A lot has been said over the last year or so about Sandy Alderson putting his stamp on the Mets. I was a little surprised last offseason when little was done transitioning the Mets from Omar Minaya's team to Alderson's team. I understand money was no constraint when it came to Omar, but there are other ways to put an impression on a team other than adding payroll.
Looking back at last offseason, the Mets essentially put the same team out as 2010. While payroll constraints kept the Mets from making a big move, simple trades could have been made with the message being: acquire a Sandy type of player in exchange for a non Sandy type of player. But that didn't happen. The only "moneyball" player the Mets added was Brad Emaus, who obviously wasn't ready for the major leagues.
Heres a recap of last offseason. The Mets traded Michael Antonini to the Dodgers for Chin Lung Hu. They proceeded to take Pedro Beato and Emaus in the rule 5 draft, then sign free agents Chris Capuano, Willie Harris, Scott Hairston, Ronny Paulino, Chris Young, Tim Byrdak and Taylor Buchholz. Of course the most important thing he did last offseason was releasing Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez in spring training perhaps changing the perception of being stuck with having to keep players because they have a bad contract. This did little to transfer the team to one influenced by Alderson, it was still Omar's. Maybe this year is different and it is becoming more of Sandy's team.
The thing that has interested me the most is the recent rumblings that just about everybody outside of David Wright and the new "Generation K" is available and tradable. We hear this all the time and it seems like a front. But with the trade of Angel Pagan and the rumors about the Mets shopping Jonathon Niese and Bobby Parnell, the team may be starting to take the shape of the new regime.
I think there will be more turnover before spring training starts. There is a lot of time before that happens and the team you see now will be different than the one that comes to Port St. Lucie in late February. Hopefully this is the start of an interesting, maybe not headline getting, offseason which will lead to a lot to talk about.
Looking back at last offseason, the Mets essentially put the same team out as 2010. While payroll constraints kept the Mets from making a big move, simple trades could have been made with the message being: acquire a Sandy type of player in exchange for a non Sandy type of player. But that didn't happen. The only "moneyball" player the Mets added was Brad Emaus, who obviously wasn't ready for the major leagues.
Heres a recap of last offseason. The Mets traded Michael Antonini to the Dodgers for Chin Lung Hu. They proceeded to take Pedro Beato and Emaus in the rule 5 draft, then sign free agents Chris Capuano, Willie Harris, Scott Hairston, Ronny Paulino, Chris Young, Tim Byrdak and Taylor Buchholz. Of course the most important thing he did last offseason was releasing Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez in spring training perhaps changing the perception of being stuck with having to keep players because they have a bad contract. This did little to transfer the team to one influenced by Alderson, it was still Omar's. Maybe this year is different and it is becoming more of Sandy's team.
The thing that has interested me the most is the recent rumblings that just about everybody outside of David Wright and the new "Generation K" is available and tradable. We hear this all the time and it seems like a front. But with the trade of Angel Pagan and the rumors about the Mets shopping Jonathon Niese and Bobby Parnell, the team may be starting to take the shape of the new regime.
I think there will be more turnover before spring training starts. There is a lot of time before that happens and the team you see now will be different than the one that comes to Port St. Lucie in late February. Hopefully this is the start of an interesting, maybe not headline getting, offseason which will lead to a lot to talk about.
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