Brian Wilson: Is New York Mets' Interest Based on His Pitching or Persona?

Reports started leaking today that New York Mets' General Manager Sandy Alderson held a private workout yesterday for closer Brian Wilson who is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Bob Nightengale from USA Today was the first to report this morning that the Mets had a "strong interest" in Wilson.

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The New York #Mets are showing strong interest in former #SFGiants closer Brian Wilson. GM Sandy Alderson watched him Sat in private workout

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 13, 2013"

From the Mets' perspective, this deal makes sense, since they would get a proven closer with a low base salary and high incentives built in. Wilson was a World Series-winning closer, and if healthy, he would be able to improve the Mets' bullpen and to give them a reliable closer instead of last year's closer, Frank Francisco.

When NY Post writer Dan Martin approached Alderson about Francisco, Alderson gave a lukewarm appraisal.

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When asked yesterday if he was confident in Francisco going forward finishing games, the Mets general manager paused before answering.

“Confident? I’m willing,” Alderson said. “There’s still a lot out there and we’re looking.”

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All Mets fans should be happy about the fact that the Mets' front office is looking at every possible avenue to improve their team and especially their bullpen. Wilson, according to Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports, is supposed to be ready by opening day.

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Source: Brian Wilson has been told by surgeon James Andrews that he will be cleared for spring training and ready by opening day.

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) December 6, 2012"

I like Alderson and believe that he is a great GM who only cares about the impact a player makes on the field. That being said, I just wonder (since this is the Mets that we're talking about) if part of the interest in Wilson is because of his unique personality. Wilson, who is also known by some as "The Beard" is a fan favorite due to his personality and would bring life to the Mets' clubhouse. With the Mets trading away pitcher R.A. Dickey earlier this year, maybe the team is hoping that Wilson can attract more fans to the ballpark.

I believe Wilson would be a super signing for any team since he takes his pitching very seriously and is all business once he enters the game. I also believe Wilson will come back 100% and will want to prove that the San Francisco Giants made a mistake in letting him go.

If I were Wilson, I would still try and sign with a true playoff contender in either the Detroit Tigers or the Toronto Blue Jays. But maybe Wilson likes the fact that he could play in a large market while closing and still be in the NL, where he is familiar with the batters. New York would embrace Wilson's personality, and he could potentially have more opportunities for endorsement deals, which could be attractive to him.

Whether the Mets-Wilson pairing happens remains to be seen, but regardless, this is a story that is worth watching since there are too many interesting angles to ignore. Stay tuned since I believe we're going to be hearing a lot more about this in the next few days.

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