Sandy Alderson isn’t making any promises about making any significant additions before Opening Day, but he also didn’t give a ringing endorsement of Frank Francisco as the Mets’ closer this season.
When asked yesterday if he was confident in Francisco going forward finishing games, the Mets general manager paused before answering.
“Confident? I’m willing,” Alderson said. “There’s still a lot out there and we’re looking.”
Several experienced — if fading — closers remain on the market. Jose Valverde and Francisco Rodriguez are included in that group, and Alderson chose not to comment on either.
His trepidation regarding Francisco is understandable, considering how poorly the 33-year-old performed last season after signing a two-year, $12 million deal. He had a 5.53 ERA and his season ended prematurely because of elbow inflammation.
Francisco underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow last month and is expected to be healthy for the upcoming season.
Of course, with the way the team looks right now, there might not be many opportunities for any closer to pick up a lot of saves.
But Alderson and the rest of the organization have made it clear this offseason has been more about positioning itself for the future beyond the 2013 season.
“We want to go to spring training with the best possible roster,” he said. “If that includes signing a major league free agent, so be it. So far, we’ve been unwilling to overpay for what’s available.”
After signing David Wright to an extension and sending R.A. Dickey to Toronto for a package of younger players, Alderson has been looking for help in the outfield and in the rotation, as well as the bullpen.
“We still have money to spend,” Alderson said. “We just haven’t seen anything that we need that’s at the right value for us.”
Alderson also said the team isn’t waiting on Scott Hairston before it makes other moves.
“There’s not one player whose time line is dictating what we do,” Alderson said. “We’re just monitoring the market. Things have a tendency to change as time goes on.”
The Mets have little choice but to hope he’s right.