{"id":337766,"date":"2025-12-10T23:02:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T23:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/337766\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T23:02:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T23:02:36","slug":"do-the-mets-have-a-plan-pete-alonsos-defection-causes-an-uproar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/337766\/","title":{"rendered":"Do the Mets have a plan? Pete Alonso’s defection causes an uproar"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, FL \u2014 It\u2019s like Elon Musk<\/a> trading in his Tesla for a rusted Ford Taurus.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s seeing Beyonce<\/a> giving up her career to be a lounge singer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Leonardo DiCaprio walking away from films to do local tire commercials.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

And in real life, we are witnessing the dismantling of the New York Mets<\/a>, piece by torturous piece.<\/p>\n

Mets All-Star outfielder Brandon Nimmo was traded one week, All-Star closer Edwin Diaz<\/a> defected the next, and now the trilogy is complete with hometown hero Pete Alonso departing Wednesday<\/a> without even getting a contract offer to stay.<\/p>\n

You can take Mets president David Stearns out of Milwaukee, but you simply can\u2019t take Milwaukee out of Stearns.<\/p>\n

Stearns didn\u2019t make himself available for comment to answer the vitriol directed his way on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\"Pete<\/p>\n

Pete Alonso leaves the Mets as the club’s all-time home run leader.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have the chance to being asked:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t think Alonso, their tremendously homegrown product who\u2019s one of the game\u2019s premier power hitters, is worth more than a three-year contract?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have so little respect for Alonso that you didn’t bother to even make an offer?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you actually believe that after losing your all-world closer, your left fielder who hit 25 homers is shipped off to Texas, and your first baseman who hit 36 homers, the team is still a contender?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you out of your stinking mind?”<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very optimistic about where our offseason is headed,” Stearns told reporters Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019ve certainly got work to do, but there are a lot of good players out there, and I\u2019m confident that we\u2019re really going to like where our team is once we get to Opening Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, unless those players are Darryl Strawberry, John Franco and Keith Hernandez coming back in their primes, Mets fans can\u2019t find a possible world in which this would be true.<\/p>\n

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The cruel, cold-hearted facts Mets\u2019 fans don\u2019t want to hear is that their team has been grossly underachieving.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve had record-setting payrolls since owner Steve Cohen bought the team four years ago.<\/p>\n

They spent a record $765 million on free agent Juan Soto a year ago.<\/p>\n

They gave shortstop Francisco Lindor $341 million in 2021.<\/p>\n

And what has it gotten them?<\/p>\n

Nothing more than heartache.<\/p>\n

1 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

Since 2000, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols’ 101.3 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) leads all players, with Alex Rodriguez tied for second ways back at 89.7 WAR. See the rest of the top 25.<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

Since 2000, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols’ 101.3 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) leads all players, with Alex Rodriguez tied for second ways back at 89.7 WAR. See the rest of the top 25.<\/p>\n

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2 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

2. Alex Rodriguez – 89.7<\/p>\n

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3 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

3. Adrian Beltre – 89.7<\/p>\n

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4 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

4. Mike Trout – 87.5<\/p>\n

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5 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

5. Justin Verlander – 82.2<\/p>\n

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6 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

6. Clayton Kershaw – 78.1<\/p>\n

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7 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

7. Mookie Betts – 75.2<\/p>\n

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8 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

8. Max Scherzer – 74.7<\/p>\n

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9 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

9. Zack Greinke – 72.4<\/p>\n

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10 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

10. Robinson Cano – 68.7<\/p>\n

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11 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

11. Miguel Cabrera – 67.2<\/p>\n

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12 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

12. Carlos Beltran – 65.1<\/p>\n

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13 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

13. Chase Utley – 64.6<\/p>\n

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14 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

14. Freddie Freeman – 64.2<\/p>\n

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15 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

15. Paul Goldschmidt – 63.8<\/p>\n

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16 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

16. Joey Votto – 63.6<\/p>\n

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17 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

