PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets aren’t rebuilding, they are going through an “evolutionary process,” according to general manager Sandy Alderson. And evolution doesn’t speed up just because ownership no longer has a clawback lawsuit clouding its future.
A day after owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz agreed to a favorable $162 million settlement with the trustee for the victims in the Bernie Madoff scam, Alderson yesterday said the perception of the franchise has perhaps changed, but the front office’s plan to reload with young, affordable talent remains the same.
“We’re going through a process of redirection and sort of reinvigoration,” Alderson said. “That takes a little bit of time and a little bit of patience. But I do believe having put [litigation] behind us and the likelihood of major investment in the team allows us a greater array of options.
“The immediate impact on our payroll is going to be negligible. The last time I heard, Albert Pujols already had signed for 2012, so those opportunities are past us. [But] I do think the overall environment will be much more positive and allow us and fans to focus more on the team and less on the other externalities.”
Alderson indicated the decision to drop the payroll from $140 million in 2011 to about $90 million this year was more about evolution than uncertainty over what kind of payout ownership could be facing in a trial. He called last year’s payroll level “unsustainable” and cited the need for flexibility.
As part of Monday’s settlement, Wilpon and Katz can apply any money regained in their own $178 million clawback attempt to the $162 million they owe. Regardless, they won’t have to pay anything for at least three years. If a trial had proceeded, Wilpon and Katz could have been on the hook for as much as $386 million.
Ownership released a statement acknowledging they have repaid loans to Bank of America and MLB — which totaled $65 million. It came after the Mets closed deals to sell 12 shares of the team, raising $240 million in capital.
“I’m happy for the [Wilpon] family,” David Wright said. “They’ve obviously been through some ups and downs, and it’s good to see them happy and come out of this the way they hoped they would.”
Alderson said the skies above Citi Field are clearing, but aren’t sunny yet.
“We have to put a better product on the field, and ultimately that means winning,” he said. “Last year I think we made inroads into the overall perception of the team, but look, we finished with 77 wins. That’s the bottom line.
“In the offseason we didn’t make any acquisitions of significant note, Jose [Reyes] went to Miami — notwithstanding the return of a number of players — and the background noise of the Madoff litigation, it was the perfect storm. I think the clouds are parting, but at the same time we have to do a good job on the baseball side.”
Alderson wants the focus to be baseball, not the payroll.
“If that means it’s a product with $90 million payrolls or something else remains to be seen,” Alderson said. “But we’ve got to give people a reason to come back to the ballpark. That’s our mission.”