The Mets Should NOT Trade Pete Alonso
I know most Mets fans will be surprised by what I’m about to say, but I don’t think the Mets are that far away from competing again. I understand that this year has been a disaster. That will be a stain that they won’t be able to take off for a long time. This team came into the year with World Series aspirations, and they’ve completely fallen apart. I get it. But I’ve always been under the assumption that Steve Cohen will spend until the team is competitive again. It’s not a great free agent class coming up. I’m not saying that the Mets will compete for the division in 2024, but I keep hearing about the possibility of a huge shakeup, which would mean potentially trading Pete Alonso. I’m telling you, that’s a bad idea.
In general, I don't even understand this idea's principle. Alonso isn't some star who's fading fast. He's a slugger. He's a first baseman. At some point, he'll probably be a full-time DH. Hitting is in his DNA. He's been remarkably durable throughout his career. This isn't a Mookie Betts situation in which the owner will be unwilling to pay him. Steve Cohen has repeatedly proven that he'll dish out money to anybody. 40 home run, and 120 RBI guys don't grow on trees. I know we live in this hipster age where the RBI is considered an overrated statistic, but it's not. Pete Alonso is a fierce slugger. He's played his entire career at Citi Field. Teams fall in love with this idea that if you trade your best player, there's a generational prospect right around the corner. That isn't the case. Alonso is their guy. They hit with their guy. There's no reason to let go of him.
I've heard a lot of rumors about Pete Alonso's presence in the clubhouse. I know several Mets fans who feel like he's something of a cornball, but he's not a clubhouse cancer. He's not hurting anybody. Take Pete Alonso off this year's New York Mets; they're probably a 100-loss team. The group has been a disaster. He's one of the only ones that hold his own.
The Atlanta Braves are the dominant super force of the National League East. Pending something crazy, it doesn't seem like that will change for a while. Because of how good they are, we're going to have several teams across the National League that will go into panic mode to catch up to them. The Mets as a team aged before our very eyes in 2023. But the core of Alonso, Lindor, Edwin Diaz, Kodai Senga, and Francisco Alvarez is a core that a lot of teams would like to have. Trading Alonso would feel like something straight out of the Wilpon era. Don't do it. I want Clem to be happy.