Everyone that follows Major League Baseball knows that the New York Mets were one of the most hyped up teams in the offseason and were expected to be very competitive this season. They entered the season with the highest payroll in the majors and were coming off last season where they won 101 games. After losing their star ace Jacob deGrom in free agency to the Texas Rangers, they signed veteran Justin Verlander and rookie Kodai Senga. Things were looking up for the Mets but they never really built any momentum when the season began. Unfortunately for the team, quite the opposite of what they had hoped happened and it only got worse as the months progressed. They now sit in last place in the National League East with a 60-72 overall record.
At the trade deadline the Mets became sellers. They traded their recent signing Verlander back to his old team, the Houston Astros. Pitcher Max Scherzer was traded to the Rangers. Outfielder Mark Canha was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. Closer David Robertson was traded to division-fellow the Miami Marlins and more. All went downhill for the Metropolitans. Although, they did pick up a lot of top prospects in return at the deadline, one being the Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.’s younger brother Luisangel Acuña from the Rangers in the Scherzer deal. But, these prospects won’t make a difference for the Mets for about one or two seasons, possibly longer.
All of that comes down to now. Rumors are now circling that this season could possibly be the last that we see Alonso in blue and orange. Alonso has spent his whole five-year career with the Mets and has been named an All-Star three times. He has hit .253 for his career with 185 home runs and 474 RBIs. He’s “the” Mets power hitter and a RBI machine. He is having a strong 2023 season with 39 home runs and 95 RBIs but is currently batting a .221 average which is his career worst. As a baseball fan myself, there are a few reasons I could think of as to why this would not be the best move for the Mets to make in the offseason.
1. The fan base
Trading Alonso would absolutely wreck the Mets fan base. Ever since the day Alonso set foot in the big leagues, he has been an electric part of the Mets organization. Shortly after his debut, he earned the nickname of “The Polar Bear” and that has remained through his career. In his rookie season, Alonso broke many records for the Mets, the biggest one being the MLB Rookie Home Run Record. Alonso hit 53 home runs in 2019 and broke the record surpassing Aaron Judge’s 52 in his 2017 rookie campaign. The fan base has grown a connection with Alonso and he is a fan favorite. Alonso has always expressed his love of playing in New York and the fans that come with it. Trading away one of the faces of the organization would not only be bad for the team but it would deeply tear apart those who love Alonso and what he brings to the game.
2. The clubhouse
One of the biggest leaders in the Mets clubhouse is Alonso, Francisco Lindor as well. However, Alonso is a home grown Met and has grown in his baseball career only through New York’s farm system. The Mets have not had a homegrown position player like Alonso since David Wright who was the team’s captain. Alonso has played most of his games at the first base position and has a .993 fielding percentage there. A player like Alonso is rare and it’s fairly uncommon now to see a player play for the same team for his whole career. Mets fans thought that DeGrom would be that guy for them, but he decided to part ways with New York in free agency. Mets fans don’t want to see this happen with Alonso, especially not in the form of a trade.
3. Who would replace his production?
It would be a hard sight to see the Mets first baseman out on the field and it not be Alonso. He’s the kind of player that is always playing and rarely has an off day. Alonso’s presence is valued on the field and the camaraderie of the team would be vastly different without him there. As of Aug. 29, Alonso has 39 home runs and 96 RBI’s. It would be very hard to find a guy to replace Alonso who puts up those same numbers every season. Throughout his career Alonso has been consistent and has not dealt with any major injuries that have kept him sidelined. As much as the Mets might not want to hand out another 10+-year contract, Alonso would be the guy that deserves it if they did.
Contract negotiations are what sometimes can ruin the relationship between a player and their organization. So the one reason I can fathom the Mets trading away their home grown player before he even hits free agency is the contract negotiations. In today’s baseball world, a lot of big-time players walk out of free agency with monster 7-12 year deals that are worth hundreds of millions. With the impact that Alonso has made on New York, I can 100% see him aiming for a deal like this. By the time he hits free agency he will be almost 30 years old. Signing a 30-year-old player to a 10-year contract might not be in the cards for the Mets. However if they were to hand out another major contract like Lindor’s, it would only make sense for it to be Alonso and not have another team give him that long awaited contract. Per a Bleacher Report article, the Mets are willing to move anyone that is not under a contract this offseason, including Alonso. The Mets are the kind of team that want to be competitive for years and are building a team full of young players. By the time they built this team, Alonso will be one of the veterans but I still don’t see the purpose of trading away the core of the team. All in all, I think it would be a bad move for the Mets to trade away Alonso in this off season. It would completely flip the team and their beloved fans upside down, creating so many questions of the future of the New York Mets.
