All we can do is trust the process with the Mets and Pete Alonso...

Mets president of baseball operations said on Monday Pete Alonso is likely headed to free agency

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• Mets pitchers and catchers have officially arrived in Port St. Lucie - they will hold their first official workout tomorrow (2/14)

• The Mets signed OF Ben Gamel to a minor league contract with an invite to major league spring training

• Daniel Murphy will join the Mets telecast to help broadcast games on February 27-28

• Edwin Díaz is confident he can be the same pitcher he was during his dominant 2022 campaign (Newsday)

David Stearns’ remarks 🎤

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns met with the media in Port St. Lucie on Monday and essentially said:

• While he wouldn’t totally rule out another acquisition, the club intends to roll with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos as the third base/DH options out of the gate

• It’s a near certainty the Mets and Pete Alonso will not reach an agreement on a contract extension before he hits free agency

• He saw Starling Marte play in winter ball - Marte demonstrated he was fully healthy

• There will be competition for two spots in the Mets bullpen, the DH spot, a platoon role and a bench spot this spring

2024 Mets spring training roster

---

---

Back to Pete Alonso & his contract situation ✍️

If you looked outside your window this morning in the New York area, you wouldn’t think that just 65 or so hours ago, it was 61 degrees and sunny out there, the kids were on the playgrounds and in some cases, you could hear those first cracks of the bat at a nearby baseball field.

It was just a tease, for now we are blanketed in white again as we are reminded once again that it is still February and winter still has its grip for the foreseeable future.

For some, you’re just days away from going down to Port St. Lucie to see the Mets under the gorgeous Florida sunshine, standing there as you watch up close as the Mets get to work and prepare for what they hope is a sneak-in type of season for them.

For those who have never gone to see the Mets at spring training, I highly recommend you do so in the near future. It’s a wonderful, inexpensive experience and an opportunity to see up close how hard these players work to prepare for the long season ahead. It’s also an opportunity to get autographs and balls from pretty much anyone from Pete Alonso down to perhaps a trainer who happens to be roaming the back fields and has a Robert D. Manfred special in his or her hands.

It’s also warm and sunny, not cold and snowy in Port St. Lucie. Get out of this garbage weather and go see some baseball in its purest form for a couple of days.

I myself am leaving for Florida tomorrow, not to see any spring training ball but to take my daughter to the Clearwater Invitational softball tournament, which will feature all of the top division 1 college softball teams.

Anyway, onto Mets baseball for a bit on this snowy morning….

There really isn’t a lot to unpack from David Stearns’ comments yesterday. It’s more of the same from the last time he spoke in public. He has stayed the course despite intermittent temptations to find a DH or add more significant bullpen pieces. Depending on your perspective, you might be satisfied with that or pretty upset.

The one part I think most of us can agree on is the Pete Alonso situation. Now, we don’t know what has been discussed between the Mets and Scott Boras about an extension, but what we do know is Alonso has said a million times he wants to stay with the Mets, Boras himself has said they are open to an extension, and yet here we are with Stearns saying Alonso is likely to take this to free agency.

It would be unfair to criticize either party for Alonso taking that position. We don’t know what either side is truly thinking, how far the sides have progressed, if at all, either.

But now that Alonso is a Boras client, it’s no surprise (unfortunately) that this is the status of the negotiation. This is what Boras and his clients typically do - they rolls the dice on the walk year hoping it ups the client’s value heading into free agency.

It works with varying degrees of success, but the qualifying offer does hurt a player’s ability to get the deal he seeks in free agency and, as we have seen with several Boras clients this winter and in recent years, it doesn’t often net the results they seek (see Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell, all Boras clients and are unsigned as of this writing).

And Alonso will get a qualifying offer ahead of his age-30 season if he elects free agency after the 2024 season.

In the end, I do believe this will work out for both sides unless the Mets trade Alonso way at the deadline. The Mets realize and respect the historical context with Alonso, recognize that a homegrown star combined with Steve Cohen’s riches make it vital for this franchise to make Alonso a Met for life. They understand the connection he has made with the fan base as well, recognize this is the most prolific power hitter in Mets history, and that this is New York, the place where the spotlight is the brightest and shines brighter on its brightest stars.

After all, if they can sign Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil for most if not all of the remainder of their careers, it would be a tragedy if they failed to do the same with one of the best players in franchise history.

Recall - David Wright took his free agency all the way to the winter meetings in 2012, and signed back with the Mets for life anyway. Mike Piazza tested those waters after the 1998 season, only to sign back with the club for six years. Derek Jeter also tested free agency in 2001 only to sign back for another ten years, and then again after the 2010 season when he signed back with the Yankees for life.

There are many more cases just like this.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Alonso wants out, although I do believe the Mets organization has given him a multitude of reasons to not want to be here over the last year or so. It does mean that he at least wants to assess both his value and interest from other clubs and see where he fits into the history of free agency, which is right and something he’s earned by sticking in this league for five years.

Let’s just trust the process, and trust the Mets one last time, even if that trust has been hard to earn.

---

Hot Stove 🔥

• The Giants signed Jorge Soler to a three-year contract (SF Chronicle)

• Jurickson Profar is signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Padres (FanSided)

• The Royals will soon reveal plans for a new ballpark in Kansas City (KC Star)

• RHP Jake Odorizzi recently held a showcase for clubs (MLB Network)

• Mets nemesis Jesse Winker signed a minors deal with the Nationals (Washington Post)

• The Twins are still looking to add to their starting pitching (Star Tribune)