NEW YORK (PIX11) -- As the General Manager meetings for Major League Baseball in Arizona abruptly ended due to a stomach virus, the baseball offseason is off to an inauspicious start.
From the rantings of Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman to the Mets missing Craig Counsell as a manager to the usually entertaining musings of super-agent Scott Boras.
Let us stay there because as Boras addressed the media, the future of first baseman Pete Alonso with the Mets came into focus. The polar bear is due to be a free agent after the upcoming season. New Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns has said that he wants to talk extension with Alonso and avoid a trade. The idea of moving on from Alonso is moronic. All the man does is produce. He is a homegrown Met, he has made an impact in the community and has produced on the field.
In five years with the Mets, he has 192 home runs. His top three years of power are 53, 46, and 40 homers. He will turn 29 on Dec. 7, and I have said it before, if you do not sign Alonso long-term, then who will you sign if you trade him? Why even bother playing in 2024 if you are the Mets?
Alonso plays too. Out of a possible 708 games, he has played in 684 of them, missing just 24. If his career continues this arc and he remains with the Mets, he could very well go down as the greatest position player in the history of the Mets.
Could I do without some of the histrionics? For sure. Was he feeling his oats a season ago? Probably. But we know this marketplace, and New York is not for everyone. We have all watched talented players come here and fail.
You have a player who not only understands this city and gets it but also thrives in New York with the expectations.
There are some that question whether he should be locked up long-term.
Enough with the nonsense.
There were some within the Mets organization who did not believe he could be an everyday first baseman when he was working his way through the system. Pete does not need me to extoll his virtues. He now has an agent in Boras that will look to get him as big a deal as he can and I hope he gets it, because Pete Alonso is the face of the Mets, and he has earned it.