The Mets’ surge has them right now just two games out of a Wild Card, but they’re going to have to be real when the trade deadline hits four weeks from Tuesday about their chances of a deep playoff run.
And if they don’t like those chances, unloading some of the veterans on expiring deals could be a likelihood to re-stock and reload for 2025 and beyond…and among all the pitchers and a handful of position players they have that fit the bill, the biggest is, of course, Pete Alonso.
Polar Bear would be an instant upgrade for anyone who acquires him and likely would earn a good batch of prospects, and to Boomer, it’s all about business.
“David Stearns had no relationship whatsoever with Pete Alonso before he got here, and he’s got no relationship with any of these guys that I know of before he got here,” Boomer said. “So when the time comes, you have to make the decision that you believe is in the best interest of your team that you are running, and not because you're friendly with the team or the fans want this guy or that guy. That really doesn't have anything to do with the decision making; it has to do with what is going to be the long-term best interests of your team.”
Maybe so, but even if the Mets don’t plan to re-sign Alonso, Gio thinks there’s no way the brass is gonna let him go three or four months early.
“If David Sterns believes that trading Pete Alonso is the best thing for the future of the organization, and he's sitting there and the team is in a wild card spot, four or five games under .500 but he doesn't really believe that they're a contender this year and maybe they're overachieving…there’s still no way in Hell he's pulling the trigger on that deal, and there's no way that Steve Cohen's gonna let him pull the trigger on that deal,” Gio said. “At that point, you want to talk about a reputation? The Mets fan base would be outside with pitchforks if they did that.”
And that’s a problem for the Mets that’s a lose-lose.
“This IS a business, and I'm telling you, they are probably, in my estimation, getting the worst out of the Pete Alonso situation, because they're not gonna trade him because they're gonna be in the mix, and then they're not gonna want to pay as much as Scott Boras is gonna go get for him on the open market,” Gio said. “That's the most likely scenario right now.”
“And then the Mets lose in the first round and boom, it’s done, and then you're stuck,” was Boomer’s response.