Five Things We Learned At Thursday’s Press Conference
In what has been a wild day for the Mets, Team President Sandy Alderson and GM Jared Porter spoke to reporters starting at 3 p.m. about the trade that saw them acquire Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians.
Here are five things we learned from the press conference.
Mets Aren’t Concerned About Extending Lindor
One thing that was very apparent early on was the organization’s relaxed approach with regards to extending their new star shortstop.
While Alderson said that the team has not had any conversations with his agent to this point, he said the organization is “comfortable with [Lindor’s current contract situation] and what we could do going forward.”
Starting Pitching Depth Still Being Pursued
While Alderson and Porter seemed comfortable with the idea of going into the 2021 season with the current rotation, now containing Carrasco, they both emphasized an interest in still acquiring more pitching.
Porter said that “continuing to press on the depth” is an important facet of the Mets being a competitive team and that the team is still pursuing more pitching, both in the rotation and bullpen.
With Carrasco, the Mets’ rotation options for the 2021 season include him, Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, David Peterson, Steven Matz, eventually Noah Syndergaard and possibly Seth Lugo.
No Decision Made on Seth Lugo
Speaking of Lugo, Porter and Alderson both indicated that no decision has been made regarding whether Lugo will be in the bullpen or rotation next season.
Porter said that Lugo could be stretched out in spring training. Alderson later added that there are arguments in both directions of the starter vs. reliever role argument for Lugo.
He mentioned that Lugo will have say in the matter “to some extent.”
Lugo has made it clear in the past that his ultimate goal is to a starting pitcher and he finished the 2020 season in the Mets’ rotation.
Playing Dominic Smith in Left Field “Not Ideal”
Alderson spoke briefly about how much the impact of having, or not having, a DH could impact the Mets in 2021.
One thing he noted was that having to play Smith in left field “would not be ideal,” but conceded that he would likely get a decent amount of playing time out there in 2021 if there is no DH.
Meanwhile, he was clear that he hopes the NL will have a DH next season so that this won’t be an issue at all.
He did make sure to mention, though, that the possibility of Smith having to play left field isn’t “going to preclude [the Mets] from doing something else.”
Going Past Luxury Tax Threshold Possible
Lastly, Alderson spoke about the payroll implications of the deal and said that while the $210 million luxury tax threshold is a significant number, it is possible the team’s payroll will exceed it in 2021.
There have been mixed signals from Alderson and Owner Steve Cohen on whether the team is willing to exceed the luxury tax threshold or not, but it appears they haven’t actually determined the answer to that definitively themselves.
However, he did give out some hints that money is going to be more of a factor in their decision-making going forward.
“The market will dictate some of our decisions over the next few weeks,” Alderson said. “We’re not perfect, we will still be active…There’s some work to do.”
