Mets Payroll Has No Future Limitations Says Fred

Fred also says payroll has zero limitations going forward, and could go back to old heights. More to come on Mets.com. #Mets

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) February 13, 2013

This falls under the "I'll believe it when I see it" category for many Mets fans, but it would be nice to see the Mets able to spend money if Sandy Alderson finds a great player to add to the team. Fred Wilpon also insinuated they'd be players in next year's free-agent market if it was deemed appropriate. With so much money coming off the books next season, it would be pretty hard to not have plenty of room in the budget and it'd be pretty shocking if the Mets didn't need to add talent.

This does seem much of the same story we've heard from the Mets front office lately. They can still spend, but they need to find the right players to spend on. From the offer they made to R.A. Dickey and Scott Hairston to the numbers mentioned in the Michael Bourn offer, Sandy Alderson has seemingly been unwilling to spend even a dollar more than he feels a player is worth. Wilpon confirmed that it was a baseball decision not to give Bourn the fifth year he was asking for, not a financial one.

The decision is going to be Sandy Alderson's, but Wilpon put the odds at 50/50 that the Mets will trade for an outfielder if they're playing well this summer. At some point the Mets are going to target a player they definitely want on the team, and when they spend the extra money to make sure they get their man is when we can start believing they're do have that flexibility they've been talking about.