Alderson says Mets ownership 'all-in' after expensive offseason

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - After watching his club go through all kinds of injury struggles last year yet make the postseason, New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson improved the team by making a pair of major signings. He sent a message to the rest of the National League.

"We're all-in here. I think it's a credit to ownership that our payroll is as high as it is now, given where we have been as recently as two years ago and where our budget might have been," Alderson said on Sunday after New York's first full-squad workout. "We've had the fortune here recently of being able to take advantage of opportunities or not have to make moves primarily on the basis of payroll."

To make the team better, he brought back outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and second baseman Neil Walker with the hope they will reproduce their power numbers, resulting in even more run production than 2016.

After Cespedes turned down the Mets' qualifying offer, the club signed him to a four-year, $110 million contract. Alderson also made a $17.2-million qualifying offer to Walker, who had undergone back surgery for a herniated disc.

Walker accepted the one-year offer instead of opting for a contract with more term somewhere else.

"I think we're comfortable with the team that we have, the options we have and the depth we have. We've played pretty well the last couple of years. It's roughly the same squad coming back, but I do think we have the capacity to improve," Alderson said.