When a team underachieves – especially if they do so in a
spectacular way – often the knee-jerk reaction is to do something drastic. Even
if the club has good pieces in place and is set up for future success, the
suits in the corner offices always seem to be ready to make big changes or
perhaps tear everything down and start again.
After a horrible 2023 season, the New York Mets appear to be
on the cusp of this decision. While the team has added some minor pieces
recently, there is one big elephant (or polar bear, to be more specific) in the
room that they need to address: first baseman Pete Alonso.
Throughout this past season, rumors were rampant that Alonso was on the trading block. Though he has been a cornerstone of the team for many years, the Mets acted like they might be willing to pull the trigger if offered the right deal. This seemed to be especially true when reports emerged saying that Alonso was a problem in the clubhouse, though this claim has been thoroughly disputed.
Now two former Mets are calling out the team for dragging their feet with an extension for Alonso. On his Instagram page, Darryl Strawberry wrote:
“The Mets
must sign Peter Alonso to a long-term contract. He will become the all-time home
run leader for the franchise. Only a handful of
homegrown every day [sic] players have thrived in the
pressure of New York City, and Alonso has shown he has what it takes. Just like David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Myself, don’t let Pete go. Keep your homegrown talent!”
(He also included in this post a video of himself hitting a
home run against the Astros in the 1986 playoffs, which was a nice touch.)
A former teammate of Strawberry who also played a huge role for the Mets in the 80s believes that it’s vital the Mets sign Alonso as well.
“He’s not just a shooting star that’s going to burn out,” Keith Hernandez said in a recent interview. “He to me is the second coming of Harmon Killebrew. Big power like him, you can’t find those. They gotta sign him.”
What the Mets do with Alonso may depend on what perhaps the biggest free agent ever decides to do. If for example, the Chicago Cubs miss out on Shohei Ohtani, they may be desperate and offer the sun and moon for Alonso, at
which point the Mets will have a big decision to make. Fans are certainly
hoping it’s the right one.
