opportunity to run the Mets.
“The Mets are a storied franchise if you will. Some of the stories have been good some of the stories have been bad. If we want to be an iconic franchise, which I think we are capable of doing, we have to write more good stories than bad and occasionally we have to write a really epic story.”
For Alderson this a chance to finish what he started when he took over as the team’s GM in 2010. From the time that he took the position, Alderson built the Mets into a respectable organization with one of the better farm systems in baseball.
Eventually the young pitching prospects he accumulated made it to the big league level and the Mets were able to compete at the highest level in 2015 when they won the pennant and went to the World Series.
“I don’t go back to the Polo Grounds in my relationship with the Mets.” Alderson said referencing Cohen’s long-standing love of the Mets. But Alderson cares too.
“Probably my most memorable moment is Wilmer Flores hitting the ball out on a Friday night. I’m a late comer to the game as it relates to the Mets, but I am no less invested. Not only in terms of my professional commitment but also emotionally.”
Alderson is not committing to another decade at the helm running the Mets, but he is excited about the opportunity to build something special in New York over the next few years.
“I’ve committed to a couple of years. It’s open-ended.” Alderson said. “I don’t want to die with my boots on. I think this is going to be a great couple of years. We’ll see where this goes.”
From everything we heard from both Alderson and Cohen today, I think we are all waiting in anticipation to see where this goes.
