NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Buying isn’t an option until the Mets sell something first.
With a payroll and outfield too bloated for his liking, general manager Sandy Alderson acknowledged Wednesday he needs to move a high-salaried player before he can consider addressing other areas of need.
Alderson continued to meet with teams who might be interested in either Curtis Granderson ($15 million) or Jay Bruce ($13 million), but all indications were he wasn’t close on trading a player as Day 4 of the winter meetings concluded.
The team’s preference, according to sources, remains a deal that would jettison Bruce, most likely for prospects. Then Alderson can turn his attention to a bullpen that could use at least one — if not two — proven arms.
Brad Ziegler, Joe Smith and Boone Logan are among the potential free-agent options for the Mets, who are bracing for Jeurys Familia to receive a suspension following his Oct. 31 arrest on domestic violence charges.
After signing Yoenis Cespedes last week to a mega-deal, the Mets’ 2017 payroll is around $150 million, and Alderson would like to reduce that number before reinvesting.
“It’s like buying a new house without selling your old one,” Alderson said. “Sometimes you get stuck in the transition and it’s not a good place to be.”
Alderson discounted the idea the Mets could head to spring training with the current roster, noting the outfield logjam that includes Cespedes, Bruce, Granderson, Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares.
“Payroll is an issue, but so is playing time, and we’re not configured well to allocate playing time,” Alderson said. “There’s some things we need to do to smooth that out. I wouldn’t expect that we would go into the season with what we have, not because the payroll is too high — although that is definitely a consideration — it’s also because we don’t have the right mix at the moment and the ability to allocate playing time.”
Ideally, the Mets would like Granderson in center and Conforto in right, with the tandem splitting playing time against lefties. Lagares would play almost full-time against lefties, maximizing his offensive potential and allowing the 35-year-old Granderson to reduce the mileage on his legs.
The Mets signed Cespedes to a four-year contract worth $110 million to solidify the middle of the lineup. Last month Neil Walker accepted a one-year qualifying offer worth $17.2 million. But the Mets are yet to add a major league player who wasn’t part of the 2016 roster.
Alderson was asked if such a strategy indicates he believed the team the Mets put on the field last year was good enough to win the World Series.
“I think the team last year was pretty good,” Alderson said. “If we get the pitching back we lost over the course of the season we should be very competitive. That’s not to say we’re not looking to improve. Obviously there were some flaws, we didn’t score that many runs, we didn’t hit with men in scoring position, those kind of things. Some of that may be random.
“We’re not trying to duplicate [last year], we’re trying to improve it, but I do think a lot of the improvement is going to come internally from growth from some players and the return from injury of some others.”