This Is What You Call “Bad Optics”

The Mets tried to be stealth and slip through an announcement of Sandy Alderson’s contract being renewed to remain the Mets GM. But nothing is quiet in Queens unless it’s the Winter Meetings.

“I feel that we have some unfinished business,” said Alderson, Baseball America’s Executive of the Year in 2015. “Spring training is around the corner and our quest to return to the postseason will continue.”

Mets fans were livid upon hearing this news. Who could blame them as this comes on the heels of a winter where the Mets were rumored to sign everybody and only signed Anthony Swarzak. It’s bad optics, plain and simple. But the optics are actually much worse than it seems, because if the criteria of a good general manager is as we know it to be, then the timing would be really strange. But Sandy Alderson has done exactly what the Wilpons have required of him. He has gone to a World Series while keeping the payroll at a decent level for them *from 7th in 2011 to 12th to start 2017), and he has gotten that payroll down lower this winter so far. Any further additions will most likely come with a corresponding move to shed payroll, and the Mets will get down to that $140 million figure. That $15 million they have left? They might not even use it at this point.

Never forget that Alderson was hand fed to the Wilpons in 2011. But also never forget that they signed off on it. Why did they sign off on Alderson? Because they knew he had experience working with a team that required a lower payroll. Why wouldn’t the Wilpons bring him back? Sandy may not work for you but he works for the owners, and that’s all that matters. That’s why the Mets are exploring options that don’t make sense like Adrian Gonzalez … because he costs so little. Now if they actually sign him, we can talk about that a little more, because there’s no guarantee that Gonzalez will want to come here and battle for playing time with Dominic Smith. But that’s neither here nor there.

The fact of the matter is: Sandy Alderson is here because he’s doing the bidding of the Wilpons. They don’t feel this offseason, or last offseason for that matter, is a failure. They have different criteria than we do. It’s the same reason a really good player would hire Scott Boras as their agent … because they want the biggest contract that they can get regardless of what team they go to (Stephen Strasburg being a rare exception). The Wilpons enjoyed the back-to-back postseason trips. They also are enjoying what Alderson is doing with the payroll as they are still paying off debt, and not even a World Series trip could have fixed that.

All I’m saying is this: Complain about Alderson all you want. He’s done some good things, he’s done some bad things. And it’s debatable whether the organization is better off now than it was when he took over. But remember this: Alderson, Omar Minaya, Jim Duquette and Steve Phillips all had one common thread: Ownership. All those former GM’s can’t all be that bad. If they are, remember who hired them. And remember who really runs baseball operations.