IS THE POLAR BEAR GONNA STAY?

BY MARK HALPERN

The New York Mets lineup is one of the deadliest lineups in all of baseball. When the Mets signed Juan Soto, there were a few purposes. One Soto is an elite talent and two if the Mets were to be able to re-sign Pete Alonso, he’d have protection in the lineup for the first time. The Mets were able to re-sign Alonso to a two year contract. And to this point Pete’s having a fantastic season with 22 homers and 81 RBI’S along with a slash line of .263/.354/.499 with a .853 OPS. The slash line is way better than it was a year ago, probably when his contract was weighing on him. Alonso’s slash last season was .240/.329/.459 with an .788 OPS. 

          The one constant in the Mets lineup this season has been Alonso hitting behind Soto, where that’s in the two or three spot in the order. But now the emergence of Jeff McNeil along with Baty, Vientos, Mauricio and Alvarez are all looking like they’ve found their groove.          Alonso will turn 31 in December, and we are pretty sure he’ll opt out of his deal after the season. Most people believe Pete didn’t want to leave in free agency last winter, so what would change now? Well for one Pete’s having a better season than he did a year ago, but how many teams are going to be willing to pay a 31 year old big money on a long term deal? With the trade deadline approaching, and the Mets having needs in both the bullpen and rotation, is it possible that the Mets deal Mark Vientos, and what would that tell, that the Mets either believe prospect Ryan Clifford is close, or they’re willing to give Pete what he deserves. Now, as Met fans we got to witness something last week and that was the jersey retirement of David Wright, who is the greatest player to play his whole career for the Mets. Alonso, has a chance to surpass that if he were to play his whole career in Queens. So how do David Stearns and Steve Cohen make this happen? For Alonso to stay Mike Rifkin and I are pretty close on a deal : Mike at 6/180 and I’m at 5/200 w/player option. That would put Pete at about $40 per year and I think after this season and what could be the start to a Mets dynasty, I believe it is in the Mets best option to get this done sooner than later however, Alonso might want to wait until the season is over to keep distractions at a minimum.