The New York Mets front office and dugout will look familiar next season with the team announcing on Twitter a contract extension for general manager Sandy Alderson and that manager Terry Collins will return in 2015.
The team's official website included a press release (h/t ESPN New York's Adam Rubin), which states that Alderson's extension is through the 2017 season and includes a quote from COO Jeff Wilpon about the decision to extend the general manager:
We are excited about the direction the team is headed and look forward to Sandy continuing his efforts to build the Mets into a postseason contender. Sandy and his staff have built our Minor League system into one of the best in baseball, and will continue to balance player development along with making key additions that will help us reach our goals.
Alderson is also quoted as saying that he is grateful for "the opportunity to continue what we have started" and that there "have been positives this season, but there is still a lot of work to do."
During the press conference, Alderson was honest about his assessment of where the team is right now, via Mike Puma of the New York Post:
However, Alderson also added that even if there isn't a spike in the money spent in free agency it won't be due to lack of available funds, via Puma and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:
Collins has been with the team since 2011, compiling a 301-341 career record, and will become the Mets' longest-tenured manager since Bobby Valentine was fired in 2002 after six full seasons with the team.
While there will be questions about Collins' staff for 2015, Alderson didn't go into specifics about rumors that former Mets second baseman Wally Backman would move up from his position as manager of the team's Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, via Rubin:
Even though New York fans just look and see another year without a playoff appearance, the future is bright thanks to the efforts of Alderson. The Mets are currently tied for second place in the National League East at 76-80 with a chance to finish at .500 for the first time since 2008.
Alderson addressed the topic of New York's future postseason hopes, via DiComo:
Their young pitching staff led by Zack Wheeler, Rafael Montero, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Jacob deGrom will get even better in 2015 with the return of Matt Harvey and eventual promotion of top prospect Noah Syndergaard. If they can find offense—the Mets are ranked 20th in MLB with 609 runs—to support those arms, they will be very interesting in a mediocre division.
All you have to do is look at the numbers to see that the Mets are getting better. They are one of only six National League teams with a positive run differential (plus-nine) and the only one in that group under .500.
With all the pitching depth Alderson and Collins will have to play with in 2015, they have the luxury of using a veteran guy like Bartolo Colon or even a younger guy like Niese or Gee in a trade to make sure they get a bat. Alderson has the franchise moving in the right direction, while Collins has to put all the pieces in place to arrive at the next level.
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