The top Mets baseball executives arrived in Florida, many of them quarantined in preparation for pitchers and catchers to appear and launch numbers that will be an uncomfortably unique campaign.
This does not mean, however, the end of participation in the Mets Hot Stove League.
“No, we’re not done yet,” said Zack Scott, Mets interim general manager, on Friday during a Zoom news conference. “We want to do other things. Will everything line up and these things happen? Maybe maybe not.
“I said [Mets president] Sandy [Alderson] that I’m happy with the team as it is, but if we make improvements, we will make improvements. We definitely haven’t finished trying to make improvements for the team. “
Consequently, the Mets remains in contact with leftist appeaser Justin Wilson, an industry source said. Wilson, 33, has enjoyed shooting for the Mets for the past two seasons and is interested in returning. He could make his decision this weekend.
The Mets face obvious depth problems in their initial rotation, with a handful of intriguing free agents, like Jake Odorizzi, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker, yet to be signed. Scott acknowledged that the team’s defense has not been a recent strong point, which explains the Mets’ serious pursuit of free-field player Jackie Bradley Jr. (who is awaiting the appearance of better offers).
Then there is the third base, which has generated a blizzard of speculation.
“We really like JD Davis,” said Scott of the current favorite in third. “He’s someone who can really beat and obviously, we can keep him under control for a while. He’s a really valuable player for our organization. So … I know there have been a lot of rumors out there. We will always look for ways to improve the team in any way we can. But we are totally comfortable with entering the season with JD Davis playing an important role in our club. “
In his first formal media appearance since Alderson promoted him following Jared Porter’s resignation, Scott addressed a number of team issues, including:
• The team has yet to engage with All-Stars Michael Conforto and Francisco Lindor about potential extensions.
“I always looked at them, the best time to do that is in spring training, and I think we will have these conversations,” said Scott. “We talked internally [about extensions]. … It is important for us, at least, to talk to the players about the potential for these types of businesses. “
Lindor would likely require an extension of more than $ 300 million and Conforto well over $ 100 million to get around the free agency, and both stated that they prefer not to negotiate during the regular season. Scott said: “There must be plenty of time to talk about this before the season starts, to find out if there is something to be done or not.”
• The club still hopes to have Noah Syndergaard, recovered from Tommy John’s surgery, back in June.
• The uncertainty about the National League to add the designated hitter this season will not prevent the Mets from making another considerable commitment to a position player, despite the potential blockage.
“I think we have a lot of flexibility here,” said Scott.
• New field coach Tony Tarasco will play a significant role in improving the club’s field defense, with central defender (for now) Brandon Nimmo and left defender (for now) Dom Smith, both important gears.
• Khalil Lee’s acquisition of the Royals last week, in a three-team exchange that sent outsider Andrew Benintendi from Boston to Kansas City, occurred as a by-product of Scott’s relationship with his former co-workers.
“We have not had direct conversations with Kansas City about this,” he said. “With my connections to Boston, frankly, they know that I liked Khalil Lee. They reached out and asked if there would be an interest here. We were excited. Our professional scouts really liked the player. Many tools and athleticism. We really like your performance too. “
• Scott reserved his best tap dance for two polarizing musicians, Trevor Bauer and Tim Tebow. Asked whether Tebow, the often wounded and perpetually famous Mets secondary league defender, would be invited to the big league camp, as he has been doing for the past three years, Scott said: “We are still kind of finishing these things, so I I hesitate to discuss any specific players. Major League Baseball is limiting teams to a maximum of 75 players at the major league camp for health and safety reasons.
As for the controversial Bauer, to whom the Mets offered $ 105 million in three years, before signing with the Dodgers for $ 3 million less, Scott was asked how seriously the Mets took the story of the media bully pitcher. social.
“I hesitate to talk about a player who has just signed with another club, but I will speak more generally: these things are important to talk about whenever you are signing a free player,” said Scott. “Not so much about investing dollars in a person. You leave that aside. You just want to know what kind of person you are bringing to the organization, so you have to do a lot of exams about it. In some cases, you should talk to the player directly about some things and ask good questions and see how they handle those things. I think it’s a process that we do with anyone. “
• Finally, Scott shed some light on his unusual path to his current position: he interviewed for the opening of the GM of the Mets, finished second for Porter, joined the Mets anyway in December as an assistant GM and then ascended when Mets learned of Porter’s harassment in 2016 from a journalist.
“It certainly had its ups and downs,” said Scott. “I’m not getting [the GM job] It was a disappointment, but I was still very excited to join the organization. … One of the reasons I joined Mets is, obviously, I had a long professional relationship with Jared [from working together at the Red Sox]. He’s a good friend of mine. It’s a shame what happened there. … I am here to step forward and do whatever it takes to help the organization. I have a slightly different role now. “