Alderson pleased with winter meetings deals
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson acquired four new players while at the winter meetings, a centerfielder and three relievers. (undated file photo) Credit: Jim McIsaac
DALLAS -- Shortly before leaving the winter meetings, Sandy Alderson discovered Thursday that his Mets were not the only team to lose a beloved homegrown star to free agency this week. The defection of Albert Pujols to the Angels for a stunning 10-year deal worth $254 million was the talk of the hotel lobby, and for Alderson, there seemed to be comfort in knowing he was not alone.
"I hope he got a box of chocolates with that," Alderson said, making a not-so-veiled reference to his comments about the Marlins' courtship of Jose Reyes a day earlier. It was Alderson's way of saying that it's not about the love, it's about the money, and the Mets spent their limited cash judiciously here.
In four days, after waving goodbye to Reyes, the Mets acquired four players -- a centerfielder and three relief pitchers -- at a total cost of roughly $10 million. By Alderson's estimation, that leaves him with about $10 million to spend between now and spring training, but the general manager did not give the impression that it all will be invested.
The Mets still need to fill out their bench, which is basically empty at the moment, with the possible exceptions of catcher Mike Nickeas and infielder Justin Turner. But Alderson's primary focus at these winter meetings was to upgrade the bullpen, and he did so with the signings of Frank Francisco (two years, $12 million) and Jon Rauch (one year, $3.5 million) along with the trade that brought in Ramon Ramirez.
That same deal with the Giants also involved a swap of centerfielders, with Angel Pagan going to San Francisco and Andres Torres coming to Citi Field. It was not the only trade proposal that the Mets entertained this week, but nothing else advanced beyond the exploratory stage.
A person familiar with the team's thinking said the Mets fielded plenty of calls regarding Ike Davis, Jon Niese and Bobby Parnell, but they were hesitant to seriously consider moving any of those young players. Davis is the least likely of the three to be traded, followed by Niese and then Parnell. That could change in the coming weeks, however, as teams re-evaluate the market and potentially sweeten offers to the Mets.
"We have over the last several days considered trades that would make us better in some cases short-term and some cases long-term," Alderson said. "I think what we are going to do going forward is try to continue to balance the short-term with the long-term. We're not conceding 2012. It's very possible we won't make another trade."
The only players who currently appear to be off the table are David Wright, who is likely to be available at the trade deadline in July, and the organization's top prospects. Bridging the gap between now and the time when pitchers such as Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia will fortify the rotation is going to be tricky. By Alderson's calculations, that probably won't happen until 2013, at the earliest, and the Mets will be treading water financially until then.
A year ago, the Mets left the winter meetings in Orlando with Ronny Paulino, D.J. Carrasco and two Rule 5 draft picks, Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato. This time, despite passing on the draft, they head home with what team officials expect to be a more impactful haul.
"We're much further ahead than we were last year," Alderson said. "But we want to leave open some roster decisions until, for example, the non-tender group comes out and other things develop over this month and January. There will be a lot of opportunities between now and then and we don't want to foreclose ourselves completely."
The morning after hearing about Reyes parading around the Hilton Anatole in a Marlins jersey, as well as the shortstop's stinging commentary about the Mets' nonchalant negotiating strategy, Alderson sounded a little more composed. The next time he sees Reyes in that outfit won't be until spring training in March.
"Time heals," Alderson said. "It's only been four days, but it feels better today than it did four days ago."
Mets lose Cruz in Rule 5. The Mets didn't make any selections in Thursday's Rule 5 draft but watched as hard-throwing righthander Rhiner Cruz, 25, was picked first overall by the Astros. Cruz's fastball has been clocked in triple digits, but Alderson said the Mets had more Rule 5-eligible players than any other club this year and that it was impossible to protect everyone. Cruz had a 4.14 ERA and struck out 51 in 58 2/3 innings for Double-A Binghamton last season.
