What Sandy Alderson's Comments Told Us About The Mets' Future Plans
For the first time since his arrest for DWI, Mets president Sandy Alderson commented on the Zack Scott situation.
“We were all caught by surprise, it’s very unfortunate, and there is not a lot that I can say beyond the statements that we previously made,” Alderson told reporters prior to the Mets' 9-4 win over the Marlins on Tuesday. “It’s a criminal case at this point and until that is resolved there won’t be any further comment from us or anyone else in the organization.”
Scott has since been placed on administrative leave by the Mets and is due to appear in court on October 7. Scott was arrested for falling asleep at the wheel of his car and failing a field sobriety test after refusing a breathalyzer at 4:17 a.m. on the morning of August 31.
As far as whether there is a chance that Scott could be retained as general manager, having his acting tag become a permanent role, Alderson declined to answer, which pretty much tells us all we need to know.
Alderson hired Scott, Jared Porter and Mickey Callaway, who all found themselves in unacceptable situations. The Mets fired Porter, their short lived GM, in January after it was discovered that he sexually harassed a female reporter during his time with the Cubs. And Callaway, the former Mets manager from 2018-19, received a suspension from MLB through 2022 for also sexually harassing female reporters as well.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate and I am personally chagrined by the whole thing, but to a large extent they are unrelated, each one of them, and I am not sure it points to a single flaw in our hiring process,” Alderson said. “But it’s obviously caused us to take a hard look at it, which we continue to do.”
Rojas' Future
With manager Luis Rojas' two-year contract set to expire after the 2021 season, Alderson was asked about the possibility of him returning next year.
“I think that is a decision that will be made at the end of the year or right thereafter,” Alderson said. “I look at the first half of the season or the half through the All-Star break and I think Louie did an exceptional job keeping this team afloat in spite of all the injuries and in some cases underperformance."
“Not surprisingly in some minds we hit a rough stretch against some good teams, a lot of close games, but we rebounded from that so I think the credit for that resides among the players and I think to some extent it resides among the coaching staff as well. We’ll see what happens and we’ll make a decision at the end of the season.”
At this point, Alderson didn't necessarily sound like Rojas had to make the playoffs in order to earn himself another contract.
"I’m not assuming we’re going to miss the playoffs at this point," Alderson said. "So again, that’s a decision we’ll make in light of all the circumstances at the end of the season."
Alderson's Future
Regarding Alderson's future as the president of the Mets, the 73-year-old says he and owner Steve Cohen haven't discussed whether he will be back next year or not. Alderson also said they will probably have a sit down to discuss the year in review once the season ends.
"I think he understands the ups and downs of a season," Alderson said of Cohen. "I think he understands how perhaps unusual this season has been. But I don’t think it’s deterred him from his enjoyment of the team and look, it’s an experience for him just like it’s an experience for the rest of us."
"I’ve been around a long time. I don’t think I’ve ever been through a year like this. So we all learn something, whether we’ve been around for a year or longer."
Alderson says he will stay with the team as long as he is needed. However, the Mets have suffered the same type of dysfunction under him, as they did in the Wilpon-era.
