Pete Alonso’s future in Queens has been the subject of speculation ever since the first baseman was at least discussed with other teams prior to the trade deadline. Since Alonso is a free agent after the 2024 season, there is a possibility he isn’t a long-term concern for a Mets team that is taking some degree of step back next year, which makes him perhaps the most intriguing trade candidate available this offseason.
That is, if Alonso is available at all. SNY’s Andy Martino threw some cold water on the idea of a blockbuster trade, reporting that unnamed Mets executives were “surprised and confused” at the public perception that Alonso will be dealt at all. The Mets don’t intend “to actively shop Alonso,” and would only be open to a deal in the event of a huge offer from a rival club.
As Martino notes, much could change between now and the offseason, so this isn’t exactly an absolute declaration that Alonso won’t moved. Of course, it also helps New York’s leverage in trade negotiations to appear as though Alonso isn’t for sale, in order to up the bidding for potential suitors. Given how much league-wide interest there is in Alonso’s services, the Mets probably won’t need “to actively shop” such a top-tier hitter anyway.
It seems likely that Alonso trade rumors will persist in some fashion either until a deal actually happens, or if Alonso signs an extension to remain in New York. For now, Martino writes that the club’s plan is to let Alonso play out the 2024 season and then pursue a new contract, as they did with other recent pending free agents like Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, and Jacob deGrom. It is a bit of a risky gambit since it assumes the Mets won’t be outbid for Alonso’s services, though the club was able to re-sign both Nimmo and Diaz, with the latter locked up to a new deal just before the free agent market officially opened last November.
All of this could remain theoretical until the Mets hire their new president of baseball operations, who could bring some new ideas and plans into the organization. A new PBO isn’t expected to be hired until after the season, but some key front office personnel are already on the way out. The Mets have parted ways with director of player development Kevin Howard (as per Mike Mayer of Metsmerized), director of pro player evaluation Jeff Lebow (according to reporter Michael Marino), baseball development director Bryan Hayes and performance director Jim Cavallini (as per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). It is probably safe to assume that the new hires won’t be announced until the new PBO is in place, as the incoming president will want some say in installing their own staff.
Lebow and Hayes had both been with the Mets in various roles for over a decade, while Cavallini had been with the team since 2018 and Howard since 2021. Howard might be best known by casual fans, as he briefly served as the Mets’ interim assistant hitting coach during the 2021 campaign before turning to his player development position after the season.
In other Mets news, Carlos Carrasco has at least temporarily been moved to a relief role. As manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News), Carrasco suggested the move himself, as a nod to throwing only 49 pitches over 1 2/3 innings in his last start on August 26. The veteran righty’s last turn in the rotation was skipped, and it isn’t clear when he might start again, as the Mets’ rotation plans will be shuffled due to a pair of off-days this upcoming week.
It’s been a tough year overall for Carrasco, who missed about a month due to elbow inflammation and hasn’t looked right all season, posting a 6.80 ERA over 90 innings. Carrasco will be a free agent this winter and New York already looked into an early parting of the ways by placing him on waivers last week, though since Carrasco cleared waivers, the Mets will remain on the hook for the $2.33MM still owed in salary between now and the end of the season.
Carrasco’s struggles and salary made it quite likely that he wouldn’t be picked up another team, so September now looks to be his final month in a Mets uniform. He could end up making another start or two down the stretch, though with the Mets out of contention, the priority is likely to give innings to younger arms as an audition for 2024. Carrasco’s relief efforts could hint at a new career direction as he approaches his age-37 season, yet since Carrasco was still an effective starter as recently as 2022, he is likely to head into free agency still marketing himself as a rotation arm.
Remnants of the Cliff Lee trade still kickin’
Follow Lee back to….Bartolo Colon, where all baseball roads must inevitably meet,
Eppler will be kept in the Mets organization one way or another for the sole reason of he knows how to scout great talent from Japan and really go deep with top tier talent. Say what you will about how he conducts business as a GM but on the foreign player front and especially Japanese Ball Players he gets his man no matter what team he is assigned GM. I don’t think that changes if he still remains in the Mets organization as an exec to some Capacity. Showtime And Senga both Amazing signings and a pretty good track record for Japanese Baseball Players transitioning to MLB imo
Yeah. Eppler really was the only reason Ohtani signed with the Angels. /s
I’m just sure Ohtani took a million dollars less from the Angels because Eppler made him swoon over Anaheim’s restaurants.
True story: Eppler has a radar gun on Ohtani. Ohtani throws. The gun reads 100 mph. Eppler says, “that’s when I knew he was going to be special.”
I mean, that’s genius right there. Who else could see a 21 year old throw 100 mph in the process of striking out 12 while throwing a complete game shutout and realize he was going to be special? That Eppler—what a brilliant judge of hidden talent!
Roads? I thought it was chimichangas!
Half an article about the Mets front office and no mention of Eppler. The biggest offseason chatter for the Mets will be, how long will he stay? Day after the season ends? Day after the World Series? Does he somehow survive? The fans want him gone today.
I don’t think that Eppler, per se, will be the biggest offseason chatter. The issue is the new PBO – who will it be?
