As the Pete Alonso free agency continues to drag on with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in less than two weeks, Sal Licata believes that it would no longer be beneficial for the Mets and their homegrown slugger to come to an agreement.
Many still believe New York will bring back Alonso, despite tense negotiations that Steve Cohen has publicly lamented, but Sal doesn’t believe it will necessarily be the right move, even if the Mets need another bat in the middle of the lineup.
“I think, at this point, too much damage has been done,” Sal said. “I think it would be a mistake for both sides to bring Pete back.
“I know it’s gonna happen. They’re gonna bring Pete back, the Mets fans are gonna be excited...ignoring a lot of facts here that can lead to a bad relationship.”
For Sal, Alonso has already shown that he struggles when there is pressure on himself, as his contract year was arguably the worst of his career. Sure, he hit a massive home run against the Brewers to send the Mets to the NLDS, but if he were to return on a contract far less than what he hoped to sign for, he doesn’t believe the response would be turning back the clock to 2022 or even 2023 in terms of on-field production, and the relationship may be too damaged between himself and the only team he’s known as a pro.
“The Mets may want him, but they don’t really want him,” Sal said. “He may want to be back, but he doesn’t really want to be back. He had no other options...and the Mets don’t have other options at this point.
“I don’t think the Mets bringing back Pete Alonso is good for anybody.”