Pete Alonso knocked out early in derby, Tommy Pham's MRI is good, and have the Mets changed their trade deadline stance?

Mariners star Julio Rodriguez hit 41 home runs to Pete Alonso's 21, knocking the Mets star out early in the 2023 Home Run Derby

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• Pete Alonso was knocked out in the first round of the 2023 Home Run Derby on Monday - Julio Rodriguez defeated Alonso 41-21 to eliminate the Mets star

• Alonso and RHP Kodai Senga will be the lone Mets to participate in the 2023 All-Star Game tonight in Seattle

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2023 First-Year Player Draft 📰

• The Mets selected 11 players in day two of the 2023 draft on Monday. The draft will conclude today (Official Release)

  • 3rd round, 92nd overall: Two-Way Player Nolan McLean from Oklahoma State University

  • 3rd round, 101st overall: RHP Kade Morris from the University of Nevada

  • 4th round, 123rd overall: RHP Wyatt Hudepohl from the University of North Carolina

  • 4th round, compensation pick: SS A.J. Ewing from Springboro High School (OH)

  • 4th round, compensation pick: RHP Austin Troesser from the University of Missouri

  • 5th round, 105th overall: LHP Zach Thornton from Grand Canyon University

  • 6th round, 186th overall: RHP Jack Wenninger from the University of Illinois

  • 7th round, 216 overall: RHP Noah Hall from the University of South Carolina

  • 8th round, 246 overall: SS Boston Baro from Capistrano Valley HS (CA)

  • 9th round, 276 overall: 3B Nick Lorusso from the University of Maryland

  • 10th round, 306 overall: C Christian Pregent from Stetson University

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News and Notes 🗞️

• Jeff McNeil will participate in the New York State Open beginning today at the Bethpage Black Course (New York Post)

• Both Kodai Senga and Shohei Ohtani had an opportunity to have a “secret” conversation at T-Mobile Park on Monday (video)

• The Mets are still up in the air as to how they will approach the trade deadline (SNY)

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Injury Updates 🏥

• Tommy Pham (sore groin) underwent an MRI in New York on Monday and the scan came back clean. He will be re-evaluated today

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Today’s Game 🗓

The Mets are off until Friday, when they return home to play the Dodgers at Citi Field.

2023 All-Star Week continues today…

What: 2023 All-Star Game

Where: T-Mobile Park – Seattle, WA

When: 8:00 PM EDT

Where to Watch: FOX

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Quick note on the Home Run Derby ✍️

All you need to see is that picture, and that told the story for Pete Alonso in the 2023 home run derby.

First off, it doesn’t matter. There are a lot of people up in arms about his performance, the location of the pitches from his pitcher, Aaron Myers, how that absurdly ties into why the Mets haven’t hit well so far in 2023, and so on and so forth.

Come on. Seriously.

Yes, the pitch location wasn’t any good for this contest. Alonso was seeing too many pitches middle and out, and this is a contest where pulling the ball is paramount.

Also, Aaron Myers wasn’t Alonso’s first choice, either. His original pitcher, Mike Friedlein who was Pete’s travel ball coach, recently injured his forearm and that kept him out of the contest.

So, this was the hand Alonso was dealt, and he still managed to hit 21 home runs in the contest.

Also, it wasn’t going to matter in all probability, anyway. Julio Rodriguez was a machine in the first round, nobody even approached his first round number in the bracket, so the game was over for Alonso while he was still in the batting cage barring something even more unprecedented than what Rodriguez did.

In the end, it’s supposed to be fun. It’s a show and a spectacle, it’s entertaining and in some cases fascinating. But it’s supposed to be a release from the daily grind of the game for these players and give them something fun to do during All-Star Week (plus a chance to make even more than they already do). Nothing Alonso did or didn’t do or the way Myers threw the ball matters for him and the Mets pre-All-Star or post-All-Star.

Is it disappointing? Of course. He is our hometown guy and we wanted to see him win. I’m sure he’s disappointed in the way it turned out.

But, whatever.

Go have fun tonight in the All-Star Game, get back to New York tomorrow and rest, and figure out how to turn this team into a contender over the next ten days so the front office has a reason to supplement the roster.

That’s really the only thing that matters right now for Alonso and the Mets.