Alderson to have procedure, miss GM Meetings
NEW YORK -- Mets general manager Sandy Alderson will miss this week's General Managers Meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., to undergo a medical procedure, a team official said. The procedure was scheduled prior to the World Series and is unrelated to his recent fainting episode at Citi Field, the official added.
Alderson's lieutenants -- John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi and Paul DePodesta -- are attending the meetings in his stead.
Alderson, 67, collapsed during a news conference last Wednesday at Citi Field, but came to after approximately 30 seconds. Later that day, a team official said that Alderson's episode was due to him missing breakfast and feeling lightheaded.
The Mets figured to accomplish mostly groundwork at this week's GM Meetings regardless of Alderson's status. The club must first determine where its 2016 payroll stands, which it cannot do until second baseman Daniel Murphy either accepts or rejects the $15.8 million qualifying offer the Mets extended to him last week. And the free-agent markets the Mets appear most interested in pursuing -- mid-tier center fielders, for example, and setup-caliber relievers -- do not typically grow robust until later in the winter.
The GM Meetings run through Thursday in Boca Raton.