Pete Alonso, a native slugger, is one of the top first basemen in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets. But it appears that President of Baseball Operations David Stearns may be inclined to cut ways with Alonso as he approaches free agency at the end of the 2024 season.
Paul Hembekides of ESPN anticipated that Stearns would be more likely to move Alonso than extend him until owner Steve Cohen intervenes, taking advantage of a market lacking bats like this.
There have been similar arguments made by other well-known media figures for trading Alonso before the deadline.
Keith McPherson of WFAN recently pushed the team to make this move, saying that it would be better to give up a possible bundle of young talent in exchange than to commit to a large contract extension or let Alonso to sign elsewhere.
“What if you trade him at the deadline and you get some top prospects?” Keith asked. “What if … you’re able to trade Pete Alonso to the (Chicago) Cubs for two or three of their top prospects?”
McPherson continued by saying that the Mets could learn a lot from their previous experience with former star Jacob deGrom. The Texas Rangers offered the pitcher a five-year, $185 million contract, which the Mets would have had to match in order to keep him. However, they had nothing to show for his advancement after ten years with the company because they failed to move him before then.
“The market is desperate for difference-making bats,” Joel Sherman noted for the New York Post. “Every trend of the past 10 years has turned away from over-rewarding Alonso types: corner, non-athletic players who will spend the large majority of a long-term deal in their 30s.”
After trading Pete Alonso, what return can the New York Mets expect?
Alonso’s impending payout will also be taken into consideration by potential trading partners, and any trade return will accurately represent his status as a short-term rental until he formally agrees to an extension.
If the Mets trade him, they can only hope for a “middling” return, according to ESPN MLB source Kiley McDaniel. The Chicago Cubs have reportedly considered Christopher Morel as the “centrepiece player” in a possible trade for Alonso, according to his colleague Jesse Rogers.
With Morel slashing.241/.311/.471 with 42 home runs and 117 RBI in 220 big-league games over the last two seasons, the Mets could probably turn Alonso into a valuable asset that affects their future.
This offseason, the New York Mets could yet add a free-agent slugger.
With Alonso in the lineup, the Mets are also expected to spend money on supporting pieces that would help them win.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman recently urged the team to add either Jorge Soler or J.D. Martinez, two experienced sluggers who can hit behind Alonso to shield him.
“The Mets have done right by holding on to their homegrown slugger, but the lack of a proven slugger to bat behind Alonso is a real weakness (and perhaps even a reason for Alonso to bolt as a free agent after the year),” Heyman wrote.
According to Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter, Martinez’s most likely destination is the Mets.