Mets sign two international prospects, Scott Boras is unhappy with the Mets, and it's time to extend a homegrown star
The team signed some promising prospects as the international signing period began on Sunday
What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets signed promising prospect C Daiverson Gutierrez from Venezuela on the first day of the international signing period (NY Post)
Along with Gutierrez, the team signed prospects OF Anthony Baptist and Cristopher Larez (MLB.com)
Agent Scott Boras remains unhappy with the Mets with the way Carlos Correa’s deal was handled (USA Today)
Pete Alonso was back to mashing dingers for charity (MLB.com)
The time is right to extend Pete Alonso ✍🏻 ✍�✍🏻
Recently, Pete Alonso was back doing what Pete Alonso does best which is mashing dingers, only this time it was as a host for a charity event Home Run Derby with his friends this past weekend to raise money that will help restore youth baseball fields in the Tampa area.
It topped off a great week for the slugger who also received a nice pay raise and set a record for first baseman in their second year of arbitration. He and the Mets reportedly agreed to a salary of $14.5 million which nearly doubled his salary from the previous year.
It was well earned for Alonso who finished the 2022 season hitting .271/.352/.518 while hitting 40 home runs and leading the league in RBIs with 131. His wRC+ of 143 was outstanding and Steamer is projecting more of the same for the Polar Bear in 2023. They have him hitting .261/.347/.520 with 39 home runs and 110 RBI while being a four-win player. They predict a 4.2 fWAR for him next season which is up from 4.0 fWAR in 2022.
Met fans by now what to expect from Alonso on the field since he first started hitting very long home runs in 2019 and he set the new rookie record. We’ve also come to know Alonso as the person who is always earnest and has an unshakeable belief in the New York Mets. He is never happier than on a baseball diamond cheering, playing with joy and exuberance that is infectious to those around him.
He is a human golden retriever who just loves playing baseball.
The Braves have a ton of their young stars locked up for the foreseeable future and if the Mets want to remain competitive in the National League East, they should do the same starting now with Alonso. As we have seen with both Aaron Judge and Brandon Nimmo, the price tag is only going to go up from here through free agency. By locking up Alonso now, the Mets could then focus their attention elsewhere in the future knowing that first base is taken care of for the foreseeable future.
That attention could then be used on signing others, like Jeff McNeil.
But for Alonso specifically, it’s a chance to not only make him a Met for life, but to make him - an indisputable superstar in the sport - the face of this franchise and it’s captain and leader, much they way they did with David Wright over the course of his lifelong career as a Met.
“I feel like we’re on the brink of something extremely special,” he told Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times on Saturday. “And I know that we don’t just want to win one (championship). We want to win multiple championships. And in order to do that, we’ve got to perform. We definitely have the talent to be able to do that.”
There’s still plenty of time before opening day to get this done and the Mets still have control over him through the 2024 season. But when that door to the clubhouse opens at Clover Park a month from now, so should the room to the negotiating table.
Hot Stove 🔥
Kris Bryant is finally healthy after missing most of the 2022 season for the Rockies (Denver Post)
The Padres signed Ethan Salas who was considered the top prospect on the international market (CBS Sports)
Prospect OF Pablo Guerrero, the son of Vladimir Guerrero and brother of Vlad Guerrero Jr., signed with the Texas Rangers (MLB.com)
The Nationals signed the younger brother of Juan Soto, prospect Elian Soto (MLB.com)