The Replacing Pete Alonso Conundrum

[Centerfield]

Let's start with the obvious. There's no one player that can replace him.

The Mets need:

A. A first baseman. That should be easy enough. Defensively, he wasn't great. Whoever they get to replace him has a good chance to be better.

B. A middle of the lineup hitter. Nearly impossible. Schwarber's gone. Only Kyle Tucker will give you similar production. And even then, he has much less power. Bellinger falls short, even coming off a good year. The Japanese guys are huge question marks, and it's unrealistic to expect them to replace Alonso's production. Even if they pull off a trade for Tatis Jr, his numbers are not as good as Alonso's. Basically. It's not going to happen.

C. A right-handed presence. All of the guys mentioned above, except Okamoto, are left-handed. And if you figure the Japanese players typically see about a 100 point drop in OPS when coming stateside, this is not a great sign for him.

[metirish]

I agree with you.... And we likely end up with Paul Goldschmidt

[Centerfield]

I mean, you don't even bother if the answer if Paul Goldschmidt. If you're at that point, just trade Lindor and rebuild.

It's crazy. The Mets right now:

1. Have nothing at 1B

2. Are locked into a .650 OPS at 2B making big money.

3. Have nothing at LF

4. Have nothing at CF

5. Have no DH

6. Have question marks at 3B and C

Starting rotation is among the worst in baseball

Bullpen has a question mark at closer, two oft-injured lefties, and nothing otherwise.

Their payroll is at $261M.

[ashie62]

I have it today as

C. Alvarez

1B Clifford

2B Semien

SS Lindor

3B Baty

LF. Benge

CF Jett

RF Soto

DH Vientos

Now they "could" sign Volgelbach

I'm getting the feeling Stearns is listening to offers for Lindor

I hope it's just interweb nonsense

[Centerfield]

I have it today as

C. Alvarez

1B Clifford

2B Semien

SS Lindor

3B Baty

LF. Benge

CF Jett

RF Soto

DH Vientos

Now they "could" sign Volgelbach

I'm getting the feeling Stearns is listening to offers for Lindor

I hope it's just interweb nonsense

 

This lineup finishes fourth in the NL East. Below .500

[metirish]

A Cardinals club in the beginning stages of a full-on rebuild left Orlando on Wednesday without a trade being made, but it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of trying. With the Cardinals already fielding several calls about Donovan and Romero, they were queried by the Mets with interest in Contreras, per a source, after first baseman Pete Alonso left for the Orioles in free agency.

https://www.mlb.com/news/cardinals-wrap-2025-winter-meetings

[Fman99]

Let's start with the obvious. There's no one player that can replace him.

The Mets need:

A. A first baseman. That should be easy enough. Defensively, he wasn't great. Whoever they get to replace him has a good chance to be better.

B. A middle of the lineup hitter. Nearly impossible. Schwarber's gone. Only Kyle Tucker will give you similar production. And even then, he has much less power. Bellinger falls short, even coming off a good year. The Japanese guys are huge question marks, and it's unrealistic to expect them to replace Alonso's production. Even if they pull off a trade for Tatis Jr, his numbers are not as good as Alonso's. Basically. It's not going to happen.

C. A right-handed presence. All of the guys mentioned above, except Okamoto, are left-handed. And if you figure the Japanese players typically see about a 100 point drop in OPS when coming stateside, this is not a great sign for him.

 

Sounds pretty ****ed to me

[smg58]

It might be worth a year's investment to know how much of Marcell Ozuna's performance last year had to do with his hip.

A 100-point drop for Okamoto would still put his OPS above .900. I'm not saying that's realistic, but I do think he's a better bet than Murakami (worse fielder and horrific K rate) while likely being cheaper.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Maybe they can coax James Loney out of retirement.

It feels like 2026 is going to be a team of Michael Cuddyers and James Loneys. (Lonies?)

I'm sure (I think) that it will be better than that, but it really may be a transitional season with stopgap veterans and young players trying to establish themselves. It may work, I suppose. Especially when 84 wins can get you to the postseason.