{"id":350813,"date":"2025-12-15T21:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T21:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350813\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T21:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T21:30:07","slug":"mets-logic-lately-makes-zero-sense-ex-gm-says-lets-be-realistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350813\/","title":{"rendered":"Mets\u2019 logic lately \u2018makes zero sense,\u2019 ex-GM says: \u2018Let\u2019s be realistic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jim Bowden of The Athletic is baffled by the Mets<\/a>\u2019 reasoning behind signing Jorge Polanco<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In particular, the former MLB general manager says it \u201cmakes zero sense\u201d how the club framed the signing as filling its needs at first base and designated hitter. Especially after letting the Mets\u2019 all-time home run leader, a fan favorite, Pete Alonso, sign with the Orioles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t like (Alonso) defensively at first base. Wait what? But you like Polanco at first base, who played one inning of one game over there,\u201d Bowden said on \u201cFoul Territory,\u201d via X\/Twitter<\/a>. \u201cAnd by the way, Pete Alonso is elite at scooping and picks. He\u2019s elite at it. How many errors has he saved the third baseman, shortstop and second baseman over the years in New York? <\/p>\n

\u201cSure, he lets runs in; sure, he has a lack of range. I get it. He also drives in 125 (RBIs), so if he lets in 15 or 20 (runs), he more than makes up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Alonso did lead all first basemen with 10 errors last season, he also recorded a position-best 29 scoops, a metric that measures a first baseman\u2019s ability to save errant throws. The next closest player was Dodgers star Freddie Freeman, who finished with 24 scoops, according to FanGraphs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bowden also noted that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns suggesting Polanco could \u201ceasily\u201d slide over to first was unrealistic. While the position is dismissed as the easiest in infield, it\u2019s far more complicated than it looks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you asked that to Bryce Harper or Willson Contreras or anybody else?\u201d Bowden asked.<\/p>\n

According to the former GM, assuming a player can simply move there without proven experience ignores the defensive value of the position and the impact it has across the entire infield.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd look, I like Polanco. Don\u2019t get me wrong. He\u2019s a good player. His knees are healthy. I get it, but let\u2019s be realistic,\u201d Bowden said. \u201cYou got rid of a 40 home run bat for a 20 home run bat. You got rid of 120 RBIs for 70 RBIs. That\u2019s what you did. Your offense just downgraded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polanco, 32, had a career-best 132 wRC+ with Seattle this year, hitting .265 with a .862 OPS and 26 home runs. His numbers from the right side of the plate against left-handed pitchers were particularly impressive in 2025, an important piece of the puzzle as the Mets try to protect Juan Soto in their lineup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jim Bowden of The Athletic is baffled by the Mets\u2019 reasoning behind signing Jorge Polanco. In particular, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-350813","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}