Will the Mets go to 10 years to keep Pete Alonso?
The Mets continue to play spoiler and win a series against the playoff hopeful Marlins. Plus, new information on the club's negotiations with Pete Alonso.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets continued to play the role of spoiler, defeating the Marlins by a 8-3 score to take two of three in Miami (box)
RHP Kodai Senga continued his marvelous rookie campaign, allowing just two runs with three strikeouts over six innings
Senga now has a 2.96 ERA this season, the third lowest mark in the National League and fifth lowest in all of baseball
DH Mark Vientos put together the first multi-home run game of his career, hitting his 6th and 7th homers of the season
3B Brett Baty slammed a solo home run (8) in his return to the lineup, his first home run in 92 at-bats
Baty, Vientos and Ronny Mauricio combined to go 4-for-11 with three home runs, three RBI, two walks and five runs scored
CF Brandon Nimmo clubbed his 24th home run of the season to extend his career-high mark
RF Jeff McNeil recorded outfield assists on back-to-back plays in the top of the 5th inning to keep Miami off the scoreboard
New York are now 10-8 in September, 21-21 against the NL East and 29-33 since the All-Star Game
The Mets and Pete Alonso have discussed a contract extension recently and are in agreement on financials, but are still apart on years (Sports Illustrated)
Injury Updates 🏥
D.J. Stewart was a late scratch from Wednesday night’s game after dealing with a wrist issue
Who’s Hot🔥
Over his last 17 games, Mark Vientos is hitting .306/.349/.581 with one triple, five home runs and nine RBI
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (71-81) at Phillies (83-69)
Where: Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA
Starting pitchers: LHP David Peterson (3-8, 5.22 ERA) vs. LHP Ranger Suárez (3-6, 3.80 ERA)
When: 7:15 PM EDT
Where to Watch: FOX
The Mets know they have to get an extension done with Pete Alonso ✍️
New information about the Mets contract negotiations with star first baseman Pete Alonso came to light on Wednesday.
After growing concerns that New York would potentially trade Alonso away or let him walk based on reports around the trade deadline and non-stop rumors and chatter since then, there seems to be a bit of progress when it comes to the two sides reaching an eventual agreement.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Pat Ragazzo, the Mets and Alonso have had discussions recently and are in agreement when it comes to the financials of a potential long-term extension. Where they still differ, however, is when it comes to the years on the contract.
Alonso is reportedly seeking a 10-year deal from the Mets, a place that the organization has been hesitant to go to up until this point. It’s worth noting that Alonso will turn 29 this December, meaning that he would be close to 40-years-old if he were to get the deal that he is currently seeking.
Look, I understand the Mets hesitance to go to that 10-year level with his current age and they may wonder if his body and play will be able to hold up over the course of those 10 years. At the end of the day, though, a one-to-two year difference on a contract of this level is not going to break the bank or greatly restrict this team from doing what it wants to do in 2033 or beyond, especially when it means holding onto a homegrown franchise corner piece.
Ultimately, I strongly believe that these two sides will come to terms on an agreement that they’ll both be happy with. Maybe Alonso will get those 10 years, or maybe it’ll be closer to eight for a little more AAV pumped in there to make it worth his while. These are how these extension negotiations almost always seem to work – the sides disagree, usually on the years, they leak certain details to the public, the fan base criticizes the team for not instantly caving and then, eventually, the deal gets done anyways.
This is almost exactly how things played out after the Mets traded for Francisco Lindor in 2021. There was a contract extension deadline prior to the season starting and every fan was on the edge of their seats and already assuming that the Mets wouldn’t do what they needed to do because it didn’t get done right away. But eventually, before that deadline hit, they did get it done. And that’s what I think is going to happen here, as well.
The Mets know how important Pete Alonso is to their organization and more importantly to this fan base. Without question Alonso is the most prolific home run hitter in the entire sport, and if you disagree with me you can go take a look at the leaderboard for home runs since he debuted in 2019. (Spoiler: He’s got 191 home runs in that time, more than any other player in the entire sport).
Beyond what he does for this team on the field, it has becoming increasingly more important for this team to hold onto their home grown stars. This is a franchise that has had a bad habit of letting these types of players go elsewhere. It started when they traded Tom Seaver and kept going as they let players like Darryl Strawberry, José Reyes and Jacob deGrom walk. This list is a lot longer than that, but I didn’t want to make today’s newsletter too depressing. And whether you agree or disagree with the decisions to let some of those players go (they were definitely in the right in certain circumstances), the facts are that the Mets have not held onto enough of their own guys outside of David Wright.
Pete Alonso, without a doubt in my mind, should be that next guy. He was drafted by this team, developed by this team and reached stardom with this team. His story in orange and blue is far from over and there are much greater heights that have yet to be accomplished with him leading the charge.
The Mets know that, Alonso knows that and most importantly, I believe that Steve Cohen knows that, too. And that’s why I don’t think there is any way they’ll let him play a single second in another uniform.
Around the League 🚩
Dbacks OF Corbin Carroll became the first rookie in MLB history to record 25+ home runs and 50+ stolen bases as the club defeated the Giants, 7-1
The Padres won their seventh consecutive game on Wednesday, keeping their faint postseason hopes alive for another day
Mariners CF Julio Rodríguez recorded his 100th RBI of the season as Seattle completed a sweep over the Oakland A’s
The Astros overcame a late 1-0 deficit and rallied to defeat the Orioles, 2-1, thanks to a walk-off single by Mauricio Dubón
Yankees RHP Michael King struck out 13 batters but the club’s offense could not muster anything in a loss to the Blue Jays
If you don't want to go ten years, sweeten the pot for 7 or 8 years. Alonso and the Mets, perfect together.
They’re part of the 10-year contract problem so now they have to