With the World Series coming to a conclusion on Wednesday night, the offseason is pretty much underway as teams look to find a way to reach what the Red Sox did this past season.
The Mets have not been very active on the free agency side of the offseason since Sandy Alderson took over as General Manager.
It has actually been since the 2009 off season, when the Mets gave Jason Bay his long term deal, that they have signed anyone with longer than a two year deal.
In a report from Anthony DiComo from MLB.com he talks about the Mets and the potential they have to make a move this off-season in the free agency market.
Since the day Sandy Alderson took over as general manager in October 2010, this was the offseason he had circled on his calendar. This was the winter he knew the contracts of several key players would expire, giving the Mets tens of millions of dollars of payroll flexibility.
Though the Mets are eager to fill some of those holes via the trade market, the reality is that free agency will be an important source of talent for them. Unlike during his first three offseasons as GM, which saw Alderson largely eschew the free agent market, the Mets are primed to toss around some dollars this winter.
“Having [financial] flexibility is great, but at some point you’ve got to put yourself on the line,” Alderson said. “I think what we’re going to try to do is balance the level of our commitments with the desire to continue to maintain some flexibility going forward.”
Watching baseball this year and really, for the past few years, you have seen teams be able to strike a balance between going after free agents and using the talent developed on their own to have successful seasons.
The best example that you saw was with the World Series this year between the Cardinals and the Red Sox as you saw teams supplement the free agent signings they made in the past with home grown talent.
A betting man, who would of course go to Betfair for all his gambling needs, would want to put money on teams like Boston and St. Louis to win it all next year because of the balance they have when it comes to acquiring talent.
The Mets are hopeful that with the talent they have in the minor leagues, and the young guys who played with the major league club this year along with money coming off the books to get free agents will help them reach the level Boston and St. Louis have.
Of course that is easier said than done and as I have said before, I will believe the Mets are serious about making themselves players in the free agent market when I see it.
The Mets, I believe are ready to make a push towards contention the next few years, maybe even starting next year and if they can get some good players in free agency to supplement the potential young stars they have now, things can be looking up.
The rebuilding process that we have suffered through the past few years were to lead us to this opportunity. Now lets see if the Mets take advantage of it and begin the push towards respectability.
