The New York Mets were the biggest seller at the MLB trade deadline, parting ways with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in a firesale. While Pete Alonso remains in New York, it wasn’t for a lack of effort on the Mets’ part.
New York decided before the trade deadline that it was hitting the reset button on the roster. After entering the season with the highest payroll in MLB history, the Mets were out of the playoff race by July. It forced a shift in the organization’s approach to roster construction.
- Pete Alonso stats (2023): .218./.312/.507, 31 home runs, 77 RBI, 124 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR
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Verlander and Scherzer were traded for top prospects, with Mets’ owner Steve Cohen eating more than $50 million in salary to strengthen the return headed to New York. In addition to the trades of Scherzer and Verlander, New York also explored another blockbuster deal.
According to Jon Heyman of the NY Post, the Mets put Alonso on the trade block ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. New York let teams around the league know the All-Star slugger was available, but acquiring him would’ve come at an “extremely high” cost.
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- Pete Alonso contract: $14.5 million salary in 2023, arbitration-eligible in 2024
New York ultimately determined that the right offer wasn’t coming in for Alonso. By midday, hours before the 6 PM ET deadline, the Mets reportedly knew that the offers were insufficient to even entertain moving Alonso.
The Mets’ plans moving forward are clear. The upcoming 2024 season will be a rebuilding year, with New York largely staying out of MLB free agency and avoiding overspending again. The new approach will likely make Alonso an offseason trade candidate.
Alonso’s contract will complicate matters for New York. He’s arbitration-eligible for the final time and will likely receive a one-year deal in the neighborhood of $20 million. If the Mets wait to trade him until the 2024 trade deadline, he’ll be a half-season rental that teams will automatically discount what they’re willing to give up for him.
As a result, expect Alonso’s name to surface heavily in trade rumors this winter. With New York firmly committed to its multi-year plan, there’s a real possibility that Alonso is traded before Opening Day.
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