Latest / Bleacher Report / Pete Alonso & Orioles Agree to 5-Year Deal, What's Next for the Mets?

Transcript

Pete Alonso & Orioles Agree to 5-Year Deal, What's Next for the Mets? · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Right now, we're gonna start with the Orioles.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: You've been reporting all along that the Orioles are big
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: players in this market. You mentioned that they had had
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: contact and discussions with Tucker. I don't know if that's
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: still possible. They already got war to Alonso Kittridge Hellsley.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: I mean, the Orioles are the big winners so far.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: What do you think about what they're doing?
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: John?
• 0:18
  Speaker 3: Very impressed and it is apparent to me that the
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: Baltimore Orioles, through ownership and their top level management, have said,
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: we need a better team. We are willing to spend
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: for a better team. And I think that's one of
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: the key things I've taken away from this. That's the
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: significant investment in pied Alonzo. To your point, John, well
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: above what the Mets were willing to go to to
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: sign pied Alonzo, on top of the other.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Moves they've already made.
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: They're now not fully eclipsing the Toronto Blue Jays, but
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: they've narrowed that gap significantly, and to your point, they're
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: not done. While I don't necessarily expect them to get
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker at this point, I do believe they're in
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: there heavily the top end of the starting pitching free
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: agent market. So the Orioles right now, I agree they're
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: one of the big winners. The Met's probably the opposite.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: And we'll get to them, I'm sure, Maul, my god,
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: we'll get more in the ever done show with such
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: a nice guy, you know what I usually do.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: We'll get more. But they have got John some work
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: to do.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: And the thing I love about Pete Alonzo in that ballpark,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: I think he is going to add so much. They
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: knew they needed John and we talked about this before,
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: right handed power in that Baltimore lineup to balance the
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: likes of Gunner Henderson. In my goodness, you've now added
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: Taylor Ward and Pete Alonzo all of a sudden top
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: to bottom.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: John.
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: This is no stretch to say the Baltimore Orioles now
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: have one of the very best lineups of any team
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: in Major League Baseball.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think their owner and new owner
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: is terrific. He wants to win, David Rubinstein, he's not
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: a poor owner. I know it's a small market. Obviously,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: they are willing to do stuff.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I'm with you.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: I think they're looking at pitching, whether that be Rangers,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Suarez and perhaps a couple others of that ilk in
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: that category. Michael Kings a gallon, you know, maybe not Emi.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: I don't think they think he might is gonna go
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: to Baltimore. Who knows, you never know. Maybe likes Crabs,
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: Maybe maybe he's paid attention to these signings. Maybe maybe
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: he watches our effects, maybe he watched our lives. Bleacher
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: Report knows this is the place to be.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Emi as a regular watcher, and he
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: certainly will be now that you're part of it.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: This is terrific. I mean, I think, but I don't know.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Baltimore's eclipsed Toronto, but I think they are a playoff
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: team at this point on the way to being a
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: playoff team. They have terrific talent to line up is excellent.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: Gunner Henderson did not have his type of year last year.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: I think he is a superstar waiting to happen. I
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: do think Rutchman will be better. They certainly underperformed last year,
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: and they're a young team. And now this is a
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: big ad. I'm not sure why the market doesn't love
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: that big, righty slugger.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: I get it.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: He's not great on throw especially if we watch Flag
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Dorrero Junior. My god, he can throw it at any base, anytime,
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: no matter what. I get that he's not a great thrower,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: but I mean, how many circumstances is that gonna affect
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: you during the season. He is great on scoops overall. Defensively,
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: maybe he's a little below average, but I think he
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: makes up for it with one hundred and thirty RBIs
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: and forty home runs. And I give the Oriols credit.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: I think they're on the right track.
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: Most home runs of any right handed hitter in the
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: game since twenty nineteen. John he has, I believe, played
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: underrated defense in terms of his ability to scoop. I'd
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: given those two parameters. I would much rather have someone
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: who is an expert at scooping balls out of the
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: dirt and those aspects of fielding as opposed to throwing.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: And the other thing I'll say about Pete Alonzo. John.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: For a team that was a little bit.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: Listless last year, this past season in twenty twenty five,
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: they probably didn't have the most accountable clubhouse. They probably
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: didn't have the most harmonious cover. Yes, the Orioles, Okay,
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: we'll get to the Mets later. I probably we're getting
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: but the Orioles, Let's put it this way, in a
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: fractured Mets clubhouse, Peter A.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Lonzo was not the problem, and so he comes into
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: the Orioles.
