Pete Alonso’s struggles since returning from injury have been well-documented. Widely regarded as one of the league’s primary offensive talents, Alonso is in the midst of perhaps the worst slump of his career following a trip to the injured list in early June. There have been plenty of questions raised about Alonso’s recovery and health as a result, culminating in widespread discourse and debate about a player the Mets desperately need to return to form.
Let’s dive into some of Alonso’s numbers. Before going down with a bone bruise and left wrist sprain on June 7, Alonso was slashing .231/.326/.546 with 22 home runs, a .369 wOBA and 140 wRC+. Since then, however, he has been mired in what can only be described as an uncharacteristic downswing. Over the past 30 days, Alonso has slashed .143/.255/.310 with just four home runs across 84 at-bats, while his metrics have dropped across the board. He’s currently hitting .204/.304/.472 on the season as a whole, and his .776 OPS at this juncture is the lowest it’s ever been in a full season. Furthermore, the lowest OPS he has had in any full calendar month across his career prior to this point was .740 in August of 2020, marking this stretch as uncharted territory for Alonso, considering how consistent he’s typically been.
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
There are a few possible explanations for Alonso’s sudden regression. His hard-hit rate has dropped several percentage points since returning to action on June 18, and his strikeout rate has also risen ever so slightly. He hasn’t resorted to chasing out of the zone, and he isn’t whiffing more though, so perhaps he’s due for progression in that regard. Alonso is also hitting the ball on the ground more, but it feels as though his fortunes should start to turn soon due to his unimaginably low .181 BABIP.
There’s also the injury factor with the argument that Alonso came back too soon and isn’t fully healthy. That would be the easy answer, but Alonso told Tim Britton of The Athletic that it had no bearing on his struggles in an article published on Thursday.
“No, it’s just bad play,’ he said when asked if the HBP has impacted him in any way. ‘There’s no injury reason. It’s just that I haven’t been playing well.”
A slump always comes with outside noise and internal pressure that can make it tough for any player to break through. Pressing and overthinking can often compound the issue, which manager Buck Showalter spoke about as part of Britton’s piece as well.
“It’s as much an emotional and mental thing. He wants to do well so bad that sometimes you can’t slow it down a little bit,” he stated. “I can’t tell you how many times you’re on deck and have a plan and all of a sudden the mental/emotional part takes over on the way to the batter’s box, and you get in some swing modes when you shouldn’t be swinging and some take modes when you should be hitting.”
For as much as Alonso has labored through the last month or so of games, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see him break out at any moment. There are still a number of things to work through, but he’s proven himself to be an elite talent, and it won’t be long before he looks like himself again.
