Alderson: Mets Won't Add a $100 Million Player in 2014

Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson made it very clear to fans and reporters that he will not spend big money recklessly on big ticket free agents. In short, the days of spending $100-plus million on one player are over for the Mets.

"It would be difficult to duplicate that again -- not from a financial standpoint, but just in terms of team building..." Alderson told reporters before the GM meetings.

And for the first time in his four year tenure with the Mets, Alderson is right on. The blueprint of recent World Series winners like the Cardinals, Giants, and Red Sox has been to build a team by spreading the wealth throughout the team with short term/financial stable contracts.

That is why the Mets are probably not players for Shin Shoo Choo, who is asking for a insane $100 million contract.

That is why the team has set its focus on the likes of Curtis Granderson, Jhonny Peralta, Corey Hart, and Rafael Furcal -- all good veteran players who could bring instant credibility back to a Mets club house that has been lumped with failed minor league experiments testing the majors.

Meanwhile, reports from the New York Post are saying that the Mets have received "a half-dozen inquiries" regarding dregs Lucas Duda and Ike Davis.

Food for thought: if there is any team or teams are dumb enough to take Lucas Duda and Ike Davis off the hands of the Mets then Sandy Alderson has to get this deal done. Duda and Davis have become poster boys for the Mets failures over the past four seasons.

Davis went from highly touted first base prospect to a strikeout machine the past two seasons. He hit only .227 in 2012, and .205 in 2013. The Mets came up with the excuse of Valley Fever to describe Davis' struggles in 2012, but the fact that Davis just doesn't have it became more and more apparent as he struggled throughout 2013. The Mets have to dumb this guy.

Meanwhile Duda has been a model of consistent mediocrity. A terrible outfielder, the Mets have even considered moving Duda to first base and he's struggled there. More importantly some Mets fans deluded themselves into thinking Duda could become a 30-plus home run hitter, but he has only hit a total of 30 homers in the last two seasons combined, while hitting on average .230 in 2012 and 2013.

Duda is another player that the Mets would be better off without, and if someone is willing to take him for cash or a low minor leaguer, the Mets have to do it.