BT & Sal: Pressure of contract year clearly wearing on Pete Alonso
As BT and Sal tried to process the slow start from Pete Alonso, they both agree that it seems like the Mets slugger is wearing the pressure of needing to perform in a contract year as his future hangs in the balance.
"He's not processing the contract push well at all," BT said. "He's wearing it. He looks tight. His at-bats for the most part don't look like quality at-bats."
Alonso went 0-for-5 on Sunday, and now has just two hits in his last 36 at-bats to drop his season batting average to .206, and Sal says Alonso is not going to get the big contract that he hoped he would heading into the season. Sal still believes Alonso will get it going and hit his 40 home runs, but so far, it looks like he isn't responding to the pressure of playing for a payday.
"He's clearly pressing," Sal said. "It's surprising, because I thought Pete would thrive in this environment, much like Aaron Judge did. But he put too much pressure on himself. He screwed up by hiring Scott Boras. It was a big mistake.
"I am shocked that Pete has not responded in his walk year. I thought he would put up big numbers. I was wrong."
Could Alonso struggle to the point where he has to settle for a short-term deal in free agency, like Cody Bellinger did despite a strong season in 2023? Sal wouldn't rule it out, nor will he rule out the idea that Alonso is gripping the bat a little tighter as he tries to slug his way to a life-changing contract. But the tighter he grips that bat, the more a big payday seems to slip out of his grasp.
"Instead of modeling himself after Judge, which he was doing, and going to get Scott Boras…he's going the way of Michael Conforto," Sal said. "And you saw how that ended up."
