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In the three years since Sandy Alderson took over as GM, many Mets fans have been eager for the team to pursue big-name free agents, especially those who swing big bats. But according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin, we may have to wait at least another year. The organization is not expected to sign any players who have draft pick compensation attached to them—that is, players who have been given qualifying offers by their current/former team—with the possible exception of outfielder and all around awesome baseball player Shin-Soo Choo. Further, the Mets are also likely limiting themselves to handing out contract durations of four years and fewer.
This news is likely to make some people weep. However, this has been the protocol with the team for many years and it does not seem to be changing anytime soon. With a talented young core slowly coming up the future does still look promising, though at some point the Mets may need to complement that core with established talent from the open market.