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New York Mets: Sandy Alderson expected back in 2018

By Jason Evans

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 01: Sandy Alderson, general manager of the New York Mets, talks during a press conference announcing that the Mets agreed to a trade for Jay Bruce before a game against the New York Yankees at Citi Field on August 1, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 01: Sandy Alderson, general manager of the New York Mets, talks during a press conference announcing that the Mets agreed to a trade for Jay Bruce before a game against the New York Yankees at Citi Field on August 1, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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The New York Mets are expected to retain General Manager Sandy Alderson for the 2018 season

The 2017 New York Mets season did not go as planned for the club. Instead of being in position for its third straight postseason playoff appearance, the team sold Lucas Duda and Addison Reed at the trade deadline, while picking up reliever AJ Ramos to set them up for the 2018 season.

One part of the 2018 plan is figuring out who will be running the team. Both GM Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins are in the final year of their contracts. While Collins’ fate has yet to be decided, it appears the Mets have decided that Alderson will be a part of their future plans. Per The New York Post:

"As the Mets look to 2018 and beyond, the first order of business will be establishing leadership atop the baseball operations department, and signs point to general manager Sandy Alderson returning to lead the front office, according to sources.Among the possibilities is Alderson will receive a “president of baseball operations” title and elevate assistant general manager John Ricco to GM. But any restructuring would be purely cosmetic, as Ricco already is heavily involved in the daily operations of the team."

Other teams have a similar structure. The Los Angeles Dodgers are one, for example, with Andrew Friedman serving as president of baseball operations with Farhan Zaidi serving as GM.

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Alderson took over as New York Mets GM following the 2010 season and has helped lead the Mets out of the wilderness and the Bernie Madoff scandal. Although part of the core of the club was already in the minor leagues when he came, he did make the trade of R.A. Dickey for a package that included Noah Syndergaard. He drafted Michael Conforto and traded for Yoenis Cespedes during their run to the World Series in 2015.

On the flip side, they let Daniel Murphy go after he looked like Babe Ruth in the 2015 playoffs and non-tendered Justin Turner, who has become a star for the Dodgers. You can look at every GM and find both good and bad moves, and Alderson is no different.

Alderson prefers power in both arms and bats, and has sacrificed defense for that, which has caused problems for the New York Mets, especially this season. The inability to build bullpens has hurt the club as well.

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If Alderson indeed stays, and he and Ricco can fix those two areas and see improved health next season, the Mets should be in contention for another postseason berth. It’s a good move for the Mets to keep him.

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