The 2023 New York Mets season turned out to be an all-time disaster.
They entered the season with the largest payroll in all of baseball and had World Series-or-bust expectations.
We know how all that turned out … They were so bad that they ended up being sellers at the trade deadline.
They couldn’t even make it to September with a pulse.
Thing’s could soon be getting even worse for Mets fan as homegrown slugger Pete Alonso reportedly wants to leave New York.
With only one year left on his contract, Alonso is set to become a free-agent after next season if he and the Mets aren’t able to agree to an extension.
Making matters tricky for Steve Cohen’s club is the fact that Alonso just hired Scott Boras to be his new agent … We all know that Boras is the best at what he does and milks every single penny for his clients.
In other words, Alonso is in-store for a giant pay-day … Whether that comes from the Mets or another team remains to be seen. (It should be noted however that Cohen has a very good relationship with Boras.)
Regardless, according to reports, the Chicago Cubs are extremely interested in bringing Alonso aboard – and that interest is reportedly mutual…
Pete Alonso Reportedly Wants to Come to the Cubshttps://t.co/2OaUJYNN8h pic.twitter.com/u6rWuDiPI9
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) October 3, 2023
Longtime Chicago baseball reporter Bruce Levine revealed on 670 The Score in Chicago that there’s growing chatter about the Cubs making a move for Alonso.
Levine stated: “The mumbling in the Windy City is that the Cubs are going to do everything they can to trade for Pete Alonso from the Mets.”
.@MLBBruceLevine on the Cubs’ reported interest in Pete Alonso. pic.twitter.com/VqKmoyJios
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) October 3, 2023
It appears that Alonso himself may be open to the idea of joining the Cubs.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers is reporting that Alonso “wants” to make the move to Chicago … According to Rogers, Alonso has considered his options among big-market contending teams and sees an opportunity with the Cubs, who currently lack a first baseman.
However, newly appointed President of Baseball Operations for the Mets, David Stearns, expressed his expectation that Alonso would be the Opening Day first baseman.
“Pete is a great player. He is also good in the clubhouse. And he is also homegrown. All of that matters,” Stearns said. “I expect Pete to be the Opening Day first baseman next year.”
“Pete’s an important member of this team. Pete’s an important member of this organization. And I think we are really fortunate to have him,” he added.
Alonso had a career-low .217 batting average this season, with his .821 OPS being the second-worst of his career.
However, his impressive 46 home runs and 118 RBIs ranked third and second in the majors, respectively.
The slugger has consistently delivered in the power department, hitting 37 or more home runs in each full season since entering the league in 2019, boasting the most home runs (192) in the majors over that span.
It’ll be very interesting to see what happens.
Will the Cubs try to trade for him this offseason?
Will they try during the 2024 season?
Will they wait until he becomes a free-agent after next season, assuming the Mets aren’t able to work out an extension?
Anything can happen at this point … But for now, it appears that the Cubs want him badly … And that feeling is apparently mutual.
In college, Pete Alonso wrote a paper about his dream job of being a Major League Baseball player, and got a ‘C’ for it being too unrealistic.
Never give up on your dreams
pic.twitter.com/4tYbxA0H1C— Baseball (@mlbelites_) September 30, 2023