Alderson: Mets should be Trade Deadline buyers

NEW YORK -- The Mets do not have to do anything in their next 10 games to convince general manager Sandy Alderson that he should be a buyer at the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. Injuries to starters Johan Santana and Dillon Gee haven't changed Alderson's mindset that the Mets are still in the race for a National League playoff spot, but poor results will.

"It's not a question of what we need to see on the field to make us buyers, it's what we see on the field that causes us not to be buyers," Alderson said. "The presumption here is that we're buyers, and it has been. Realistically, the next seven, eight, 10 games become important for us."

The Mets have a well-documented need for bullpen help, as they entered Saturday's game against the Dodgers at Citi Field with a 4.95 bullpen ERA, the worst mark in the NL. But holes in the rotation are now equally as glaring, and Alderson is unsure of how he will fill them.

He has internal options -- Jeremy Hefner, Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia -- and does not expect the injury to Santana to alter his Trade Deadline strategy.

"This, in and of itself, doesn't change our approach," Alderson said. "I think the results on the field will dictate that. This will have an impact on us every five days, no question about that."