INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — If the Mets are stuck to shopping in the “freezer section” of the supermarket, as agent Scott Boras recently suggested, maybe they can afford an additional TV dinner this offseason.
Before departing the general managers meetings yesterday, Mets GM Sandy Alderson acknowledged his club will have more payroll flexibility this offseason than originally anticipated, but declined to say how much.
“There’s a little more leeway,” said Alderson, who previously had pegged the Mets’ payroll for next season at about $100 million.
Alderson cited Jason Bay’s buyout — the outfielder agreed to receive deferred payments on the $21 million he is still owed, ending his tenure with the club — and a “variety of other possibilities” for the extra cash.
Even so, don’t expect the Mets to suddenly be in play for major free agents.
Alderson said this offseason could be similar to his first two with the club, in which the Mets shopped the discount outlets.
“I think we’re going to have to be realistic about the level of player we can acquire, subject to some other thing happening, some other development in the Winter Meetings,” Alderson said.
“We’re working to create more flexibility for ourselves, and I would think we will achieve some of that, but I think also you may find us being as or more patient than we have in the past.”
The Mets’ best path to filling gaps in the outfield and catcher remains trading either R.A. Dickey or Jon Niese, but Alderson also is hesitant to go that route.
With the club confident a long-term extension with David Wright will soon be finalized and Ike Davis no longer in play to be dealt, the Mets have few trade chips outside the rotation.
A team official yesterday said the Mets would be reluctant to trade Daniel Murphy because of the hole it would create at second base. The organization is pleased with the progress Murphy made in learning the position last season and doesn’t view Jordany Valdespin highly enough to assume everyday duties there.
As disappointed as the organization was with catcher Josh Thole’s performance last season, the official predicted Thole would return, probably in a platoon role or as a backup.
“It’s going to be hard enough to find one catcher — how are we going to get two?” the official said when asked about Thole’s return.
The Mets also signed catcher Mike Nickeas to a minor league contract yesterday.
Alderson said if the Mets don’t trade a starting pitcher to acquire more talent, the team would try to acquire players with minor league prospects.
“[And] there will be the free-agent market, which we have tapped the last couple of years, sort of the bottom end,” Alderson said. “So we have plenty of options, but starting pitching is our strength. But we would like it to be our strength in ’13, ’14 and ’15 also.
“It’s a good place to start building a team, so we want to be a little bit careful about who we trade, particularly those who are going to be valuable to us for more than one year, and I would include [Dickey] in that.”