The negative focus on Pete Alonso needs to end...

Alonso has averaged 40 home runs and 103 RBI per season in what is being considered two "down" years in a row

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• Sean Manaea is deferring $7.75 million per year without interest in his new three-year contract. the $23.25 million in deferred money will be paid out between 2035-2044 (Athletic)

• A new deal between Alonso and the Mets could include opt-out clauses after the 2025 and/or 2026 seasons (MLB.com)

• A potential pursuit by the Mets of Alex Bregman will depend on whether or not Pete Alonso returns (MLB.com)

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Rumor Mill 💨

• The Blue Jays, Cubs, Giants and Tigers are still in the mix for RHP Jack Flaherty (MLB.com)

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People are focusing way too much on the negatives with Pete Alonso… ✍️

Well, another week has gone by without a resolution between the Mets and Pete Alonso.

And, another week has gone by with what I would consider to be phantom rumors about other teams perhaps being interested in Alonso.

Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of the New York Post linked Alonso and the Angels. There was also a link between Alonso and the Giants.

But there hasn’t really been any momentum since then, so, I don’t think so.

That’s not to say either the Giants or Angels couldn’t use Alonso. The Mariners could use him too. And as I’ve said since the beginning of the winter, the one team that I think could come out of nowhere and sign Alonso would be the Angels and sign him to a silly deal, since that’s what they do on occasion in what is and will continue to be a dysfunctional franchise with a fractional roster.

But aside from that, there’s so much data now on park factors and how the ball travels in every venue. Scott Boras has that information to the 21st power. Alonso is a smart player too and knows where he would be successful, might be successful, or probably won’t be successful too.

So, why would he go spend what could be the rest of his prime seasons in two of baseball’s abysses? Only if either of those teams decide to grossly overpay Alonso, and there is no evidence to suggest either would do that right now.

Also, are those clubs really going to sign and overpay for a player tied to draft compensation when his production could go sharply down in an instant, when it’s feared among industry experts his production might go down even if he plays in a fair ballpark?

Again, not buying it.

There’s something else that’s bothering me about all of this though.

Alonso is the greatest power hitter the Mets have ever produced. Only one player has more home runs in the game since 2019, the year Alonso came up, and that’s Aaron Judge. He’s a perennial 40-home-run threat, hit one of the greatest and most important home runs in franchise history in a playoff game, has been part of a cultural transformation in that clubhouse which predates David Stearns and predates Steve Cohen. He has coined a phrase which has landed on the front of t-shirts and caps, he is a former Rookie of the Year, a four-time All-Star, has won the Home Run Derby twice, has finished in the top-10 of the NL MVP voting twice, and has a career OPS of .854 and OPS+ of 134.

And he is only entering his age-30 season.

So after all of that is said, I can’t understand why there are a lot of fans, a lot of “industry experts” talking so negatively about Alonso.

Is it because he turned down a lucrative contract extension in 2023? Is it because he has had what people might consider to be two down years despite averaging 40 home runs and 103 RBI in each of those “down” years? Is it a combination of the two? Or, is it neither?

Guess what? It’s a business.

He wanted to bet on himself, as the vast majority of players who can see free agency on the horizon. Especially the league’s best. Perhaps he lost that bet, but I get it and I personally don’t hold anything against a player who has done so much for this team and city since he burst onto the scene six years ago.

Nobody is going to tell me the Mets are better off without Alonso. Not a soul. I am not saying there aren’t better players in Major League Baseball than Alonso - there are. I am not saying that in three, four, or maybe five years, the Mets will have to figure out how to get more out of an Alonso that is less. They probably will.

But what team that signs a player who is 30 years old and older - whether it’s a position player, DH, or pitcher - isn’t in that position?

Yes, the lineup is technically better now on paper just with Juan Soto’s addition and without Alonso, but it lacks protection and length as well as either a first or third baseman on the diamond (depending on what happens with Mark Vientos, of course). His presence and threat potential alone make an offense more dynamic, not to mention what he does when he’s actually rolling and making an impact (again, see the 2024 playoffs as your most immediate reference point).

Sure, maybe Alonso brought some of this negativity on himself by rejecting the Mets extension offer nearly two years ago, hiring Boras, and arguably dragging this negotiation out to the extent that his party has. But this is how business negotiations work. But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t seek what he believes is a fair contract in his free agency. It’s why he elected to go this route.

With this path can come potential hardships, especially when the player might be valuing him or herself differently than potential employers might. In this case with the Mets, the issue is obviously over the number of guaranteed years, but there is definitely middle ground for both sides to get to with plenty of time to do so before spring training. Maybe the Mets would come up to a place that matches or exceeds Freddie Freeman’s $27 million average annual value in exchange for fewer years from Alonso. Maybe the common ground is an opt-out after one or two years. Maybe it’s a combination of both.

Again, with a little time and patience, there are a lot of ways this can work to make both sides happy.

Also, there are way too many unqualified people throwing the age/profile card around on Alonso. I mean, the Mets are paying Starling Marte about $20 million to be a part-time player in 2025 going into his age-36 season. I seriously doubt Alonso is going to diminish into a part-time player at a younger age for the Mets during the life of a potential new contract. Will he be what he is today in five years? Probably not, but let me know when you find a player who is turning 30 today that’s just as good when they’re 35 or 36.

So, let’s stop trying to predict how the 29-year-old Alonso might age.

Instead, let’s focus on the positives, the good parts about Alonso and how he would unquestionably make the Mets better as they aspire to become World Champions over the next few seasons with him, not without him, and a little less on being angry at him for not just settling and signing a contract now.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Orioles agreed to sign RHP Charlie Morton to a one-year, $15 million contract (MLB.com)

• The Dodgers won the bidding on Korean INF Hyeseong Kim - LA awarded him with a three-year contract with a two-year option that can make the total deal worth $22 million (New York Post)

• The Nationals are seeking $203.9 million in back pay from the Orioles and the MASN Network, which is co-owned by each club (Baltimore Sun)