Tag: Sandy Alderson

Mets Buy Out Jason Bay’s Contract

Jason Bay
Jason Bay (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Mets and Jason Bay agreed to “part ways” today. From the quotes we got from Sandy Alderson and Bay, it sounded mutual. But we all know that the Mets wanted him gone and so did we. They just had to find a way to get rid of him while still owing him $21 million guaranteed.

In three years with the Mets, Bay played in 288 games and hit .234 with 26 HR and 124 RBI’s…. Combined over three years!!! It’ll certainly go down as one of the worst contracts in Mets history, if not the worst. The 4-year/$67 million deal left Bay and his family financially set for life thanks to the Wilpons but left Mets fans exasperated.

The move leaves a hole in left field for the Mets going into 2013 but we all know that the Mets aren’t playing for 2013. They’re building to try to be competitive again in 2014 after Johan Santana’s contract expires.

The only good thing I can say about Bay is that he always hustled and never made excuses for his poor performance when it would’ve been easy to do so. I have to commend the guy for giving 100% effort during extremely difficult conditions. He just seemed to lose any ability to hit the ball. It’s dumbfounding.

Mets and David Wright Negotiating Contract Extension

There’s no secret that the Mets and David Wright have been talking about a contract extension. Sandy Alderson discussed it openly near the end of the lost 2012 season. Wright has a team option for 2013 at $16 million and the Mets have five days after the end of the World Series to take that option.

Joel Sherman is reporting in the Post today that his anonymous baseball people believe the Mets want to finalize that deal before having to take the option year. That would allow them to package the option year into one large deal in the neighborhood of 8-years/$143 million. That would eclipse Johan Santana’s 7-year/$143 million as the highest paid Mets player ever.

I’m not so sure that the Mets will finalize a deal of that magnitude within five days of the World Series ending. But all signs point to a deal getting done soon that will keep Wright with the Mets for what will likely be the rest of his career. The guy has done everything right since he’s been with the Mets and keeps himself in great shape. So if you’re going to risk a huge contract, I can’t think of a better player to risk it on.

2012 Mets Still Exceeding Expectations

Sandy Alderson
Sandy Alderson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Mets fans, we’ve come to expect second half disappointments since the 2007 season. So the 2012 season is nothing new for us. The collapse has come in July and August instead of September like it usually does. But the 2012 Mets are still exceeding my expectations.

Before the season I predicted that this would be a 65-70 win team. Currently, the Mets are on pace to win 73. That would be a solid season for the sad roster that the Mets put together this season.

Let’s face it. The Mets won 77 games last year and then lost one of the best players in team history, Jose Reyes, in free agency. They traded Angel Pagan to the Giants for a bag of balls. What did you really expect? Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch would come in and account for more than 7 wins between them. Continue reading “2012 Mets Still Exceeding Expectations”

Video: Mets May Offer to Extend David Wright’s Contract

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 08: David Wright #5 of t...

Mets GM Sandy Alderson spoke recently about his desire to discuss a long-term contract  with David Wright’s agent soon. It makes sense for Wright to negotiate a deal now because he’s hitting nearly .400 for the first two months of the 2012 season. But the Mets don’t need to rush into anything. Wright is under team control through the 2013 season with an option year that’s certain to be exercised.

I expect serious negotiations to take place after the 2012 season ends between the Mets and Wright. Don’t forget that Wright is only 29 years old and has already earned about $40 million in his career, not including endorsements. So he doesn’t need to be in a hurry to sign an extension either. Plus, he would be one of the best free agents available after the 2013 season along with Curtis Granderson and Jake Peavey.

Check out the video from ESPN below with their take on the possibility of a contract extension for Wright during this season.

http://player.espn.com/player.js?&playerBrandingId=4ef8000cbaf34c1687a7d9a26fe0e89e&pcode=1kNG061cgaoolOncv54OAO1ceO-I&width=576&height=324&externalId=espn:7993935&thruParam_espn-ui%5BautoPlay%5D=false&thruParam_espn-ui%5BplayRelatedExternally%5D=true

Audio: Sandy Alderson on Opening Day 2012

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Sandy Alderson answers...

Mets GM Sandy Alderson spent some time with Joe and Evan from WFAN before the game yesterday. They really hit Sandy with all of the relevant topics that we’ve been talking about as Mets fans. They talked about the realistic expectations for the season, signing David Wright to an extension, his thoughts on the Joey Votto contract and more. It’s definitely worth a listen.

Click here to listen to the full interview.

2012 Mets Spring Training Fred Wilpon Press Conference

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Owner Fred W...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Mets owner Fred Wilpon gave his annual state of the team press conference on the first day of full squad workouts today. It was more of the same spin that we’ve heard in recent years from Fred about the team’s woeful financial situation. Although he did attempt to deflect the reason for the team’s $52 million payroll reduction to Sandy Alderson’s philosophy. That was so laughable that he later admitted that Alderson had a set payroll that he had to work within.

The highlights of the press conference were:

  • The Wilpons don’t intend to give up control of the team, if possible
  • The team has sold 7 shares of ownership although all but one were bought by entities with connections to the team already
  • He admitted that the Madoff lawsuit was having an effect on team finances contrary to his prior statements on the topic
  • He’s excited about the group of young players on the team

There isn’t much new there that we didn’t already know. Wilpon has been in near seclusion as the team has sunk deeper into the financial abyss. He typically leaves Alderson or his son, Jeff, to deal with the tough questions from the media. So today was a rare opportunity to hear the state of affairs directly from the horses mouth.

Mets Alderson Takes on Jose Reyes on Twitter

Sandy Alderson was at it again yesterday on Twitter. This time the target of his comedy stylings was Jose Reyes and the MLB Network.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/MetsGM/status/168505233637507072″%5D

So far he’s gone after the Wilpons financial situation and the chop shops across the street from Citi Field. I wish he’d gone after Reyes in free agency as well as he is on Twitter.