One of the overlooked stories concerning the impact Sandy Alderson has already had on the Mets’ roster concerns the values he’s managed to pick up. Saving money at the margins is vital, and quite different from failing to address issues of secondary talent and depth. Indeed, spending less for the same player affords a team the chance to add both depth and a big-ticket item worth signing when one hits the market.

So let’s compare Matt Guerrier, who agreed to a three-year, $12 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and D.J. Carrasco, who Alderson signed for two years, $2.5 million last week.

– Howard Megdal, New York Baseball Digest.

Howard makes some good points here. Guerrier has been a very good reliever in five of the last six seasons and Carrasco has only been doing it for two and a half, so certainly the Dodgers paid for certainty. But given the deals given out to Guerrier and Jesse Crain this week, Carrasco looks like a bargain.

I think for now, optimistic Mets fans like Howard and myself will have to point to Sandy Alderson’s more subtle savvy moves. I spent the last several years bleating on about the way in which the Mets were wasting money and roster spots at the margins of their roster, with the Marlon Andersons and Julio Francos and Abraham Nunezes of the world.

But, as I was discussing with Will Davidian this morning, Alderson has an opportunity to create a pretty fearsome bench on the cheap if he uses the right mix of in-house options and free agents. Ronny Paulino gives the Mets a backup catcher that’s actually a useful hitter against lefties. Likely Brad Emaus or Justin Turner (or perhaps both) will be on the squad, reserve middle infielders that might get on base now and then.

If the Mets pursue and acquire Fred Lewis, with whom they were linked earlier this offseason, they’d have a useful fourth outfielder that wouldn’t be a hole in the lineup when one of the starters needed a rest. Throw in a one or two of the Mets’ young power hitters and corner players from the Minors — Lucas Duda and/or Nick Evans, say — and you’ve got a bench full of guys that present real offensive value. And they’re guys that, unlike Alex Cora and Gary Matthews Jr., show at least some promise that they can be more than bench guys if everything falls in their favor.

So there’s that. They’re still going to need some guys to start games though.