ATLANTA -- New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson came out swinging Friday at critics of the signing of Tim Tebow, wanting to know what the harm is.

"When I was in San Diego, we signed a Marine who had been a pitcher in high school, who lost part of his hand," Alderson said at Turner Field before the Mets opened a series against the Atlanta Braves. "Why did we do that? The reason we did it is because we were asked to on the Marine Corps birthday, as a matter of fact. And my answer was, 'Why not?' I don't put that in the same category as this one, but my response would be the same, which is, 'Why not?'

"This is a guy who's going to, I think, give it his best shot. And I know that he's doing broadcasting for the SEC Network. But that is not going to interfere with his effort in a material way. It's just not. From our standpoint, this is an interesting experiment."

Privately, some Mets players were not thrilled by Thursday's signing of Tebow to a minor-league deal, citing his absence for two days a week during the instructional league to work for the SEC Network and how the other minor leaguers had to earn their roles.

Right fielder Jay Bruce portrayed Tebow now as just one of a plethora of minor leaguers.

"What is there, 300 other minor league guys that are there? Probably more than that. I don't even know," Bruce said. "I don't particularly care. Nothing against or for him. He's become a number at this point. There are a lot of other guys there working and trying to get to the major leagues. Now he will be as well, and we'll see what happens."

Bruce added: "I know he played competitive baseball when he was a junior in high school. Apparently he was pretty good. The athletic ability I don't think is in question here. Baseball is a very skilled sport. It's to be seen whether or not he has the skill level. It'll be found out, obviously. And I think he knows that as well. We'll see."

Manager Terry Collins midway through last spring training ended Yoenis Cespedes' cavalcade of cars into camp because it was time to focus on baseball. Collins insisted, though, that he is not worried about a Tebow-fueled media horde distracting preparations next March -- and certainly not now.

"I think we can control that," Collins said. "Let me tell you something: There's not one guy out there who is going to be distracted in about 2 1/2 hours -- not a guy. They've got their hands full with Mr. [Julio] Teheran tonight. That's where their attention will be."

Alderson insisted the idea was his and reiterated his claim from Thursday that it is not marketing-driven.

"I have to tell you, the notion that we're going to spend $100,000-plus on a player so we can sell a couple of hundred dollars worth of T-shirts in Kingsport [Tennessee, home of the Kingsport Mets] -- those economics don't work," Alderson said. "This was not about making money."

The GM added that Tebow won't be blocking a prospect in the minors.

"I understand there are baseball purists out there who think somebody is not going to get an opportunity because Tim Tebow is playing left field or right field in Kingsport," Alderson said. "Give me a break."