It Sure Sounds Like the New York Mets Are Shopping In The Fruit and Nuts Section Again

New York Mets’ General Manager Sandy Alderson arrived in Orlando for the Winter Meetings, and he took the opportunity to address his team’s position in the Hot Stove Season. The fan base was lathered up after watching their cross town rivals essentially buy Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins. Alderson didn’t offer up much to calm down the masses, hinting at a very quiet winter for a team with a lot of needs.

Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights from Alderson’s talk with the media (hat tip to MetsBlog.com for more details):

• After bullpen targets Luke Gregerson and Brandon Morrow signed multi-year deals today, Alderson hinted that the Mets would re-evaluate their approach to the relief market. Alderson said that the Mets would look for value in the market and wouldn’t “jump into the inferno” that is forming around relievers. This is a clear reversal of the organization’s earlier position that it would act aggressively to land a quality reliever to help their bullpen.
• Alderson confirmed that Stanton’s massive contract was a non-starter for them, making it pointless for them to even pretend to be interested in acquiring him. When asked about whether the Mets could have used Stanton, Alderson joked that with Brandon Nimmo around the team had no room for Stanton.
• Alderson provided an update about Michael Conforto, indicating that he doesn’t expect the All Star outfielder to be ready for Opening Day. The Mets are preparing for Conforto to be ready in early May, but reports have indicated that he may be ahead of schedule in his rehab.
• After putting Dominic Smith on blast earlier this winter, Alderson reversed course again today, indicating that the Mets are still high on his long term potential. Alderson added that the team doesn’t expect to add a pure first baseman, such as Carlos Santana, to block Smith from playing first base. The Mets are still looking for a corner outfielder who can also play first base, giving themselves an insurance policy while giving Smith a chance to win a job in spring training.
• Asdrubal Cabrera will in all likelihood be the every day third baseman according to Alderson. The Mets have been looking for a second baseman almost all winter, and Alderson said that while they can look for a third baseman due to Cabrera’s versatility, they don’t want to move him if they don’t have to.
• Alderson again hinted that he isn’t planning on looking for a starting pitcher to beef up the team’s rotation. The Mets’ rotation struggled mightily last season, but Alderson described adding a starting pitcher as “fourth on a list of three” on the team’s priority list. Alderson believes the Mets have a better structure in place to keep their starters healthy, which would in turn boost their effectiveness.

This update from Alderson can be summed up in one word: Yikes. The Mets need a lot of pieces to actually try and contend in 2018, but instead of acting aggressively to fill their needs it sounds like Alderson is going to sit back and let the market come to him. That means the Mets can kiss the likes of Bryan Shaw, Jay Bruce, and other top free agents goodbye. An off season consisting of Adam Lind, Matt Albers, and re-signing Jose Reyes appears more likely, and that would be completely pathetic. It’s not surprising, however, especially when no one actually believed the franchise would spend all that money they saved in salary dump trades this summer. The Mets always grumble about how their fans accuse them of being cheap, but press briefings like this one do nothing to help change that perception. Until the Mets actually spend like a New York team consistently, they will have to put up with unhappy fans who doubt every word that comes out of Alderson’s mouth.