Alderson Eyes Turnaround; Team Hires Consultant
(AP) Expecting no major moves before the start of spring training next month, New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson thinks his payroll-cutting team can improve on last year’s 77-85 record and fourth-place finish in the NL East.
On a conference call last Thursday, Jan. 5, Alderson said: “I think our greatest avenue of improvement is internal. I think that if you look at the pitching as well as the position players, we’ve got great room for improvement.”
With their owners being sued by the trustee seeking money for victims of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, the Mets traded Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran during the summer, then didn’t make an offer as All- Star shortstop Jose Reyes left last month for a $106 million, six-year deal with the Miami Marlins.
New York added relievers Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch and acquired outfielder Andres Torres and pitcher Ramon Ramirez from San Francisco for center fielder Angel Pagan. Its latest move was to keep outfielder Scott Hairston with a $1.1 million, one-year contract, a deal pending a physical.
Meet the Mets’ consultants
The financially troubled Mets have hired the consulting company that worked with the Texas Rangers during that team’s bankruptcy in 2010.
“Mets Limited Partnership engaged CRG Partners to provide services in connection with financial reporting and budgeting processes,” the team said in a statement late Thursday, responding to a report by SBNation.
Last Friday, the Mets added on their Twitter account: “To be clear: CRG’s services aren’t bankruptcy-related. There are no bankruptcy services being provided by anyone.”
The Mets have been trying to raise $200 million through the sale of $20 million non-controlling shares following the collapse of a deal last summer with hedge fund manager David Einhorn. They also owe $25 million to Major League Baseball, a loan whose repayment was extended from November until March; and $40 million to Bank of America.
Alderson said last month the team lost $70 million, although he didn’t put a timeframe on the losses.
The trustee recovering money for victims of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, Irving Picard, originally sought $1 billion from the Mets’ owners, claiming they should have known millions they collected from Madoff represented phony profits. Owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz have denied the claims in lengthy litigation.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed nine of 11 counts on Sept. 27, limiting the exposure of the Mets’ ownership to about $386 million. A trial is scheduled to start Mar. 19.
