The fourth-place Mets will wrap up their season against the Marlins this afternoon, a season that saw them sit in second place and 4.5 games out of first as late as July 7th. GM Sandy Alderson spoke to the media earlier today, saying he is "not prepared to blow up the team and start over again." Let's recap the full media session with some help from ESPN New York's Adam Rubin…
- "I don't want to give the impression that we're going to be out in the free-agent market looking for significant additions," said the GM. "We have lots of payroll tied up in a handful of players. That's a situation that gradually has to resolve itself."
- Alderson said he believes the team is headed in the right direction, but they are not yet in a position to spend lavishly or "pay for today with deferrals until tomorrow."
- The Mets will make every effort to retain both David Wright and R.A. Dickey. The team holds affordable club options for both players, but they can become free agents after 2013.
- Alderson would not rule out a contract extension that takes Wright to the end of his career, and he acknowledged that both sides have already had "informal conversations."
- The team's goals are to first build through the farm system, retain core players, and add players from the outside on a "fairly judicious basis."
- "I think it's possible, given what we have, that we'll be more active in the trade market," said Alderson. "But that's not a given, necessarily. I really do believe some of our players are on the verge of making bigger contributions." Alderson said they would be cautious with their starting pitching depth, however.
- The team's payroll for 2012 ended up being about $100MM, and the $9MM in total buyouts owed to Jason Bay and Johan Santana will be considered part of the 2013 payroll. Both players can become free agents after next season.
- Manager Terry Collins is under contract through next year and there have not yet been any talks about signing him to a contract extension.