And why would there be any mention of Eppler now? He will be here at least until the new PBO is hired. Standar dand best operating practice would have the PBO decide what to do with/about Eppler.
Is eppler still a Mets employee? I think they keep him in the childcare center.
The hiring of a PoBO will be the biggest front-office chatter this off season. Eppler is ancillary. Indications from Cohen is Eppler would remain, and Eppler was certainly told they intend to hire a PoBO when he took the job, so it’s not as if he’d be surprised.
It’s going to take about 10/11 years to keep this guy. 300 plus million.
Thats not the narrative right now. Freddie Freeman got only 6 years, $167 million and is a much better all-around player with a much stronger resume. Yes, Freeman was 32, Aolonso will be 29. But Freeman’s better ball-to-bat skills and all-around hitting, and vastly superior defense mean he could have a longer shelf life than Alonso. Alonso could get a couple of more years, but probably at a lower AAV.
Totally agree with this @geofft. I’m a long time Met fan, and I like Pete. I hope the Mets manage to keep him for the next 6-7 years. But FF is, by far, a superior player. Pete will not get a better contract than FF unless the so-called market dictates that an owner needs to stupidly overpay. And that can happen, unfortunately.
Maybe 7/180 mil might do it.
Contracts are driven by the market and the player, and thus fluid year to year. The Braves-Freeman situation, coupled with the lockout, created a unique situation to that market and player. What Freddie got won’t impact what Alonso gets.
Not making a prediction at all on what Alonso will get, but I wouldn’t be focused on prior contracts to decide future ones.
“300 Plus million”…Paying guys that essentially do one thing 300 million is a bit crazy. Pete’s a decent, useful player, but he’s not a 300 million guy, anymore than Vlade Guerrero Jr. or Francisco Lindor.
If I was a betting man I would say the contract will either be 6/168 or 7/195.
I foresee a similar situation to that of Lindor; ie give the player a bigger contract but only by the smallest margin, mainly for principle.
“Alright Pete… youre getting the biggest 1B contract… you’re making more than Freeman. Not by much… really we’re only throwing in one old shekel, a paperclip and one of those Christmas edition Coke cans with the polar bear on it… buttt since we love you soo soo much we’re making sure you’re the highest paid first baseman… techhhnically.”
“6/168 or 7/195″…I could see that being a solid framework for a deal, but if Pete’s agent is floating 300 million, he will be someone else’s starting 1bman come 2025.The problem is not necessarily Pete, but that even with Pete, the Mets are a below avg offense, so they have to be careful how much they allocate, to retain a below avg core.
Jester, those are some pretty cool cans.
No. First baseman don’t get those kinds of contracts. I would be surprised if he does manage to get Freeman’s 6 year, $167M deal.
His closest comp was the olson deal as their offensive numbers over last three years are veey close and i think olson was 29 when he signed. 8/168
If alonso wants significantly more than that, he’s not worth the signing. And i really like him as a player and his value for the mets.
So the Mets fire a number of key development and scouting execs, but will wait to fill the jobs until a new POBO is hired .
In the meantime, those positions are unfilled, thus stalling the development and scouting operations or leaving them to lesser staff.
Seems weird. But it’s the Mets FO, not known for logic nor coherence, so who knows?
Why would they be stalled? They operate status quo until they are given new assignments, or directives. It’s not like those operations come to a screeching halt because 2 execs got fired. And their replacements will probably be interviewed and hired after the season is over. I think the idea is to make the organization more effective, and change the perception you have, and many others, to a more positive one. No reason to let people who don’t have a future with the organization hang around, especially when they will be needing to find new jobs in a difficult occupation.
I guess we look at it from different perspectives.
Cohen wants to clean house from Wilpon installs for fresh eyes. These same people now gone were also in Eppler’s ears. As a direct hire of Cohen’s, Eppler will have input on whom the hirees will be. Finding a new PoBO first makes sense.
Theyre cleaning house from the Wilpon era. Almost all those let go were hired under the Wilpon regime.
Cohen and Eppler have had a plan for years. The plan for a PBO was always openly communicated with Eppler and was always the avenue they were pursuing. What I’m getting at is, we dont know the specifics of that plan, nor will the public know most likely until the end of the season… mainly because legality. But Cohen being a man from the hedge fund world knows all about loopholes, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a plan is already in motion and theyre hopscotching through legal hoops as we speak.
Surely it’s done with Stearns and they are just waiting for his Brewers contract to expire. His mid season press conference comments about what he wants and how availability is a factor seemed to point heavily in that direction. I actually thought he was telling Mets fans who is coming without telling them who is coming.
Lolmets
Meh, dont think cleaning house of the regime of old, ie The Wilpons, really justifies a lolmets here. If anything it would literally be the opposite, theyre getting rid of the old pieces that gave way to lolmets. JS.
Great post, dork.
If nothing else they need someone to build a reliable pipeline of young talent to be able to have some trade chips if they want to continue just throwing money at every problem and going for it every year.
