Despite Sandy intro, T.J. says job not his

WEDNESDAY morning, Sandy Alderson ventured into an enemy borough to introduce T.J. Rivera to a group of high schoolers. First, the Mets GM talked about the Bronx native’s long road from Lehman High School through college and the minor leagues. After describing Rivera’s perseverance, Alderson asked the teenagers to welcome “the second baseman of the New York Mets,” back to his alma mater.

Rivera, nervous about facing over a hundred kids in the gymnasium at the huge building that straddles the Hutchinson River Parkway , did not even notice. Later when asked about finally going into an offseason with a position on a major league team, Rivera was not buying it. He knows he will have to fight to keep that title.

“I have to approach the offseason the same way I did when I was working through the minors,” Rivera said after speaking to some of Lehman High School’s student athletes Wednesday morning. “I can’t take anything for granted. I have to work as hard as I did every other offseason and just hope I get that chance again.”

Still, after a year in which he forced his way into the majors and after key injuries in their starting lineup for the wild-card game, Rivera knows he has at least played his way into consideration for the Mets second baseman spot next spring.

The Mets have to decide about making a qualifying offer to Neil Walker, who had season-ending back surgery in September, by five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Walker also has the opportunity to decline the offer, which is reported to be $16.7 million for next season, and hit free agency.

The Mets, who are expecting to exercise the option on Jose Reyes’ contract for 2017, could use him at second base if David Wright is healthy enough to play third. Wilmer Flores is also an option. So too is Rivera. Alderson left Lehman without talking to the press.

“I think it will be a matter of a bunch of guys playing for an opportunity there this spring,” Rivera said Wednesday. “I haven’t spoken to anybody about it or anything, but I am going into spring with that in my mind.”

Hitting .333 in 33 games for the Mets, taking over as the starting second baseman after Walker and then Flores went down with a season-ending injury, Rivera has played his way into deserving that consideration. Though he lacks the range of a typical second baseman and can look rough with the glove at times, the righty’s ability to hit .300 at every level makes him an intriguing possibility for the Mets, whose lineup is heavy with lefthanded hitters.

After graduating from Lehman in 2006 — the last time he had been in the school before Wednesday — Rivera headed to Alabama for college where former Met Mackey Sasser was his coach. With a push from Sasser the Mets signed Rivera as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

Wednesday, Rivera talked to the students about his journey to college — describing it as taking a chance for a boy from the Bronx to head to Alabama, through the minors, watching other players in the system pass him by and yet moving forward. He challenged them to take risks and pursue their dreams with the dogged determination he did.