Atlanta Braves might look to New York for deals after all

The Mets heard some bad news of a quite different sort early this week.  But in reading between the lines, changes could be coming to their team.

The Atlanta Braves may be keeping their options for July trades open, but a sudden – and difficult – report from one of their NL East rivals does indeed have baseball-related implications to consider.

A press conference was held yesterday to formally announce to the media, team, and their fans that General Manager Sandy Alderson will be stepping aside to concentrate on his treatment for a recurrence of cancer – a disease first diagnosed in September of 2015.

At the time of the original pronouncement, Alderson continued to operate full-time at Mets’ GM.  This time around, he had apparently been trying to press on despite taking chemotherapy treatment since April.

However, Alderson has made the decision that it would be better for him and for the team – despite a positive prognosis with his cancer – to yield his duties to another.

I’ll pause here to give credit for this move entirely to Alderson.  He seems to have recognized that certain limitations of wht he has to endure – whether medical, personal, or otherwise – are requiring too much of his attention and thus renders him unable to fulfill his professional obligations to the level of extent necessary.

It takes a big man to admit that.  But there’s more.

The Quotes

Here’s the money quote from the press conference, as written up by Anthony DiComo on mlb.com, with emphasis added:

"Alderson’s longer-term future with the organization remains cloudy, both because of his health — he will undergo surgery later this summer — and job performance. Asked about the possibility of returning to his old role, Alderson replied that “if I were to look at it on the merits, I’m not sure coming back is warranted.” When pressed on this topic, Wilpon deferred to Alderson’s health, sidestepping questions about his work as GM."

This is a man looking at his own job performance, performing a self-evaluation, and finding it wanting.

Alderson is 70 years old.  He has been in the Mets’ front office for 7½ seasons, including their World Series run in 2015.  He’s been there and done enough of that.

The message being sent here is that health considerations aside, Alderson is effectively retiring.  This time away is not going to leave the operation of the team in limbo, marking time until he returns.   He is almost certainly departing the business.

Forbes.com came to the same conclusion, though making the point quite a bit less subtle in their headline, noting that Mets CEO Jeff Wilpon repeatedly opted to deflect questions about keeping Alderson on the staff:

"“Mets GM Sandy Alderson Fires Himself — With Jeff Wilpon’s Blessing”"

Here’s a related quote from the above mlb.com source:

"John, Omar [and] J.P., I’m sure, will take a hard look at where we are, maybe take a fresh look at where we are."

Moreover, what Alderson seems to be saying is this:  ‘I’m not particularly pleased with the direction that I’ve led this club toward over the past couple of years… those who take over should head in a new direction.’

Apparently his boss agreed, too.

That’s … a fairly stark admission, and one that you don’t often see in this industry – especially in front of the spotlight that is the New York media.

So Now, What of the Mets?

If you listen to other national voices about the Mets – particularly those like die-hard fan Casey Stern on XM/MLBNetworkRadio – there’s only one real answer, and that solution was being preached often… well before that press conference:  sell.

If you want a different direction for the Mets, there’s only 2 possible routes, and Wilpon simply will not entertain the other (spend money), so that only leaves a full-on rebuild… something normally anathema to a large market team like this one.  But what else can you do?

So there will be a lot of questions to be answered over the next weeks and months, but the timing of this announcement can’t be ignored, either:  5 weeks to the day ahead of the 2018 trade deadline.

Here are a couple of those questions right away:

• Is a rebuild truly being envisioned?
• Does that process begin immediately or at the off-season?
• How deep does it go?
• Are those running the team now expected to stay in that role or be handcuffed by an “interim” tag?

Certainly, the baseball implications suggest that names like deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, and Wheeler are now truly available… or will be by season’s end.  Relievers like Lugo and Familia will be available … probably sooner than later.

Could Brandon Nimmo become a trade chip? Michael Conforto?  Todd Frazier (almost certainly)?  Right now, there’s still more guesses than not, but this is just about the full list of players that have actual trade value and therefore the Mets should be in active “listening” mode for any of them.

Paying the Freight

I’ve noted at other times that the Mets are in the same situation with their premium talents (deGrom, Thor, and Nimmo) that the White Sox were in recently:  few teams can pony up the level of prospects needed to justify a trade.

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But the Braves are one of these few teams.  While I was previously prepared to rule out a deal for someone like deGrom back then… things have changed.

• Atlanta has been suffering from some Summer ailments among their pitching staff, and some of them (Teheran/McCarthy) have been struggling as well.
• The lack of innings being eaten by the starters is negatively impacting the bullpen.
• deGrom is under control through 2020.
• Hey – he’s more-or-less from Braves’ Country… DeLand, Florida and Stetson University.
• He’d instantly make the entire pitching staff better.

So while the Mets are certainly going to need some time to sort out even their own plans, if I’m Alex Anthopoulos, I would monitor the opportunity for deGrom or others very closely (if for no other reason than the fact that Philadelphia would be another or the few clubs that could pay the price for the Mets’ best talents).

We hate to see announcements like this one from New York.  Yet time marches on and the business of baseball still needs to be executed.  A new direction for the Mets means changes not only to them, but also (one way or another) to their close rivals that they play 18-19 times a year.

Next: Looking for a Sign

The Atlanta Braves will probably soon see two rebuilding teams in their division, with the Mets joining the Marlins.  Can the Braves and Mets come together on a mutually-beneficial arrangement?  Time will tell.