The Pete Alonso Conundrum

[kcmets]

Pete should fire Boras and his my-commission first and his

my-client's-best-interest second approach to negotiating.

(that should light a fuse or two with some here)

[Gwreck]

Pete should fire Boras and his my-commission first and his

my-client's-best-interest second approach to negotiating.

(that should light a fuse or two with some here)

 

Assuming you didn’t mean it tongue-in-cheek:

1. That’s a pretty inflammatory thing to say about Boras without any proof to back it up.

2. If Boras is well known to us for attempting to secure the highest dollars possible — how could we think his potential clients don’t also know this? Put another way, if someone hires the Boras Corp. as their agent, why do we think they aren’t doing so eyes open and specifically because they are looking to make as much money as possible??

[Gwreck]

or what teams would be willing to give in money and years

 

This is where Stearns has some potential leverage. A lot of big market teams (PHI, ATL, LAD, TOR, HOU) have long-term contracts with first baseman, and another set of teams (CHC, BAL, DET, KC, CIN) have cost-controlled young players there.

And of course it seems pretty unlikely that Sacramento, CHW, MIA, TB, COL, PIT, MIL, MIN, or ARZ is going to spend that sort of money. STL is supposed to be rebuilding.

That leaves a pretty limited pool: San Francisco, Boston, the other NY team, Seattle, Texas, maybe San Diego or Anaheim.

[Channel9]

Curious to see what Pete might get, or what Boras expects if Pete keeps this up , or what teams would be willing to give in money and years

 

I would guess 3yrs @ $105mm or 4 years @$125-$130mm could get it done. I don’t see Pete getting a $40mm AAV for a multiyear deal.

Am I wrong? Will his market be higher than that? He‘ll be 31.

[Frayed Knot]

Boras will certainly point to Judge and Freeman for ammo.

Not that Pete is as good as either of them but that, at age 35, Freddie currently sports his highest BA and his 2nd best OPS of his career.

And Judge, in the midst of his age 33 season, has his highest BA, OBA, SLG, OPS, OPS+ of his career by A Lot!

'So you see, Steve and David, Boras is bound to say, you've got nothing to worry about when it comes to signing mid-30s sluggers. Particularly when the guy we're talking just had (assuming current pace) 'HIS best season ever for BA, OBA, SLG, OPS and he's three and five years younger than those guys. And if you don't think so I've got 47 other teams waiting to talk to me and surely some of them will see it that way.'

[Edgy MD]

or what teams would be willing to give in money and years

 

This is where Stearns has some potential leverage. A lot of big market teams (PHI, ATL, LAD, TOR, HOU) have long-term contracts with first baseman, and another set of teams (CHC, BAL, DET, KC, CIN) have cost-controlled young players there.

And of course it seems pretty unlikely that Sacramento, CHW, MIA, TB, COL, PIT, MIL, MIN, or ARZ is going to spend that sort of money. STL is supposed to be rebuilding.

That leaves a pretty limited pool: San Francisco, Boston, the other NY team, Seattle, Texas, maybe San Diego or Anaheim.

 

This is largely true, but with the advent of the universal DH, it gives teams a lot more room to sign the bats they like and then figure out where to play them.

[Lefty Specialist]

You have to think that the Yankees would love to steal Alonso, after the Mets stole Soto from under their noses. Goldschmidt only has a one-year contract, so he'd fit perfectly. He'll cost a lot less than Soto and it would be a dagger to a lot of Met fans.

[duan]

Just glad we signed him, a lot of people were suggesting Christian Walker ...

Walker is hitting .207/.269/.350 for the Astros.

[Fman99]

You have to think that the Yankees would love to steal Alonso, after the Mets stole Soto from under their noses. Goldschmidt only has a one-year contract, so he'd fit perfectly. He'll cost a lot less than Soto and it would be a dagger to a lot of Met fans.

 

This is my new worst case scenario of course

[metirish]

That world indeed be a nightmare

[ashie62]

Most of this will become clearer as Pete and the Mets progress the remainder of the season. Long way to go

I believe Boras has constructed his own template for contracts and their negotiation. With myriads of options and buyouts presented. This is what I believe Steve Cohen became most frustrated with

[Frayed Knot]

btw, I love that this thread is now 2-1/2 years old and still going strong.

[kcmets]

As is Petey Polar BOOM!!!

[Benjamin Grimm]

In April it looked like the sky would be the limit for Pete this winter. I'm not surprised that he didn't keep up that pace, but his numbers have been a bit less spectacular since then.

Before May 1, he was .343/.474/.657. And since May 1, over a course of 84 games, he's been .238/.305/.456. This is very comparable to his 2024 numbers of .240/.329/.459

We can be pretty certain he's going to opt out, and this winter he'll be a year older than last year (as will we all) and he won't have a QO. But will he once again turn out to be more valuable to the Mets than to anyone else? I really don't know, but in a little over two months this is going to be a hot topic again.

