These days Sandy Alderson speaking to the media sometimes is the most interesting part of the Mets day.
Thankfully it wasn’t that way tonight as the Mets came away with an exciting 6-4 win over the Rangers and then had fireworks going off for the crowd, but there were some interesting tidbits from the team’s top executive.
First, understand all general managers this time of year are like politicians. Never believe anything out of their mouths. Good ones would never devalue players they want to move, so there’s no bother asking about trades. You will never get a straight answer.
That said, Alderson did offer this piece of information when it came to accessing if they will be buyers or sellers.
“We like the team as it’s developing,” the GM said. “That, in and of itself, would make us reluctant to move players at the deadline. Now, we’re practical as well. We’ve made deals at the deadline. And there’s no reason we’d hesitate to do that if we felt it was the right thing. But I think our team is on the right track. I don’t think we’re that far away. That would indicate some caution when it comes to the trade deadline.”
Well you didn’t expect him to turn on the for sale sign, did ya?
Still, the Mets have a chance to move a player or two at the deadline if they can get some major league ready talent in return.
Who can the Mets afford to trade at the deadline? Well, they do have a surplus of starting pitching, and it would be awfully nice to see if Bartolo Colon can bring something for the Mets at the deadline. After all, even though, he pitched well so far, we all know you are playing with fire when it comes to a 40 year-old pitcher.
But with Jon Niese going out today on the third batter of the game, you never know when you need to have another pitcher. Alderson knows this.
“We have a number both here and at the minor-league level that we like. But it’s easy to run through that number in a hurry with injuries and poor performance,” Alderson said. “So I’m always hesitant to trade starting pitching. Now, I’m cognizant that an issue for us is offense and run production. So I’m not writing off that possibility. At the same time, what’s getting us to a higher level of performance, hopefully, and success is our pitching — both our starting pitching and the bullpen.”
Oh and he said this before today’s game.
Daniel Murphy is another possibility, but he is the best hitter on the team and would Wilmer Flores be an upgrade offensively or defensively? Maybe, but Alderson can wait until the off-season, since the Mets second baseman is arbitration eligible, so unless he is overwhelmed, there’s no need in trading Murph.
There’s also talk about moving Niese, but they have no other lefties in the rotation and he is also someone who can be moved in November of December.
So maybe Alderson is telling the truth here, and the team will stand pat. You never know, but these days the most excitement coming from Citi Field just may just be from the trade speculation.
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