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Brandon Nimmo finished in first place. Then there were Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso on consecutive days at baseball’s winter meetings.
Three fan favorites walked out the door in 2 1/2 weeks – a powerful gut punch to anger new york Fans are wondering what the front office is thinking.
As the club heads for a major overhaul, this suffices to say the least from the owner steve cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns aren’t the most popular couple queens Now.
“I’m very optimistic about where our offseason is going,” Stearns said Tuesday. FloridaBefore the news of Alonso’s signing with Baltimore. “We definitely have work to do, but there are a lot of good players there. I’m confident we’ll like where our team is once we get to Opening Day.”
However, what a difference a year makes.
Cohen and Stearns were the city’s hottest players last December, beating out the crosstown New York Yankees for prized free agent Juan Soto with a record $765 million contract.
It came after an unexpected thrill ride to the 2024 National League Championship Series, when Stearns scored big with several unexpected acquisitions during his first year in charge: Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Iglesias and Tyrone Taylor.
Certainly with Cohen’s bankroll and Stearns’ brains, the Mets were poised to take a big chunk out of the Big Apple for years to come.
Yankees, damn you. Dodgers, on notice. Phillies, fuhgedaboudit!
But their top rivals continued to flourish this year, with the Mets finishing 83–79 and missing the playoffs. Baseball’s second-biggest spenders, with a $429 million payroll and estimated luxury tax, dropped to 38-55 after posting the best record (45-24) in the majors through June 12.
The day after the season ended, Stearns took blame for missing the trade deadline and Cohen apologized to fans on social media. The coaching staff was soon changed under manager Carlos Mendoza.
Many speculated that Cohen, one of the game’s wealthiest owners, would quickly reach into his strong wallet this winter – at least to prevent Diaz and Alonso from leaving in free agency. But in reality this has not happened.
“Steve gives us everything we need,” Stearns said this week. “We have a lot of resources. No team has endless resources.”
After the Mets signed two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams to a $51 million, three-year contract, Díaz agreed to a $69 million, three-year deal with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, subject to a successful physical.
Media reports indicate New York bid just over $3 million for Diaz, who came into 2019 tied for third in franchise history with 144 saves.
Then on Wednesday, news broke that Alonso had agreed to a five-year contract worth $155 million with Baltimore, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending materialization.
The Mets expressed interest in retaining the first baseman again, which they did last offseason, but decided to wait and see what happened between Alonso and other teams rather than pursue it themselves, the person said.
“I’m amazed,” Mets broadcast analyst and former pitcher Ron Darling said on MLB Network.
“Maybe now he’ll join Kyle Tucker in the race for a legitimate at-bat in the outfield. But that’s right, these last two days are really going to be tough for Mets fans.”
It all happened when Nimmo, the feisty outfielder who was the longest-tenured player on the team, waived the no-trade provision in his contract last month and accepted a deal with Texas for Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien.
“Three incredibly great players who are fan favorites have proven they can pitch or play in New York. It’s not an easy thing, right?”. Darling said. “And now, everyone’s gone.”
Alonso and Nimmo combined for 63 homers and 218 RBI last season.
“They’ve now paid Soto $765 million to walk 150 times next year,” Darling said.
Stearns grew up rooting for the Mets in Manhattan, and was an avid fan even before Cohen purchased the club five years ago. But he has shown little sentimentality when it comes to valuing key players, and Stearns said after trading Nimmo that “it wasn’t the right thing to run back the exact same group.”
Reports of clubhouse tension emerged in recent weeks, though Mendoza challenged that notion.
Alonso holds the franchise record for home runs with 264. He and Nimmo join a notable list of homegrown Mets stalwarts who eventually moved on elsewhere – from Tug McGraw, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and John Matlack to Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Jose Reyes and Jacob deGrom.
david wright He remains one of the few star position players to spend his entire career in blue and orange.
Stearns, who enjoyed small-market success in Milwaukee, is now under increasing pressure to plug several major holes and rebuild a contender. Third baseman Mark Vientos could move to first as Alonso’s replacement, but New York’s specific plans are unclear. And the more quality players leave, the harder it becomes to convince those free agents the Mets are currently willing to win.
These things are certain:
Defense and baserunning are priorities for Stearns.
He seems very reluctant to give contracts of more than three years to players over the age of 30.
And he believes in getting youth on the field, roster flexibility and finding space at positions that will provide playing opportunities for promising hitters in highly rated farm systems like Carson Benz, Jett Williams and Ryan Clifford.
“The resources we have here are a huge advantage,” Stearns said. “And as long as we allocate those resources wisely, they will continue to be a huge benefit.”
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum and AP Freelance Writer Christy Eckert contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb