Losing Matt Harvey for the rest of the year and part of the 2014 season was obviously a tough pill to swallow for the Mets and GM Sandy Alderson told WFAN yesterday that it will change his approach to the offseason, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Alderson didn't plan on spending big on a pitcher, but losing Harvey means that he'll have to shell out some cash for a starter. Here's more from Alderson's chat, courtesy of Rubin..
- Alderson won't look to trade bats for additional pitching in the wake of Harvey's injury. That wasn't in the cards for the Mets anyway, even if Harvey was available.
- Harvey will make an initial decision on Tommy John surgery in one to two weeks and the decision to go under the knife versus rehab will be his call.
- Harvey's injury may slot Rafael Montero or Jacob deGrom into the rotation out of spring training. If Harvey was healthy, the rotation likely would have been Harvey, Jonathon Niese, Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee, and an innings-eater from outside the organization – leaving Montero, deGrom, and Noah Syndergaad with Triple-A Las Vegas.
- Alderson sees Eric Young Jr. as one of the Mets' top five outfielders next season but the hope is the Mets can add enough outfield bats to push Young to a fourth or fifth outfielder. Young may be no more than a platoon player anyway because of his lefty-righty splits, Rubin notes.
- The team will wait until after the season to officially announce that Terry Collins is returning for 2014.
