Alderson looks to make waves at Meetings

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was scheduled to touch down in Orlando late Sunday afternoon, make the quick drive to Disney and settle into the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort. Once settled, he planned to resume the process that he started last week by signing Curtis Granderson.

Alderson's objective: Continue to make an offseason splash.

"We came into the offseason hoping to improve in a number of areas," Alderson said upon arriving at Disney on Sunday evening. "I think we have improved in hopefully one area. That logically leaves three or four others to potentially address."

So begin the Winter Meetings, where the Mets have much left to check off on their annual wish list. Alderson still must acquire at least one starting pitcher this winter, at least one veteran reliever and, ideally, a shortstop. He has around $12 million left to spend, based on last year's payroll figure of roughly $87 million, and more than a few trade chips at his disposal.

This is where his plans could take shape. Perhaps the most intriguing plot for the Mets at these meetings will be whether they are able to find suitors for first basemen Ike Davis or Lucas Duda, or even second baseman Daniel Murphy. The Mets would badly like to deal a first baseman in order to shore up other needs, and the Winter Meetings will allow Alderson to schedule multiple get-togethers with other GMs.

Agents, too, will pour into Disney, and the Mets will surely meet with several of them in their quest to find a starting pitcher. The intrigue there will be how high prices soar, with plenty of teams -- the Yankees among them -- still looking to fill out their rotations.

Also in town is manager Terry Collins, who will address the media on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Collins should have plenty to say about the Mets' search for improvement, now that he has another two years on his contract and a sizeable stake in the future of the team.

Granderson may even pop up at Disney, if the Mets decide to announce his signing at a news conference as they did with David Wright a year ago. MLB.com will have 30 beat writers on the ground to cover all the signings, meetings and rumors -- from the moment the hotels begin filling up on Sunday evening through the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.

Stay tuned to MLB.com writers on the web site and Twitter, as things tend to unfold rapidly this time of year. The Mets have plenty left to do, and will look to do much of it here in Florida. Check mets.com for all the latest developments.