Mets Give Sandy Alderson a New Contract

Photo

Sandy Alderson will return for, at least, his eighth season as the Mets’ general manager, after officially agreeing to a long-expected new contract, the team announced in a statement on Wednesday night.

Alderson’s previous contract was set to expire this year.

Over the past few months, Alderson has repeatedly declined to talk about his future beyond simply saying that he expected to return. True to form, the Mets’ announcement on Wednesday did not list the terms of his new contract.

“I’m excited that Sandy will continue to lead the organization,” said Jeff Wilpon, the Mets’ chief operating officer, in the team-issued statement.

In the statement Alderson reiterated a sentiment he conveyed during a rough 2017 season for the Mets: “I feel that we have some unfinished business.”

At 70, Alderson is the oldest general manager in baseball. He learned he had cancer during the Mets’ pennant race and World Series run in 2015. After chemotherapy and two surgeries, he was declared cancer free in May 2016 but requires checkups every four months.

Even during a trying 2017 season in which the Mets went a disappointing 70-92, Alderson and close confidantes insisted he still had the energy and drive to continue.

“I personally take a lot of responsibility for unmet expectations,” Alderson said soon after the season ended. “I am happy to have the opportunity to try to correct that.”

Already a well-regarded and experienced baseball executive, Alderson took over the Mets in late 2010 during a bleaker and financially leaner time in team history.

He shepherded the Mets into relevancy. In 2015, they won the National League East title and reached the World Series, where they fell to the Kansas City Royals. The Mets also reached the 2016 playoffs as a wild-card team — only the second time in team history they had notched consecutive postseason berths.

Injuries, underperformance and decisions throughout the organization undermined the 2017 season. Terry Collins was not kept on as manager, and Alderson led the search that hired Collins’s replacement: Mickey Callaway, the Cleveland Indians’ pitching coach.

The Mets have endured criticism this off-season for a lack of roster improvements and what is expected to be a lower payroll than the 2017 opening-day mark of $155 million.