Pete Alonso in action when the Mets played the Phillies in London. June 8, 2024. Action Images via REUTERS/Matthew Childs
(Queens, NY) – It came as a shock — but it was somehow less of a bombshell than what happened the day before. Within a 24-hour period, the New York Mets were left searching for a new closer, and a new first baseman. Edwin Diaz bolted for the LA Dodgers, and then Pete Alonso bumped on down to Baltimore to join the Orioles.
Wow! That’s not how many fans saw the offseason going. It’s also especially painful for fans who recently saw the popular Brandon Nimmo traded away to the Texas Rangers. So — it’s time to just fold the franchise right? Steve Cohen got his casino license, and the baseball club in Flushing, Queens is an afterthought. Well — that’s what you will read on social media. And to be fair — fans have every right to be upset, and to be hurt.
Pete Alonso is a franchise icon of sorts. He is the all-time home run leader for the Mets. After debuting in 2019 and winning the Rookie of the Year, he’s been among the team’s most popular players. “The Polar Bear” was serenaded with cheers when he broke Daryl Strawberry’s home run record, and fans gave him an emotional hand during the previous two seasons’ final home games — amid the understanding Alonso could seek greener pastures in a bid for a big contract.
Last year, after flirting with the Toronto Blue Jays, Alonso returned on a contract that contained an opt-out after year one. Having posted strong numbers, including 38 home runs, Alonso opted out and became a free agent. That ended with him signing in Baltimore for five years and $155 million. But you know all that. If you’re reading this (through tears) and holding your phone tight (in clenched fists) your emotions are running high. Fans want to see the team do well, and the general consensus is you keep power-hitting first baseman who have the potential to pop 50 long balls any given season.
Yet — again — is this the end of the Mets as a franchise? Will they cancel all season ticket sales? Take down the website? Put a padlock on Citi Field’s front gate? No. In fact, this is all an extremely painful but also highly beneficial period for the franchise.
Brandon Nimmo can barely walk. His plantar fasciitis will likely relegate him to a full-time DH role. With so many years left on his contract, that’s a tough pill to swallow. It’s now the Rangers problem. Nimmo is a good player with a strong bat — but he’s not a franchise changer. Often times in recent years he’d completely disappear at the plate for long stretches of time, and he’s no longer the on-base machine, top-of-the-order hitter he was as a younger man. Nimmo is a lot like Alonso. Weak defensively, good power, middling average, not much speed, and well-loved by fans.
This is the part where I’ll remind you that fans loving players doesn’t translate to wins. The New York Giants stunk when Odell Beckham Jr. was proposing to kicking nets, and they still stink with him long gone. People loved David Wright and Jose Reyes (with good reason) but due to health problems and roster inefficiencies — neither man ever held a World Series trophy high in Queens.
Pete Alonso is a good guy. I’ve never met him but that’s what you hear. He also never won a thing in Queens. Whether he is a good clubhouse guy is an unknown to me. But he seems like a guy who also gets in his head a lot as a hitter. Streaky to a fault, he also disappears for months on end during MLB seasons. Alonso is, sadly, also completely incapable of throwing the ball on a baseball field. So his future is as a DH.
Taken together, the 2025 Mets were very homogenous. Mid .250s batting average, decent power numbers, and extreme streakiness could be used as the offensive profile for Nimmo, Alonso — and Francisco Lindor, and Juan Soto. Too much of the same thing is a bad idea for a lineup. It sounds good on podcasts and in pre-season articles — or for fantasy baseball — but it tends to struggle over a 162-game season.
That was extremely apparent last season for the Mets, which was one of the most painful I’ve ever witnessed as a fan. The team was less than the sum of its parts. Team owner Steve Cohen and president David Stearns had to have taken a look at that and decided it all had to be torn down.
As is so often the case with major, sweeping changes — it’s painful, it’s emotional, but it’s necessary. And it can lead to better things.
Diaz is a strong relief pitcher. The money that would have been allocated to him will instead be spread over 2-3 solid relievers. That’s vital given the Mets bullpen last year was so sub par it sunk numerous game before Diaz could even start warming up. You don’t have to look far to see how that concept can be beneficial to rosters. The Yankees — having missed out on re-signing Juan Soto — pivoted and signed 2-3 good position players. They made the playoffs. The Mets did not.
As for Alonso — and Nimmo — and replacing their offensive production. That remains to be seen. It’s also worth noting the Mets have a strong (on paper) farm system that’s getting ready to promote a bunch of prospects. This is definitely a retooling of the roster that could be described as a rebuilding. But I’m fine with that — because it means excitement.
Youth and home grown players (within a Stearns system) will be fast, play good defense, and be hungry. It will have passion and care and a never-say-die attitude. By contrast, the 2025 Mets did not engineer a single 9th inning comeback. Read that again. The 2025 Mets never once came back to win while entering the 9th inning with a deficit.
Manager Carlos Mendoza has a new mandate and a different challenge. Mold a team of younger players and newcomers into a winner. After a 79 win season, just getting above .500 would be an improvement. Can that happen? Could a Wild Card berth be possible? Yes. No question.
Quite simply — making the playoffs in anyway — would be a better season than last year. The team’s flaws were laid bare over a long slog of a season that felt like going to the dentist every night. Now, with some flossing, cavities being filled, and laughing gas being applied — it hurts, and it’s sore — but we’re on the mend.
