It would be really dumb for the Mets to pass on Pete Alonso in September

With September call-ups days away, Alonso’s fate is unknown.

(Peter Alonso with the Las Vegas 51’s. Photo/Peter Alonso)

Update: Per Anthony DiComo, John Ricco confirmed that Peter Alonso will not be joining the Mets this season citing a lack of potential playing time.

Rosters are expanding on Saturday September 1, but power-hitting first-base prospect Pete Alonso’s status is still up in the air for the New York Mets.

Manager Mickey Callaway has been non-committal about whether Alonso will or won’t be summoned to Flushing when rosters expand. The front office, whose talking head has been John Ricco, has consistently stated not to expect Alonso up with the big league club since the beginning of August.

There is an argument for both options, but how the Mets handle Alonso this fall may be telling for how they’ll handle the team in 2019.

The Case for the Majors

Little can be said about Alonso’s bat that Mets fans don’t already dream about nightly, but let’s recap.

El Pow is slashing .277/.394/.556 with 32 HR across Binghamton and Vegas. He was the first player in all of baseball to reach 100 RBI — he now sits at a Minor League leading 109 on the year. For more context, AL MVP candidate J.D. Martinez currently leads the majors with 110 RBI.

After a rough start with the 51’s, Alonso bounced back with a 1.040 OPS in the month of August. The Florida product can clearly mash, so what’s left to prove?

The Case for Triple-A

If keeping him in Vegas is indeed the final verdict, the justification will be that it is a developmental decision.

The book on Alonso is that he still needs to improve a ton defensively. He did have 19 errors in 2017 between Binghamton and St. Lucie. You can even look to this year’s Future’s game when he hit an absolute moon shot in Nationals Park, but misplayed a routine grounder the following inning.

There’s no question that his defense needs work but he has been putting in the work, and that work has already shown results. Since the move to Vegas he’s surrendered only three errors in 52 games. He was even named the 51’s Defensive Player of the Month in July.

The only true benefit of staying down is guaranteed reps, which takes us to playing time.

The Case against the Majors

The case for Vegas and the case against the Majors should be the same in theory, but this is the Mets we’re talking about.

With Jay Bruce back and Wilmer Flores locked at first base despite his ‘super-utility’ title, Alonso’s playing time would have to come at the expense of players currently on the Major League roster.

Callaway insists Bruce will get the majority of reps at first-base for the remainder of the season, and likely into next season.

Including this season, Bruce has played 19 career games at first-base. According to Baseball Reference, he has 4 errors and -7 Defensive Runs Saved in those games. It’s a small sample size but that’s a 34 error/162 game pace.

Defense is clearly not a priority, nor has it ever been.

What this all means

While one month of one player on the roster may seem insignificant on the surface, it should scare Mets fans.

Electing to keep Alonso down to develop is just disguising the fact that they refuse to play him over an aging veteran who’s playing out of position. The major difference between Bruce and Alonso? Do I even have to say it? Bruce is in the first year of a three-year $39 million contract. And he’s 31.

Alonso, MLB pipeline’s 61st ranked prospect, is the future. The Mets are 58–72 this season. This is the time to play him, get his feet wet, get a taste of big-league pitching, and get consistent time manning first base at Citi Field. This is not the time to teach a 31-year-old outfielder a new position.

Clinging to veterans is nothing new for the Mets, and neither is fouling up the development of their top minor league talent (Exhibit A: Dom Smith). But for anyone hoping that a new GM in the winter may change anything, think again.

Pointing to his defense and the flat-out ridiculous notion that they don’t want to waste a 40-man roster spot by adding him — see Jose Reyes — are excuses.If the Mets do not add Alonso on Saturday, which all signs are pointing in that direction, they’re essentially saying that he’s also not the starter on Opening Day 2019.

So what do they view him as? Do the Mets have any idea what they’re doing at all? History and present action say “no,” but we’ll know for sure on Saturday.