Baltimore Sun

Alderson on verge of major overhaul

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NEW YORK — Sandy Alderson all but said “tick, tick, tick.”

Mets players are running out of time to turn around their season, and the Mets general manager takes the responsibi­lity as the person in charge of assembling the roster.

“When you’re scoring runs at the anemic rate that we have, something hasn’t worked. So from that standpoint, I take full responsibi­lity for where we are,” he said Tuesday during a news conference. “I’m not happy about it. But at the same time the job now is to figure out how to fix it and improve it. And that’s what we’re focused on over the next several weeks.”

The Mets started 11-1 but fell to 28-35 after an 8-2 loss Tuesday night to the first-place Braves and sit fourth in the NL East, 8 games behind. The Braves’ Ozzie Albies hit a grand slam during a six-run sixth inning.

The injury-ravaged Mets are 28th in runs and 25th among the 30 teams in batting average at .230. The offense has been unable to support a pitching staff that is 15th in ERA at 4.03.

As the All-Star Game next month and the July 31 trade deadline approach, Alderson would consider retooling if the record doesn’t improve.

“We have to at least be thinking about what our options may be or what our situation is as we get close to the trade deadline,” he said. “The focus is on the short term and improving the results on the field.”

He hasn’t determined the extent of possible turnover.

The Mets designated first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for assignment after stopping an eight-game losing streak Sunday night and did the same to catcher Jose Lobaton on Tuesday while bringing up younger players from the minors.

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