Mets' Sandy Alderson discusses timelines for decision on Luis Rojas, search for president of baseball operations
Mets team president Sandy Alderson speaks to reporters before a game against the Marlins at Citi Field on Sept. 29. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Mets president Sandy Alderson Wednesday said he plans to take a "long-term" view on building the Mets this offseason – a process that will include a thorough search for a president of baseball operations, but not, he said, before he and owner Steve Cohen decide on the fates of Luis Rojas and members of his coaching staff.
Alderson said he hopes to make a decision on Rojas "as soon after the season as possible" and that they’ll begin looking for a president of baseball operations before the end of the postseason. Alderson said the process was stalled last year because teams wouldn’t allow the Mets to speak to their prime candidates, but added he hopes that won’t be the case this offseason.
Acting general manager Zack Scott’s future will also be in limbo. Scott, who was arrested in August for allegedly driving while intoxicated, has been on administrative leave as he goes through the legal process. Once that’s over – something Alderson expects to happen around October – the Mets will be able to speak to him about the events of the night and decide if they want to retain his services. The Mets also will have to decide whether to extend qualifying offers to Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard, and whether to sign Javier Baez and Marcus Stroman, who will enter free agency at the end of the season.
"I think anybody’s tenure with the Mets will be subject to the decision of a new head of baseball operations," said Alderson, who is expected to stay on as president of the team but intends to have less of a role in day-to-day operations. "That doesn’t mean, though, that there won’t be an interim decision [if] one is appropriate...I could see a situation where the interim decision is made and if there’s ultimately a decision to be made by the head of baseball operations later, he or she would be able to do that."
In all, Alderson typified this season – one in which the Mets were in first place for most of the first half but then swooned in the second half to miss the playoffs and finish under .500 – as disappointing. He said the reasons for failure were manifold, but included extensive injuries and underperformance from a number of their core players.
Alderson said that core, which was built during the 2015 season, in which they got to the World Series, "is eroding just on the basis of major-league service," and that impacts how he’ll approach acquiring talent in the offseason.
"Michael Conforto, Syndergaard is a free agent, [Brandon] Nimmo will be a free agent in a year or so," he said. "I'm not sure that we've had the core of players that would allow us to reach that level [of the playoffs]. The last time we were pretty good in '15 and '16, we weren't totally reliable on homegrown players…We need to continue to grow our own players in our player development system." They’ll also need to "to augment," he said, "just as we did this year we augmented with additions. I think we'll continue to look for ways to augment the team. This is a team that's going to be driven by player development ultimately, but we also have to be transactional and I think that's what we'll be looking for in a new head of baseball operations."
They’ll also need to evaluate whether players with significant down years – guys like Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith – will return to form, or whether other solutions are necessary. This is further complicated by the upcoming collective bargaining agreement, which could lead to a work stoppage on Dec. 2, right in the heat of free agency. That possibility means that Alderson will likely address the team’s more pressing needs earlier in the offseason than he generally would.
"We’re planning long-term," Alderson said. "There’s no question that the uncertainty surrounding that agreement will have an impact. But a lot of what we’re doing, both in terms of building the player development side, building our analytics department, building our front office generally, has a longer-term view. Specific player issues may be impacted, certainly. Depending on what happens on Dec. 2, there could be a freeze on all player transactions for who knows how long. So it’s hard to predict exactly what impact it will have, but it’s definitely a looming issue."
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
