Tag Archives: Sandy Alderson

Dec 10

GM Sandy Alderson Says Nothing Imminent In Trading Ike Davis

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The New York Mets introduced Curtis Granderson this afternoon. Don’t expect anything more from them today.

General manager Sandy Alderson said nothing was imminent, and that includes trading first baseman Ike Davis.

DAVIS: Nothing moving.

DAVIS: Nothing moving.

“He’s still here,’’ Alderson deadpanned. “We’re here until Thursday. We’ll see.’’

The market is currently not hot – not even warm – for Davis.

One potential trading partner, Milwaukee, is more interested in re-signing Corey Hart than trading for Davis, figuring the devil you know is always better.

Hart and James Loney are on the market, and teams needing a first baseman tend to first look at free agents because all it would cost is money. In trading for Davis, there would also be the surrendering of talent.

“Why would they give up prospects for mediocre talent?” once baseball insider asked about Davis.

Once Hart and Loney are off the market, things might heat up for Davis, but then there is also the matter of competing with Miami, who is taking offers for Logan Morrison, and Texas, which is shopping Mitch Moreland.

So, while the Mets are anxious to move Davis – that anxiousness might parlay itself into lesser offers – don’t count on anything happening soon.

ON DECK: Terry Collins talks to media.

Your comments are greatly appreciated and I will attempt to respond. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos

Dec 09

Mets Conclude First Day Of Winter Meetings With No Moves

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While the New York Mets would like to deal Ike Davis or Lucas Duda by the end of the week, general manager Sandy Alderson gave no indication today a move was imminent.

Teams are waiting out the Mets in the hope either might be released, but that won’t happen. Alderson said prospective buyers are exploring other options, whether it is in the trade or free-agent markets. And, teams could be offering the Mets little in return.

ALDERSON: Nothing doing.

ALDERSON: Nothing doing.

There are a lot of reasons why a trade doesn’t get done.

“That’s always the case,’’ Alderson said. “There’s always going to be an alternative. That’s what provides the tension of negotiating a deal. [Teams] are always looking at what their alternatives are. That’s what provides the tension of getting something done and not getting something done; simply there are other options.’’

Of course, it could take one phone call to change everything. A team could offer the Mets a sweet deal, or Alderson can cave just to make a trade.

The latter is highly unlikely.

“Could we do something?’’ Alderson rhetorically asked. “Yeah, we have that ability. Whether we do it or not is a function of what we can get and what our other options are.’’

Working against the Mets in trying to trade Davis is that other teams are aware of his shortcomings and of the Mets’ overt desire to swing a deal. The Mets have not been subtle in this, and given the high probability Davis won’t be with the team next spring have teams being reluctant.

They aren’t waiting in line to talk trade about Duda, either.

“Everybody is aware of what we have. We don’t have to advertise that,’’ Alderson said. “As far as marketing, [other teams] do their own evaluations. If somebody is not inclined to make a deal for a particular player, it is difficult to talk them into it and get something in return.’’

Your comments are greatly appreciated and I will attempt to respond. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos

Dec 09

Mets GM Sandy Alderson Not Enthused With Second Base Options If Daniel Murphy Is Traded

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Should the New York Mets trade Daniel Murphy, which has been widely speculated, general manager Sandy Alderson didn’t seem enamored with his replacement options.

“I think we’d be comfortable if we had a number of candidates we could sort through during spring training,’’ Alderson said when asked if he’d be comfortable with Eric Young as Murphy’s replacement.

MURPHY: Alderson not happy with replacement options.

MURPHY: Alderson not happy with replacement options.

Alderson named Young and Wilmer Flores as options, as well as Ruben Tejada should the Mets trade or sign a shortstop. The Mets aren’t close to either.

There’s been speculation since the Mets signed Curtis Granderson that Murphy’s job was in jeopardy because of the proposed move of Young to second base.

Should the Mets opt to keep Murphy and not move Young, they’ll have the problem of deciding who would be their leadoff hitter.

One option might be Juan Lagares, but his high strikeout ratio isn’t conducive to hitting leadoff. Another possibility could be Murphy, who has performed well hitting leadoff in the past, but has the potential for greater run production batting lower in the order.

LATER TONIGHT: Breaking news if any. Otherwise a first-day wrap.

Your comments are greatly appreciated and I will attempt to respond. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos

Dec 03

Why Mets Did Not Non-Tender Ike Davis

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If the New York Mets don’t want Ike Davis, why didn’t they just non-tender him? That way the unproductive first baseman with the looping swing and high propensity for striking out would be gone. Davis would just them be another failure in Mets lore.

DAVIS: Mets playing waiting game, (Getty)

DAVIS: Mets playing waiting game, (Getty)

That’s the conventional wisdom, but there’s more to it under the surface. There always is.

As long as Davis remains on the Mets’ 40-man roster, he’s an asset capable of either producing on the field when the season starts, or as a trade piece.

Obviously, the Mets would like to find a trading partner, but might find they won’t be getting much in return. With a flood of free agents on the market, most teams would rather attempt that route first because all they would spend is money.

The smarter teams are waiting for the Mets to dump him during spring training, that way they could get Davis without having to surrender talent in return. Subsequently, the Mets are holding on to Davis to see if there’s a team that loses a first baseman to injury during spring training and finds itself in a bind.

If there’s no such opportunity, there’s always waiting for the July 31 trade deadline. That’s the Mets’ best hope of getting quality in return.

In addition, if the Mets take Davis to spring training, he might win the job if Lucas Duda doesn’t perform. There’s no given with Duda, so that has to be in the back of Sandy Alderson’s mind.

 

Nov 26

Here’s A Marketing Strategy – Just Win!

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sad mets bench

Tiffany asks…

It’s almost the end of November and the Mets offseason is two months old with two months to go. I thought this was going to be the offseason when the team would be able to add better players to the team. I’m so frustrated. What have we waited three years for?

Joe D. replies…

I feel your frustration. Our expectations were that this offseason was going to be the one that would allow Sandy to put the Mets back on the map, followed by the first of many winning seasons beginning in 2014. So far, it doesn’t feel that way. I believe we all expected to see a greater sense of urgency in attacking this offseason and addressing the team’s needs.

According to most reports, Sandy has about $23 million left to spend in his budget after signing free-agent Chris Young to a one-year deal. But there’s still a lot of work to be done and I’m not sure that we have enough resources to fix it all in one offseason.

Sandy needs to get past his sticker shock and realize that the most talented players are going to be costly in any free agent market. I wish he had held off on Young until he addressed the cleanup hitter need first. That should have been the top priority.

Before this Hot Stove season heated up, Sandy answered “absolutely” when asked if he was finally going to upgrade his underwhelming lineup for 2014 and give the fans a team to be proud of.

“I gotta watch those games, too, you know,” he quipped with a laugh.

Last night, the Mets had a conference call which I unfortunately missed, but I was covered by our “infamous” Ed Marcus.

Newly hired Chief Revenue Officer Lou DePaoli, discussed his plans for marketing the Mets. He said there are currently 5 million Met fans in our area and described some cool new strategies to get those fans watching, listening, and going to the ballpark again.

But I think the best way to boost fan interest and energize an apathetic fan base lies more in Sandy Alderson’s hands.

Sandy needs to get this team winning again. Winning is historically the best marketing strategy – with a proven 100% success rate in Flushing.

Sandy needs to construct a winner and if he builds it they will come. All five million of us.