NASHVILLE, Tenn. —- In the end, David Wright says he was convinced by general manager Sandy Alderson during an October golf visit the Mets are headed in the right direction.
Alderson and Wright had a “brutally honest” conversation near the third baseman’s home in Norfolk, Va., planting the seeds for a new agreement.
“After hearing the conviction, the plan moving forward, I was all in,” Wright said Wednesday at the Winter Meetings in explaining his decision to sign an eight-year contract worth $138 million that will allow him to finish his career with the Mets.
After several weeks of negotiations, the deal was completed early Friday morning, after Wright and the Mets reached agreement concerning the amount of deferred money in the contract.
What is the organization’s plan? Wright was assured by COO Jeff Wilpon that the team won’t be sold anytime soon and there will be a commitment to gradually increasing the payroll while building a 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 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,” Wright said. “But it means that they have the means necessary to go out and add players and better this team.”
Alderson said the fact Wright wanted to remain with the Mets long-term made it easy convincing him to stay.
“He wants to be on a winning team – we all do by the way, including ownership” Alderson said. “So answering those questions I can only be as honest as I can be. It’s more than talking about it. He had to assess over time what was happening and if that was likely to be successful or likely to continue.”
mpuma@nypost.com