Until the Mets add a legitimate piece to their roster this offseason, skepticism will surround general manager Sandy Alderson’s vow to spend.
One agent recently summed up the Mets over Alderson’s three-year tenure: “The thing with the Mets is they’re interested in everybody and interested in nobody.”
Alderson is on the clock to make at least a ripple, if not a splash, this winter.
Three things we learned from the GM meetings
- The Mets won’t dole out a $100 million contract
Alderson cited “payroll concentration” as the reason the Mets will avoid chasing the highest-priced free agents. The team is expected to have a payroll around $90 million next season, but wouldn’t want nearly half that amount tied up in two players. As it stands, David Wright is scheduled to make $20 million next year.
“If you want to look at the data, the way we look at data and associate winning teams with payroll concentration, you realize there are limits to how effective an overall team can be with your payroll concentrated in a small number of players,” Alderson said. “It’s not an absolute rule, but it’s a pretty clear correlation. It’s a function of how much you have to spend.”
- Teams are interested in Ike Davis and Lucas Duda
At least six teams have expressed some level of interest in one first baseman or the other, according to a club source. Davis probably has the higher trade value — he did hit 32 home runs in 2012 — and seems more likely to be dealt.
If Duda remains, the Mets would love to bury him in the batting order and see what kind of numbers he can produce when little is expected from him. But to get Duda away from the middle of the lineup, the Mets need two decent options to complement Wright.
- Bargains will be hard to find
The fact Marlon Byrd received a two-year contract from the Phillies worth $16 million — with a vesting option for 2016 — tells you where this market is headed. Mets officials, with maybe as much as $40 million to spend, are concerned they will get priced out on players such as Curtis Granderson and Nelson Cruz — both of whom are power-hitting corner outfielders, which are at a premium this winter. The Mets began the offseason wanting a backup catcher, but that could become more of a luxury based on what it may cost just to acquire two-to-three starting position players and another pitcher.
Three names to watch
- Jhonny Peralta
Team executives have met with the veteran shortstop, who has emerged as maybe the Mets’ most realistic free-agent option. But the fact Peralta served a 50-game suspension last season for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal should serve as something of a warning flag.
- Phil Hughes
The right-hander could be a perfect back-of-the-rotation type pickup as he tries to resurrect a once-promising career. Hughes is a fly-ball pitcher who certainly would embrace pitcher-friendly Citi Field.
- Corey Hart
If Davis or Duda is traded, Hart would be the perfect complement for the other as part of a first-base platoon. But to get their money’s worth, the Mets would first have to be sure Hart, who underwent surgery on both knees this year and missed the entire season, also is capable of playing the outfield on a part-time basis.