Why the Mets Should Re-sign Pete Alonso
By Jay Palitto
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The New York Mets have not had a whole lot to be thrilled about since their 2015 World Series appearance. It has been times of thwarted playoff runs, disappointing seasons, and disappointing performances from high profile players. However, one consistent silver lining in the last half-decade has been the emergence and rise of all-star first baseman Pete Alonso. In his time since being promoted to the major league level, Alonso has been nothing short of elite and has grown into a fan-favorite in Queens. With Alonso's contract now up after this most recent 2024 season, it is time that David Stearns and the Mets organization stop hesitating on this topic and re-sign him before it's too late.
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Since Alonso's first season in the major leagues, it was clear that he needed to be a mainstay in the Mets' lineup for life. In 2019, his rookie campaign, the Polar Bear slammed a single season rookie record and Mets single season franchise record 53 home runs earning him NL Rookie of the Year honors at the season's conclusion. Since then, he has only gone on to hit the second most home runs in all of baseball since the start of his rookie year, second only to arguably the best player in all of baseball right now in Aaron Judge. He has also spent that time climbing all the way to number three on the Mets franchise all time leaderboard, trailing only World Series Champion, Daryl Strawberry and the Captain, David Wright.
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Despite all that, Alonso is coming off a particularly lackluster year at the plate. While his defense seems to have taken a step up, Alonso ended the season reaching career lows in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs batted in, home runs, and reached his highest strikeout total since his rookie year. This down year has led many fans and analysts alike to contend that the Mets should move on from the first baseman and not re-sign him in his impending free agency for the 2024 offseason. I believe that that decision would have the possibility to go down in history as one of the more poor decisions in the franchise's sixty-three year history.
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Mets fans all around know all too well the turnaround and breakout performances that players can have when they leave the club. The most recent poster child for this phenomenon has been former New York Met current Atlanta Brave Travis d"Arnaud. The catcher was mostly underwhelming in his early years in New York, but has gone on to be an all-star and has won a Silver Slugger Award since leaving the club for Atlanta. Another recent prime example of this was second baseman, Daniel Murphy who, like d'Arnaud, was underwhelming in his first seven seasons with the Mets. In his first year away from New York in 2016, he signed with the division rival Washington Nationals and had a career year that made him the runner-up for the National League MVP Award.
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Even the best players go through rough seasons and teams will often be scared off when these happen in the last year before a player's contract ends. As history has shown, especially in the case of the Mets, a poor season is never necessarily an indicator that a player has fully lost their ability. Alonso is still 29 years old and still shows the ability to put up elite power numbers and to play a decent first base defensively. It would be definitely be in the Mets' best interest to consider giving Alonso a chance to redeem himself especially after seeing his ability to perform at a high level in the postseason. He has been the face of the organization and a fan-favorite for the last five years apart from being an elite player and he is not someone the Mets should simply give up on after a single off year.