Mets need to be aggressive
The abrupt, stunning departure of Sandy Alderson from the Mets’ front office, due primarily to a recurrence of his cancer, is obviously sad on a personal level, but from a baseball standpoint it was a necessary step forward in determining how this franchise rescues itself from disaster.
For the moment, the day’s events could make it more likely the Mets act boldly, which mostly means considering trading Noah Syndergaard, if not Jacob deGrom, as a way of bringing in the young, position- player talent they desperately need.
I say that because Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi, two of the triumvirate now in charge, bring a more aggressive mindset to the decision-making role than Alderson, whose patience sometimes frustrated his own staff, never mind fans.
On the other hand, long-time Mets executive John Ricco is likely to be more of the point man in the new setup, as he has been considered the presumed successor as GM in recent years. And people who know him believe he’ll lean a little more toward Alderson’s style.
But all of that depends on how much decision-making power Ricco, Minaya, and Ricciardi are afforded. On Tuesday night a source said that Jeff Wilpon, no doubt with input from his father, Fred, will interview outside the organization for a new GM, which likely would mean re-booting the entire operation.
That’s really the best way to go at this point, and if that’s the case, the big decision about whether to rebuild or not may be put on hold.
One thing is for sure, Alderson did the honorable thing, essentially saying that, based on merit, he doesn’t deserve to return even when health allows, making it easy on the Wilpons and the organization to move on without him.
Otherwise there is a lot of unknown here, but for the moment at least, it’s a threeman booth, so to speak, and whatever power is granted them, there are bound to be differences in personality and style.
Minaya, remember, loved having a reputation of a biggame hunter as GM of the Mets in the mid-2000s, pursuing and either signing or trading for the likes of Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado and Johan Santana during his tenure.
Of course, that was all in a pre-Madoff climate in which Mets ownership was willing to have one of the highest payrolls in baseball.
And so while I’m betting Minaya’s first thought in his elevated position is, “the heck with a rebuild, let’s go sign Manny Machado,” I’m also betting there’s a better chance that Yoenis Cespedes returns from the disabled list within a week and never misses another game during his Mets tenure.
Ricciardi too has always had something of a go-for-it mentality, as one of Billy Beane’s lieutenants with the A’s, then as GM of the Blue Jays in the 2000s, and as a super scout of sorts for Alderson.
Often during his time with the Mets, Ricciardi has told me he thought the front office needed to be “aggressive and creative” in its decision-making, even though that rarely proved to be the case.
So how will this play out? Ideally the new braintrust will have the ok to explore various sell-off scenarios because obviously this is a critical time for the franchise, as the Mets are an underachieving, injury-riddled, aging team in a season that is already at a dead-end.
However, any decision on bigger trades involving deGrom or Syndergaard that might kickoff a rebuild is complicated, because even then the Mets would still be stuck with over-30 outfielders Cespedes and Jay Bruce for two more years.
Nevertheless, the question I keep asking those who want to try and build around both deGrom and Syndergaard is simply: how is this team going to improve dramatically over the next couple of years when it has so little talent coming from the upper levels of the farm system?
On the plus side, it will have some $31 million coming off the payroll after this season, via the contracts of Asdrubal Cabrera, Jeurys Familia, A.J. Ramos, and Jerry Blevins, but it will also have to rebuild the bullpen, at least partly by signing free agents.
And the Mets do have a couple of breakout minorleaguers that could influence the planning, in first baseman Peter Alonso and second baseman Jeff McNeil. Both were promoted to Triple-A only a week ago, but getting a look at them before the trade deadline at the big-league level would be a good idea.
Still, I keep coming back to the need for more young talent, and I’d be more willing to trade Syndergaard than deGrom. If he isn’t at peak value in July because of this DL stint with a finger injury, the Mets might get a bigger haul for him in the off-season, since he’ll have three years of control and even noncontenders would have interest.
Such a deal might have to wait until then, anyway, if ownership does indeed bring in a new GM.
One way or another, this was a landmark, if poignant, day for the Mets. As much as I have always respected Alderson on a personal level, and obviously wish him well with difficult days ahead, it was time for new leadership.
All the better if it brings bolder decision-making.