@njbirds. Well, apparently you don’t believe Cohen is being truthful when he says he does not plan to throw money at problems and instead wants to build for the medium and longer term while remaining competitive in a very tough division (Braves, Phillies) in the short-term. The abrupt retreat this summer suggests that Cohen is not afraid of sunk costs in building for the future.He is learning on-the-job (as we all do) and I, for one, am hopeful that he will eventually right this ship that had been left in tatters after decades of Wilponian mismanagement. Let’s give him a chance.
Well put. Now that I am over the rage of a disappointing season and trade deadline, I have more clarity; your comments put things into perspective.
Mets need to extend Alonso and keep the only power bat in their lineup.
The Mets should try Carrasco with an opener. Perhaps the psychological factors will redound in their favor.
If they were out of it this year, and don’t plan on competing in 2024, they should’ve traded Alonso.
Why didn’t RS place Devers on waivers then?
YankeesBleacherCreature9 hours ago
Why didn’t RS place Devers on waivers then?
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Because when you trade a player, you get something back. When you waive a player, you lose them for nothing,.
@JoeBrady
Shortsighted position. They do plan on competing in ’25 and beyond. That is soon enough for Alonso to still be a factor. Guys with his power are few and far between and difficult to replace.
Their approach was the most sensible one. This way, they have time to see the progress of the young players and minor leaguers. If those guys emerge as the real deal, they keep Alonso and look to contend. If not, they can still pivot and trade him next July.
As a fan of baseball it be stupid for a big market team like the Mets to trade a player who’s a power hitter who’s a consistent RBI machine. I don’t care how goofy he is with his temper tantrums. As long as he’s driving in runs and playing good 1st base he can be be the true son of Sam lol
Go get Alonso Zaidi! Do it!
If NYM sign 2 SP arms – say for conversation a Montgomery and one more other solid #3 type. And add 1 impact bat – could they be quite competitive next year? 85-86 win range? Quintana and Senga have been quite good. I don’t buy that 2024 is a punt year chatter. That’s smoke and mirrors
I think that Cohens ability to manage people and business far surpasses most professional sport team owners. I think we’ve been witnessing more smoke and mirrors than we realize. I havent seen it brought up yet but I honestly would not be surprised if this whole “we’d be willing to trade Alonso” hoopla is merely a technique to scan the league to gauge how much interest Alonso really draws. With a proper gauge of league interest they position themselves to have a better idea of what type of contract they can get away with offering Pete, instead of overpaying. People worth 18B generally always have a rhyme and reason to every decision they make.
@10centBeerNight
There is no “punt on 2024” except from writers who want to sensationalize. Everyone in the Mets org says that they plan on being competitive, but they won’t be dabbling in the highest end of the free agent market.
And that is a completely appropriate position given the state of their farm system. If you want to compete regularly, you need to have a regular pipeline of prospects, both for replacing injured or departing players, and for trade. Even after the mid-season trades, the Mets don’t yet have that kind of depth.
Tend to agree with these 2 takes from Geofft and DugoutJester. Cohen is a ruthless businessman who has dealt with far far heavier sht than Long Island loudmouths going crazy on the internet. He read situation and ripped off bandaid even tho if meant 2 months of losing and 90+ losses. Expect him to be after 2 of the upper tier arms and maybe a Bellinger type. Someone of that profile. He showed more chutzpah than Bronx counterparts who seemed terrified by their fans unwillingness to accept the situation
I lost my sht at Long Island loudmouths going crazy on the internet. Thanks man.
They are absolutely going to try to sign Yamamoto, and at his age it lets them get young upside talent and still compete. Some say they go for urias too, but montgomery may be the more realistic second sp signing since he would be more affordable.
People clamoring for Eppler’s dismissal fail to realize that Eppler isn’t buying the groceries, he’s just swiping the card. Cohen, like Arte is the man with the shopping list and like with the Angels Eppler is a figurehead to put on tv
Yes, Cohen is making the big decisions. But there is more to it than just the major signings. Eppler constructed a flawed roster when he entered the season with only 4 outfielders, knowing that 3 of them are 34 + years old and that Marte doesn’t stay in the lineup consistently. (Eppler himself referred to Marte as brittle).
Why did Eppler give Gary Sanchez a May 19 opt-out date? S.F. was generous enough to allow Sanchez to exercise his 5/15 opt out date a week early after Sanchez posted a .450 OPS in six weeks in triple-A. Under CBA rules, Sanchez would have another opt-out date on 6/1 anyway. So why did Eppler have to go and limit his own window into evaluating Sanchez to just 10 days?? The opt out date forced Eppler into calling Sanchez up only for Eppler to cut Sanchez just six days and three games later in order to make room for…..wait for it… Tomas Nido!! (Our hero!!). Nido had only been on his six days. Why was he rushed back? – only to be DFA’d himself just ten days later.
Daniel Vogelbacj continues to suck up a roster space despite never, EVER playing the field, not playing against right-handers, and being a liability on the base paths. Even on good year, DV doesn;t hit enough to outweigh (pun intended) those liabilities. And anyone with any baseball sense would know that.
Cohen may have designed, implemented, and paid for the flawed approach. But Eppler has displayed an on-going lack of command on how to manage an organization.
The Mets should extend Alonso now with this down season he has had. He will cost them a lot more after the 2024 season.