[Lefty Specialist]

He'll have better numbers than last year (he's already got more RBI's), but his regression after the first month of the season is concerning. If the Mets had any viable alternative at first I'd say let him twist like they did last year and see how much he wants to come back. That leaves open the possibility he gets snatched away by any one of a number of teams, including the Yanx. But the Mets have no up-and-coming first base type in the minors currently.

[roger_that]

But the Mets have no up-and-coming first base type in the minors currently.

 

How about they move Lindor over to 1B for the rest of his career? He seems to have taken a step back defensively, and he can still hit as well as a 1Bman should.

And then they can play Mauricio (or Acuna?) at short, and use the money they would have spent on a long-term contract for Alonso on the best young free agent around.

[Benjamin Grimm]

There's been talk that Ryan Clifford may be the first baseman of the future. That may or may not prove to be the case, but I doubt he'll be ready to take the full-time job in April of 2026.

I don't see Lindor at first base in 2026.

[roger_that]

I don't see Lindor at first base in 2026.

 

Some men see things the way they are and ask "Why?"

I see things the way they aren't and ask "Why not?"

[Edgy MD]

I tend to think that everybody who is a hitter is a first-base type.

Heck, maybe Soto ends up there.

[The Hot Corner]

Lindor is still a good defensive shortstop and appears to be better (more MLB ready) than other in house options such as Mauricio, Acuna, and Wiliams. He is also 5'10" which is on the short side for MLB first baseman.

Lindor remaining at shortstop is the least of the Mets problems should Alonso leave, IMHO.

[roger_that]

Lindor is still a good defensive shortstop and appears to be better (more MLB ready) than other in house options such as Mauricio, Acuna, and Wiliams. He is also 5'10" which is on the short side for MLB first baseman.

Lindor remaining at shortstop is the least of the Mets problems should Alonso leave, IMHO.

 

And he'll make a great defensive first baseman instead of deteriorating into a mediocre shortstop by the end of his contract.

Remember, you read it here first. The Mets have two young MLB-ready players at ss and possibly a gigantic hole at 1B.

[Frayed Knot]

Moving Lindor to 1B is a colossally dumb idea.

[The Hot Corner]

I expect Lindor to remain at shortstop for a few years. When his defense deteriorates with age, I would think him to transition to third base. That is likely a few years away, though.

[roger_that]

It solves a lot of potential problems if the Mets have a very hard time getting Alonso to agree on a contract, which they probably will.

Let's say Pete is looking for a six-year deal at top dollar, and the Mets are looking for a three-year deal, max, at somewhat less than record-shattering top dollar, and they just can't come to terms. Both sides are thinking the other side blinks first, but meantime some other team offers Pete all he's looking to get and more. So he leaves.

Now the Mets have no first baseman. But they do have a logjam of MLB-ready and affordable middle infielders, plus a shortstop who hits like a first baseman and is losing range at SS. Makes all the sense in the world to me, especially if replacing Pete at 1B will cost a fortune and still yield an inferior first baseman.

And if the Mets do end up with Lindor at 1b next year, all I ask is a simple plaque acknowledging where you first came upon this idea.

[Frayed Knot]

Replacement 1st baseman are easier to find than short-stops.

And to take someone who has the range, footwork, throwing arm, hands and instincts to play top-notch SS and move him to a position where most of those skills aren't required in anywhere near the same quantity is, as I said before, a colossally dumb idea.

[Edgy MD]

If you think your shortstop hits like a firstbaseman, then you really want him playing shortstop.

[roger_that]

If you think your shortstop hits like a firstbaseman, then you really want him playing shortstop.

 

Not if you've got three shortstops and no first baseman you don't.

[Edgy MD]

You have 12 firstbasemen.

[The Hot Corner]

If you are sold on the hitting and slugging potential of the triumvirate Baty, Vientos and Mauricio, then I would think Baty or Vientos are better options at first base, since neither of them play shortstop. Keep Lindor, an actual shortstop at his position. The only one of the three that can actually play shortstop is Mauricio.

[roger_that]

You have 12 firstbasemen.

 

Well, technically you've got hundreds of available 1bmen.

Problem is, all of them suck. You've got players in AAA who can be forced into playing 1B, all the way down to rookie league players, plus the available free agents who've been cut by other organizations.

None of them are desirable solutions.

But if you've got a player (and the Mets have at least two--Mauricio and Acuna) who've shown signs of being solid defensive MLB SSs and given glimmers of offensive ability, and a guy under contract through 2031 (when he'll be in his late 30s) who can unquestionably hit with any 1bman and almost certainly field like a Gold Glove first baseman, you might consider trying that solution out, instead of throwing money that will probably be wasted at Alonso.

I think he will get the contract he wants from some other team, and that team will most likely have to eat the last few unproductive years of that six or seven year deal. I'd rather the Mets spent those millions on younger Free Agents.