Could trading Pete Alonso provide the best outcome for the Mets?

Also, Francisco Lindor's return to Cleveland wasn't a happy one in another lifeless loss

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets saw their offensive struggles rear their ugly head again after falling 3-1 to the Guardians (box)

• New York has now lost eight of its last 11, and the club is now 0-12 in games they’ve been held to one run or less

• RHP Tylor Megill was solid in his first start in more than seven weeks, allowing three runs, two of them earned, on four hits with two walks while striking out seven in five innings of work

• OF Starling Marte was ejected from the game in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes

• Marte had earlier been involved in a 1-6-5-3 double play as the Guardians threw out two baserunners in the top of the second

• C Tomás Nido hit a solo home run in the third - his first homer since April 26

• LHP Josh Walker and RHP Jorge López combined to throw three scoreless innings in relief

• The Mets managed six hits and went 0-for-4 with RISP as the offensive woes only deepened

• 1B Pete Alonso went 2-for-4 on the day but now has just one home run and one RBI in his last six games

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Roster Moves 🗞️

• RHP Yohan Ramírez was traded to the LA Dodgers for cash considerations

• INF Joey Wendle was released after being DFA’d last week

• RHP Grant Hartwig was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

• RHP Tylor Megill returned from his rehabilitation assignment and was reinstated to the roster

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Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Kodai Senga (shoulder strain) did not throw a scheduled bullpen session on Sunday due to triceps tightness. The Mets hope Senga will throw a bullpen this week

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Down on the Farm 🌾

All four Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday.

• The Mets announced they are promoting their two-way prospect (No. 19) Nolan McLean to Double-A

• OF Trayce Thompson was named the International League Player of the Week for Triple-A Syracuse

• C Ronald Hernandez was named the FSL Player of the Week for the Double-A St. Lucie Mets

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Who’s Cold 🥶

• After going 0-for-4 on Monday, SS Francisco Lindor is now hitting .160/.236/.240/.476 with just one home run and two RBIs over the last 14 days

• 3B Brett Baty continues to be mired in an offensive slump, owning a .188/.263/.304/.568 slash line over the last 28 days

• C Omar Narváez has just one hit in his last six games, and is currently hitting just .164/.193/.200/.393 on the year

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (21-26) Guardians (31-17)

Where: Progressive Field - Cleveland, OH

Starters: RHP Adrian Houser (0-3, 7.44 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-4, 5.16 ERA)

When: 6:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Why trading Pete Alonso may be the best long-term option for the Mets… ✍️

NY Post

After the Mets embarrassed themselves again on Monday, this time committing the most basic of errors in a 3-1 loss in Cleveland, the stark reality awaiting this franchise is only crystalizing.

Okay, so I’ll preface what I’m about to say with the caveat that a lot of these editorials may well sound pretty similar over the coming weeks and months. After all, the more this team loses and the worst this team stinks, the more we’re going to focus on what should be done at the trade deadline.

To that end, I think we’ve reached the shocking point when trading Pete Alonso at the deadline may actually be the most logical decision for the front office.

Now, that very sentence would have been unthinkable only a few months ago. I’m sure there are still some fans out there who think I’m crazy for suggesting that.

But hear me out.

With the way this team is currently playing, coupled with the fact that the current core has consistently failed to deliver the goods, trading Alonso at the deadline and getting an absolute haul in return may well be the best option for the organization in the long-term.

David Stearns was brought in by Steve Cohen to run the Mets how he sees fit, and he’s certainly not joined at the hip with any of the core, including Alonso. His one and only job is to transform the Mets into a sustainable winner with a deep farm system that can produce a never-ending conveyor belt of homegrown talent.

As such, there are now a slew of reasons to consider ripping off the bandaid and dealing Alonso at the trade deadline. For starters, it is almost time to say goodbye to another member of the core in Jeff McNeil. The winner of the 2022 Batting Title has seen his play fall off an absolute cliff over the last two years, and I’m not sure there is any way back. The same can be said for Starling Marte, who hasn’t been able to really truly recover from all the wear and tear on his body caused by a plethora of injuries.

Secondly, the likes of J.D. Martinez and Luis Severino would be attractive options for a contender, and both players should bring back a pretty solid return of prospects and assets for the future.

However, if Stearns really wants to change the direction and long-term future of the Mets, then trading his biggest asset would accelerate the entire process and then some.

It goes without saying that Alonso is one of the best power hitters in baseball. He has 10 homers on the year, and 202 for his career. He’s well on pace to finish up as the best slugger in franchise history. And it won’t be particularly close.

We all know that teams pay a premium for power in the modern game, and there would be a glut of legit contenders falling all over themselves to try and make a trade for Alonso at the deadline. Especially if those teams believe that acquiring the three-time All-Star at the trade deadline would give them a better opportunity of signing him long-term.

NY Post

For the Mets, it would guarantee a monster package of elite prospects and perhaps some players that could help the team in the now. Trading Alonso would only help to fatten up a farm system that is already deep in high-end talent.

Furthermore, there have already been various reports that the Mets would be willing to listen to offers for Alonso in the run-up to the deadline. As great a power hitter as he is, Alonso isn’t the perfect player by any stretch and that is evident in his .235 batting average this year. Consider that the righty bat hit just .217 last year too, then you can see why Stearns is perhaps not crazy about giving Alonso a deal worth more than $200 million.

You can make a compelling argument that the Mets would be much better off using that money on a more complete player in the ilk of Juan Soto. The current Yankee can hit for average and for power, as illustrated by the fact that he’s currently hitting .316/.415/.551/.966 with 11 home runs and nine doubles. He would also be much more of a threat on the basepaths and offer a ton more athletically - an area the Mets are severely lacking in this year.

Soto would automatically become the new face of the franchise, and he would be added to a new core of Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and any number of the elite young hitters the Mets currently have on the farm. That would be a team - with the addition of a legit DH and another front-end starter - that could compete right away in 2025.

There is such a thing as blind loyalty and, as much as Alonso means to this organization, he shouldn’t get in the way of what is best for the long-term future of the entire organization.

It is becoming more and more evident that the current core isn’t good enough to take the Mets to where they want to be. And, for Stearns, taking the plunge and dealing away a franchise player in Alonso may actually be the best move for this franchise in terms of transforming them into more of a contender for 2025 and beyond.

It is an uncomfortable conversation to have for sure, and it would be a highly-controversial first major decision for Stearns to make if he does decide to head down that path.

But, sometimes short-term pain has to be endured in order to enjoy better days down the road.

We may not like it, but trading Pete Alonso is increasingly looking like the smart and right decision for the front office. It will be a hard day if that time does come at the deadline, but it could also open the doors for actual sustained success in the near future.

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Around the League 🚩

• Manny Machado went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as the Padres wiped out a five-run deficit to beat the Braves, 6-5 in Game 1 of a doubleheader

• LHP Chris Sale extended his scoreless streak to 20 innings as the Braves beat the Padres, 3-0 in Game 2 of the doubleheader

• Rafael Devers set a Red Sox record by hitting a home run in his sixth consecutive game in a 5-0 win over the Rays in Tampa

• The Mariners snapped the Yankees’ seven-game win streak with four runs in the ninth inning

• The Angels became the first team in NL / AL history to get homers from a 25-year-old, a 24-year-old, a 23-year-old and a 22-year-old in the same game in a wild 9-7 comeback win over the Astros