It will be interesting to see how the New York Mets perform during the upcoming 2024 season.
The front office clearly had no intention of spending massive amounts of money this winter to try and stack a roster that could contend.
Based on the failings that took place in 2023, it’s easy to see why.
The Mets were forced to be sellers at the trade deadline to recuperate assets after a disastrous start took them completely out of the playoff picture.
There’s a chance that happens again this year.
If that does occur, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report thinks New York will do something shocking and trade their superstar Pete Alonso to the Toronto Blue Jays ahead of the deadline.
This would certainly make waves.
Alonso, their second round pick in 2016, has become one of the top power hitters in the game, leading the league in home runs during his Rookie of the Year-winning season in 2019.
He has put up gaudy hitting numbers with almost 200 homers and 500 RBI so far in five years. His career OPS+ is 136.
Why would the Mets even think about trading the face of their franchise away?
Well, he’s scheduled to hit free agency after the year.
Getting something back for Alonso instead of potentially losing him for nothing is certainly on the table.
Teams will be calling, and likely willing to give up a large package to get him.
“… with Alonso, there’s a good chance he’ll give you 15-20 home runs during those two months—and ideally at least a few more in October. It should be quite the bidding war for the Polar Bear if the Mets are as unimpressive as the preseason projections suggest,” Miller writes.
He also points out teams have become reluctant to give some of their top prospects away for just a few months of work, but after the Blue Jays whiffed on multiple star players this offseason, they might be willing to do just that.
It will be interesting to see how everything plays out.