It was announced earlier today that the New York Mets have extended their General Manager Sandy Alderson for three more seasons. Along with Alderson, manager Terry Collins will be returning for the 2015 season.
The reaction to these moves will most likely be mixed for Mets fans because although they like the promise that their young prospects present (such as pitchers Zach Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and of course Matt Harvey), that fan base is searching for a campaign with the intentions to contend for a championship.
Alderson is in his fourth season with the Mets and has taken great strides to create a team capable of reaching those championship aspirations in the future.
He shrewdly flipped Carlos Beltran at the 2011 trade deadline for the aforementioned Zach Wheeler; a great trade considering Beltran was on his way to free agency in the offseason and was of little value to the Mets. They did the right thing for the future and retained a young, controllable pitcher with a ton of promise.
Alderson also handled the R.A. Dickey situation beautifully by cashing in on his fluky 2012 Cy Young season and trading him to the Blue Jays for their top prospects, including Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud. Although d’Arnaud has not developed into the kind of hitter that most experts predicted, he is still young and has time hone his skills.
Alderson has also made his fair share of miscues with roster construction as well.
He signed Curtis Granderson to a 4 year/$60 million deal this winter, and although Granderson has struggled hitting at Citi Field, he still does have 19 home runs. His value will come from being a clubhouse leader because he is under contract until his age 36 season (ouch).
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Chris Young (not the guy pitching for Seattle) was signed in late November to a 1 year/$7.25 million contract in hopes that he could reclaim the offensive talent he showcased while playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Young hit .205/.283/.346 with 8 home runs in only 88 games played with New York before being designated for assignment.
Almost fittingly, Young was picked up by the Yankees and has looked like an entirely different player. Classic case of a player being transformed by the pinstripes.
Both of these winter signings really showcase how difficult being the general manager of a major league team really is.
Although the Mets are not going to crack the postseason tournament this season, they are on pace to win 79 games, which would be their best under the Terry Collins/Sandy Alderson regime. Keep in mind that they have played the entire season without their ace pitcher Matt Harvey.
Inserting him into the rotation with Wheeler, Syndergaard (potentially), the pleasantly surprising Jacob deGrom and Bartolo Colon (who I think Alderson will try to flip this winter) and the Mets have a team full of hurlers that tailors to their spacious ballpark.
Extending Alderson and retaining Terry Collins is a nice step for the Mets as an organization. Stability is an underrated thing in today’s ever-changing sports landscape and they appear to be on the cusp of having it with both their manager and GM.
The Mets are still a few moves away, offensively, from really making some noise and their not so hitter-friendly ballpark will not help that cause. But, the lure of playing in New York may override that — just look at Granderson as an example.
Either way, the New York Mets are a team to watch this offseason and beyond.