The Mets aren’t ready to trade most of their team just yet.
While there’s no doubt Jeff Wilpon was correct in pointing out the Mets have “definite deficiencies” on the roster heading into the offseason, general manager Sandy Alderson said Wednesday he believed the team’s COO was speaking “off the cuff” on Tuesday when he listed David Wright, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Zack Wheeler as the four players whose roles were solidified for 2014.
“I think there are other guys who would qualify to be on equal stature,” Alderson said.
He declined to come up with another list — that likely would include such players as Travis d’Arnaud and Bobby Parnell — but agreed with Wilpon considerable changes need to be made.
“We won 74 games last year, so that’s a starting point,” Alderson said. “That suggests that improvements are necessary.”
And while the GM echoed Wilpon’s sentiment he will be able to spend more freely in the coming months now that some of the team’s higher-priced players such as Johan Santana are gone, Alderson warned against expecting a spending spree.
“Finances are always an issue, with every team,” Alderson said. “But, certainly, we have a lot more flexibility than we’ve had in the past.”
Flexibility to use on a potentially long shopping list that could include, among other things, at least one outfielder, a shortstop and a starting pitcher.
Whether that includes big-ticket items such as outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, a Scott Boras client, remains to be seen. Wilpon hinted a trade for a player with an expensive contract could also be a possibility, but Alderson didn’t want to speculate so early in the offseason.
“We have much more room to maneuver than in recent years and I hope to take advantage of that maneuverability,” Alderson said.
As Wilpon noted Tuesday, that could take some time, perhaps until the GM meetings next month or even the Winter Meetings, which don’t begin until Dec. 9.
“We have to see how the market develops,” Alderson said. “We’ll know better what’s available at that point.”