NASHVILLE, Tenn. — David Wright is a believer.
The All-Star third baseman ultimately had 138 million good reasons to commit his long-term future to the Mets, but yesterday said negotiations never would have reached that point if he didn’t believe the struggling franchise could recover.
The team’s general manager, Sandy Alderson, said all the right things to Wright during a “brutally honest” conversation following an October golf outing near Wright’s home in Norfolk, Va., culminating in a new deal.
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“After hearing the conviction, the plan moving forward, I was all in,” Wright said yesterday in explaining his decision to sign an eight-year contract worth $138 million — which includes a no-trade clause — that will allow him to finish his career with the Mets.
Following several weeks of negotiations, the deal was completed early Friday, after Wright and the Mets reached agreement concerning the amount of deferred money in the contract.
What is the organization’s plan? Wright, who turns 30 this month, was assured by COO Jeff Wilpon the team won’t be sold anytime soon and there will be a commitment to gradually increase payroll while bolstering the minor league system.
“The payroll is going to go up this year and Sandy knows the flexibility he has, and then next year when some things roll off the books we will go even higher,” Wilpon said.
“[Wright] wanted to make sure I was going to be around or if there was truth about selling the team. As I’ve said from the beginning, we’re not going anywhere.”
Wright, speaking at the Winter Meetings, said he is satisfied there is a commitment from ownership and the front office to winning.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a $200 million payroll,” he said. “But it means that they have the means necessary to go out and add players and better this team.”
As part of the deal, Wright next season will take a cut from the $16 million he was scheduled to earn in 2013, giving the Mets additional payroll flexibility. Final details of the deferment were being worked out last night, but the Mets were expected to receive at least $5 million of additional payroll flexibility for 2013.
Wright said throughout the negotiations he never allowed himself to consider the possibility he would be anywhere but with the Mets.
“It wouldn’t be as meaningful if I were to win somewhere else,” Wright said. “This is something that from Day 1, I’ve been completely honest that I want to be here, through the good times, through the bad times and it just feels like there is so much unfinished business and I would like to finish what I’ve started.”
Though the Mets have finished fourth in the NL East the last four years, Alderson said Wright shared his vision of blending young talent with free agents to build a winner. Wright told The Post last summer the Nationals were a model franchise because of that approach.
“I think [Wright] was increasingly comfortable over time that we were getting there, if not by leaps and bounds, but consistently, and I think he wanted to be a Met,” Alderson said. “He wanted to be convinced, so that was a big part of it. He wants to be on a winning team — we all do, including ownership.
“Answering those questions I can only be as honest as I can be and it’s more than talking about it. He had to assess over time what was happening and whether that was likely to be successful or likely to continue.”