17. Roy Halladay – 62.4<\/p>\n

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18 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

18. Aaron Judge – 62.3<\/p>\n

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19 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

19. CC Sabathia – 61.8<\/p>\n

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20 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

20. Manny Machado – 61.7<\/p>\n

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21 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

21. Ichiro Suzuki – 60<\/p>\n

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22 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

22. Mark Buehrle – 60<\/p>\n

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23 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

23. Barry Bonds – 59.1<\/p>\n

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24 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

24. Evan Longoria – 58.9<\/p>\n

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25 \/ 25<\/p>\n

Top 25 MLB players from 2000-2025 ranked by Wins Above Replacement<\/p>\n

25. Chipper Jones – 58.3<\/p>\n

They had a historic collapse down the stretch last season, and just like the Colorado Rockies<\/a>, Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> and Los Angeles Angels<\/a>, failed to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n

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Sure, they could have brought back Diaz on another five-year, $100 million contract instead of seeing him leave for a three-year, $69 million deal with the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

They could have given Alonso three times as much as his five-year, $155 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles without blinking.<\/p>\n

And they certainly didn\u2019t need to trade Nimmo for Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien.<\/p>\n

Yet, the reality is that their three longest-tenured players had seven years to win in Queens, and miserably failed.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Just once did they win more than 90 games.<\/p>\n

Just twice did they make the playoffs.<\/p>\n

And only once did they win a playoff series.<\/p>\n

The way Stearns saw it, it\u2019s time for a culture change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think once we got into the offseason and had the time to fully reflect on our team,” Stearns said after the Nimmo trade, \u201cis when I became convinced that we weren\u2019t just going to run it back. That we were going to make some changes.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Sure, the folks in Queens hate it.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The talk shows already are filled with disgust.<\/p>\n

The back pages in the New York tabloids will be vicious.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re furious that Cohen, who\u2019s worth $21 billion, doesn\u2019t open up his checkbook and make the Dodgers look like a small-market team.<\/p>\n

Yet, Cohen recruited and made Stearns, the second-highest paid executive in the game behind only Dodgers president Andrew Friedman, to have him shape the team.<\/p>\n

Stearns told Cohen that anyone can simply write checks. He wanted to build the East Coast version of the Dodgers \u2013 only with a smaller payroll.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019ll see what Stearns has up his sleeve. He could steal outfielder Cody Bellinger away from the Yankees, sign power-hitting infielder Munetaka Murakami, and load up on pitching with a combination of starters Tatsuya Imai, Framber Valdez, Michael King or Zac Gallen, and relievers Robert Suarez and Luke Weaver.<\/p>\n

Stearns has the power and flexibility to create the team he wants, one with sustained success, and who knows, one day end their World Series drought that has lasted since 1986.<\/p>\n

This is what Stearns deeply desired all along, a chance to be creative just as he did in Milwaukee, formulating a team that will make Mets\u2019 fans proud again.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

He\u2019s fully embracing the pressure that comes with it.<\/p>\n

He just better be right.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What are Mets doing? Pete Alonso to Orioles draws outrage in NY<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, FL \u2014 It\u2019s like Elon Musk trading in his Tesla for a rusted Ford Taurus. It\u2019s seeing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[3966,73182,49,48,8298,4021,41751,11214,511,484,24973,3640,1509,3962,27870,55360,16304,7670,462,475,471,509,473,82,131665,3992,1505,10622],"class_list":["post-337766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-brandon-nimmo","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cody-bellinger","tag-colorado-rockies","tag-darryl-strawberry","tag-david-stearns","tag-dodgers","tag-edwin-diaz","tag-framber-valdez","tag-francisco-lindor","tag-juan-soto","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-luke-weaver","tag-marcus-semien","tag-michael-king","tag-milwaukee","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-pete-alonso","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-robert-suarez","tag-sports","tag-steve-cohen","tag-texas-rangers","tag-yankees","tag-zac-gallen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}