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2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

Benjamin Grimm May 28 2013 07:33 AM

Alderson: NY Mets could be buyers in July, finally By Andy Martino For all of Sandy Alderson’s tenure, the Mets have acted as sellers at the trade deadline and even in the offseason. With an eye toward the future, the GM has moved Carlos Beltran, Francisco Rodriguez, and R.A. Dickey for minor leaguers. But while the Mets will not contend this year, they are open to trading prospects for big league stars as soon as July; sources have suggested this for months, and the GM went on the record with it Monday. Speaking before Game 1 of the Subway Series at Citi Field, Alderson would not discuss specific players or scenarios, but confirmed that his team is open to adding big leaguers this time, rather than restocking the farm system. "We will see how the market develops, but yes," the GM told the Daily News. "It’s a possibility. It depends on what is available. I have been involved in deals in the past whose first consideration was not the current season but the following season...The possibility of making an acquisition that has implications not just for the second half of this season? Yes." Heading into this Subway Series, the obvious themes involved the Yankees performing better than expected, and the Mets playing even worse. But let’s go counterintuitive here, with Alderson’s comments in mind, and ask if the Queens team is the one with brighter days ahead this summer, while the Yankees are draining their allotment of luck during these spring months. Let me be very clear: The Yankees will finish with a significantly better record than the Mets. But a midseason acquisition, if available (and Alderson notes that "with the second wild card there are more buyers than sellers, so we will have some competition there"), would provide a lift to which the team is not accustomed. We have reported in the past that the Mets are big-game hunting for top outfielders in the Giancarlo Stanton/Carlos Gonzalez category, depending on who becomes available. In talking to Mets people on Monday, it was clear that remained true, and that a midseason trade would not preclude the team from pursuing a free agent like Shin-Soo Choo this winter. "(Justin) Upton and Michael Bourn interested us last winter," said one team source, "in part because it’s hard to build an entire outfield in one offseason." With that in mind, the Mets will explore every possibility of adding top talent before July 31, and signing another guy after the season. The front office also sees the benefit of engineering a dramatic, star-powered move in the midst of a demoralizing phase for players and fans. "We are in a position now where that could make sense," said one team official. Alderson also noted the expected emergence this summer of pitcher Zack Wheeler and catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who is injured but still considered promising. Those prospects could provide a late-season lift, creating an inversion of every Met season since 2010, which were interesting in the first half, and dead after the All-Star break. And players like Jon Niese, Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada have to be a little better, don’t they? Plus, as one Met put it Monday, "There’s not one guy in here, other than David (Wright), who is guaranteed a job next year, so we’ll all be playing our asses off." Over on the Yankees side, there is reason for anxiety, though certainly not resignation. The team has ridden an aging rotation for nearly two months, but now Andy Pettitte is on the disabled list, and CC Sabathia is still missing his fastball, while hardly pitching like an ace. The Lyle Overbay-Vernon Wells-Travis Hafner bubble might not burst entirely, but it has to deflate a little. The Yankees have shown us enough to believe that they will remain relevant, but logic suggests periods of struggle ahead. The Mets will not contend, of course -- but as Alderson and other team sources said, they will spend the coming weeks actively exploring ways to finish with significantly more life than they have shown so far.

Ceetar May 28 2013 07:46 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

GM speak. he's said the same the past few years. it will be what it will be.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 28 2013 07:47 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

This would be the kind of year to add a Keith Hernandez at the deadline.

Vic Sage May 28 2013 07:48 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

blah blah blah tell fans what they want to hear blah blah blah give them false hope to sell tickets blah blah blah

Edgy MD May 28 2013 07:51 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: This would be the kind of year to add a Keith Hernandez at the deadline. Or on June 15, which should be called the Keithline. Seriously, though, Sandy couldn't have minced his words more, so I won't conclude one thing or another, or feel lied to if it doesn't break the way I want it to. But I imagine this non-statement should trigger about a thousand words from Megdal.

metirish May 28 2013 07:53 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

Alderson is a total bullshit artist.

batmagadanleadoff May 28 2013 08:00 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

Yeah right. Like they'll be able to get Stanton and get to keep Wheeler and d'Arnaud. They'll have to give up two Zack Wheelers to get Stanton. At least. I have no faith in this loser front office to do anything right. This is either more bullshit or eff Wilpon can't stay the course for a proper rebuild and the lack of incoming revenue will force him to give in and do a half assed rebuld where he thinks he can rebuild and compete at the same time.

