Sandy Alderson Appears on Mets Broadcast

Mets GM Sandy Alderson made an appearance in the broadcast booth during Sunday’s Mets-Cubs game to talk about some of the issues facing the team in the second half.

He said the team does have some holes to fill. Alderson didn’t specify what those holes are, but he said anyone watching the team can make that assessment, which means the bullpen and right handed hitting. He said he is having “conversations” with teams, but there is no urgency right now.

As far as whether there are any internal candidates to solve the problems, Alderson said, “I think you’ll see a couple of news faces between now and the end of July.” Reliever Josh Edgin is rumored to be the next call-up.

There were also reports on Sunday that the Mets would like to upgrade at catcher, with Ramon Hernandez’s name being bandied about. Alderson said “you have to be careful” about bringing in a new catcher at this point in the season. “Sure we’d like to get more offense out of that position,” he said, “but what’s more important is how they handle the pitching.” He said he’s brought in catchers at mid-season in the past and it didn’t work out well.

As far as the starting pitching, which has been the team’s strength thus far, Alderson acknowledged that the team can’t count on R.A. Dickey keeping up his incredible pace. He said it’s possible that Johan Santana could get stronger and that the back of the rotation could get better. When asked if Matt Harvey is the next option if a starter goes down, Alderson said, “If we have a need I think Matt Harvey is getting closer” and that he could be a “viable option for us.”

Alderson also addressed the issue of team chemistry. It sounded like he thinks the concept is a bit overrated, but admitted in the case of the 2012 Mets, there might be something to it. “I don’t want to credit too much to chemistry, but there is something there.”