The organization clearly values Alonso, but not to the degree of throwing an exorbitant amount of years and money to a man that’ll be 30 entering FA. I suspect that the Mets tried to work out an extension in the offseason around the time they locked up McNeil when he had a few years left until FA, but nothing came of it. If Pete & his agent are digging their heels on wanting Judge-level money for instance (being that Alonso himself has proclaimed to be the best power hitter in the game), then by all means listen to the best offers on the man before he enters FA. To the “40 HRs don’t grow on trees” crowd, I’d like to direct your attention to a former 40 HR threat in Giancarlo Stanton. Do you see his present day production with 5 years left? He hasn’t produced a .500+ SLG in 2 years. The Mets see that and are apprehensive in that happening to them.

I saw a comment about Pete mixing in some time as a DH, but I’d like to bring up that he was against that idea in the past, seeing himself strictly as a 1B.

There are many instances of teams trading their star player rather than paying the player. Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Mookie Betts are the first few that come to mind. I doubt there are any Diamondbacks fans, Rockies fans, or Red Sox fans who will say they are happy with how those trades have played out.

A) All 3 of those players are more complete hitters/players, whereas Alonso is a slugger that won’t have as long of a shelf life as those mentioned. I’ve brought up before that Alonso’s career slashline is similar is to the prime of Adam Dunn (2004-2010), a man that wasn’t the same in production after his age 30 season.

Alonso: .254/.344/.533/.877, 138 OPS+
Dunn: .254/.381/.533/.914, 136 OPS+

B) Weren’t the Red Sox in the ALCS the year after they traded Mookie?

C) We’ve seen star players walk and get replaced with guys with similar production after the former couldn’t work out an extension. It’s weird that the name “Freddie Freeman” isn’t brought up in this argument. Hell, let’s bring up Albert Pujols. The Cardinals weren’t willing to match 10 years, $250M that the Angels gave him when he was 31, despite being a God in St. Louis. What did they do afterwards? Found production in Allen Craig while making the NLCS the following 3 years, including winning a pennant.

Do I believe that losing Alonso would mean waving the white flag in winning? I wouldn’t go that far after the return we’ve received at the deadline to go with some credible young pitching coming through the pipeline.

So if he thinks Lindor is worth $400 mil what does he think he himself is worth?

Long term Vet Deals: Cautionary Tales:
Votto, Yelich, Stanton, Rendon, Baez, Cabrera

Knowing When to Move On
Cards and Braves let Pujols and Freeman walk in their prime and both teams thrived afterwards.

Why Breaking Up Core4 Must Happen Now
Since 2021, team offense built around Core4 (Alonso, Lindor, Nimmo, Mcneil) has been mediocre:
– 4.51 runs/gm
– 60-84 vs lefty starters
– below league avg in HRs and XBH%
Breaking up the Core4 is essential to building a deeper lineup. Reality is Lindor and Nimmo aren’t going anywhere but trading Alonso in his prime returns multiple pieces. Winning consistently is all about roster depth. At this point, signing Pete long term doesn’t solve this problem and if his contract extends past 35 (it will!), it becomes another boat anchor that blocks the path of younger talent.

There are plenty of players who are quite durable in their 20s. Its the 30s you clearly worry about.