Vic Sage May 28 2013 08:02 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

But who is the Daryl/Doc combo on the Mets to which they added Keith? Harvey? Maybe; it's still early, but maybe. But who's the young Darryl? D'Anaud? So far he hasn't been healthy enough the last 2 seasons to know. There is no other young hitter at any level of the organization that you could think of as a can't miss blue chip prospect. Maybe Nimmo, but he's too far away. And they would need to get a power-hitting Ofer or leadoff type on this side of 30, with a few years left on a contract or still under team control (arbitration, etc) to make it worth doing. When those players have been available in the past, they've always been too expensive for the Mets. "We tried", "we made a good offer", or whatever other excuse they gave for coming up short. I anticipate a lot of that kind of excuse-making to continue under the Wilpon regime.

batmagadanleadoff May 28 2013 08:03 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

metirish wrote: Alderson is a total bullshit artist. He's just a puppet. A total tool.

Ceetar May 28 2013 08:04 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Yeah right. Like they'll be able to get Stanton and get to keep Wheeler and d'Arnaud. They'll have to give up two Zack Wheelers to get Stanton. At least. I have no faith in this loser front office to do anything right. This is either more bullshit or eff Wilpon can't stay the course for a proper rebuild and the lack of incoming revenue will force him to give in and do a half assed rebuld where he thinks he can rebuild and compete at the same time. you can ignore the Stanton bit ,since that's basically Martino tooting his own horn from early in the Spring. I imagine all Alderson is saying is he knows he needs players, and if the players he needs become available midseason he's got no problem acquiring them then instead of trying to find them all in the offseason.

Edgy MD May 28 2013 08:05 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

He didn't say anything except that if the right deal is available he would pursue it. If it's not there, it's not there. Nobody needs an excuse.

Benjamin Grimm May 28 2013 08:07 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

I think this line is interesting, from the unnamed source: "It’s hard to build an entire outfield in one offseason." Since it's quite possible that the Mets will need two, perhaps even three new outfielders for 2014, it would make sense to get one of those guys in July or August, if they can. This acquisition wouldn't have to be (and probably wouldn't be) a Giancarlo Stanton. I didn't read this article as saying that the Mets would make a big move that would make them contenders in 2013. I think it means that if they make a deal, they're more likely than in previous years to try to get someone who's already in the big leagues, not someone who's a year or two away. Anyone who runs out and buys tickets as a reaction to this fuzzy article is reading way too much into it.

batmagadanleadoff May 28 2013 08:09 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

Edgy MD wrote: He didn't say anything except that if the right deal is available he would pursue it. If it's not there, it's not there. Nobody needs an excuse. And that's newsworthy?

Edgy MD May 28 2013 08:12 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

It is to Andy Martino and his editor, apparently. The guy can either hide from the media or give obscure answers to a scenario that could play out any number of ways. He's not going to tip his hand. Making news out of ambiguous quotes is somebody else's job. I'm not the one who ran with the story, though.

MFS62 May 28 2013 08:21 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

I'm thinking Grady Sizemore will be more than a possibility if he proves his knees are OK after surgery and rehab. Later

metirish May 28 2013 08:39 AM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

I was going to scoff at your Sizemore suggestion thinking he must be late 30's by now, he's only 30! Seems like he has been around forever .

smg58 May 28 2013 12:17 PM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

We don't have the means to deal for an All-Star in his prime and still have a farm system. Hell, we owe whatever farm system we have to trading a few of our own All-Stars. Bringing in an outfielder who merely deserves to be on a major league team would be an upgrade, though, so there's really no reason to be all-or-nothing about this.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 28 2013 12:45 PM Re: 2013 Mets - Buyers, not Sellers?

Even moreso than most tab writers, it does seem like Martino's very much a get-it-out-there-quick guy, doesn't it? (A perfect fit for the Twitt-era, he notes wryly.)