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: Now is someone with a ton of credibility and one
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: of my favorite numbers about Pet Alonzo one sixty two.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: He has played every single game in the regular season
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: in twenty twenty four and twenty twenty five. Leadership and
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: accountability and consistency John, As we both know in this sport,
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: they go hand in hand. Peter Alonzo posts and he
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: now brings that accountability to the Baltimore Oriols.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean he's tough and he's New York tested.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: We know he walked away from a rollover with his
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: jeep on his way to spring training from Tampa going
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: to towards Saint Luci without a scratch. You know this
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: is a guy. Now, he just posting one hundred and
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: sixty two last year and I don't know how many
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: people know this. The birth of his first child late
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: in the season their independant race. They arranged it to
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: do it after a night game, so he played the
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: game whenever that game was In September, went to see
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: the birth of his child, his number one first child.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Not that a man.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: All children are important, that's right, was his first you know,
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: just for the record, it wasn't for I saw the birth.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: Played the next day. No days off.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: I mean, I've got I'm working at someplace where somebody
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: took three months off for.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Fraternity to leave. And I you know, I mean, you know,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: I don't like to smart anyone.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: I'm not gonna name names. I mean, he played the
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: next day, he played that day. This is a guy
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: who really is undervalued. Okay, let's get this some uh,
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: some chats at me. You're absolutely right. I don't know
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: that means you or me, but I think we're both right.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: We're gonna go the way, all right. This is a
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: bad contract. I mean, it's not a bad contract. If
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: you're an Oriole fan.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: That's no and and and there's the statement that's been
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: made John and you and I know this from covering
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: the postseason in the offseason so many different times. If
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: you are going to stay completely disciplined on a big
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: free agent, you will never sign the big free agent.
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: You have to stretch your idea of what you are
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: comfortable doing. Obviously, the Orioles went just above, just beyond
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: where the Phillies went to get Schwarber. So certainly, John
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: I was paying attention to that.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: I can do the math.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: You know, these agents, he are incompetent, They're a little competitive.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: They wait and I think we heard that Bellinger was
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: gonna wait to see Tucker. Now he's not gonna beat Tucker,
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: but you know, I think you know there is something
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: to that. And they look at what the other signings
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: go for. They both got good deals. I don't think
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: they're crazy deals Cease it was a big deal. Yes,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: it was a really big deal. These deals I think
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: are in line with the predictions. I think I had
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: won sixty five for Alonzo, I had won forty for Schwarber.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: I don't see they're fair.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: And by the way, John, I will say this, I
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: am not convinced. I am not convinced that Bellinger will
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: sign after Tucker. I think it's possible that the Mets,
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: and maybe this is a good time to get into
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: the pivot of what's next for them. I think it's
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: entirely possible that the Mets reaction if they're going to.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Have one is Cody Bellinger.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: He fits them even better right now, John because Bellinger,
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: if the Mets sign him today, Bellinger can play first
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: base for.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Them, right Bellinger can play first he can play center
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: if they need that. They're kind of saying Carson beinge
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: as a good shot to be their center fielder. I
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: kind of get that he's left handed. Same with thing
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: with Bellinger, They're already a little too left handed. They
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: didn't seem that concerned about that, though they were concerned
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: about the run prevention right they doesn't d has helped
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: with run prevention. I mean, you know helps.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Going on there.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: I can't imagine that anybody in the organization is that
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: thrill that he's gone to the Dodgers.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: That deal was not out of whack at all.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: That was actually below but I had predicted, not that
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: my predictions are always coming true. It was a record
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: for a closer. I mean, he deserves it. He was fantastic.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: He was the best closer in the league. I can't
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: believe they let him go. I mean, I could see
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: on Alonso because they had run prevention thing that they've
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: been talking about. But to me, big right handed bet
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: that's the guy they needed. To me, that's the guy
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: they needed. Now you get Bellinger, an outstanding defender in
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: every position. Maybe they love that, but he's left handed,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: he's an X another ex Yankee. You know the fans,
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: you know, they they love their guys. Alonso is a
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: fan favorite. Does that not matter? It feels like it's
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: all about the metrics. Nothing else matters. And I mean
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: to me, the fans. Without the fans, you have nothing.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: And you know the fans are not gonna be happy
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: even if Bellinger outproduces Alonzo. Alonso was their guy, the
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: all time home run champion with the Mets. Diaz was
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: their guy. They had Timmy tump trumpet playing. I don't
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: know what mister and missus met are gonna do now.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Then that's to find them for these guys that do
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: they've been playing along on that whatever that instrument that
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: they're playing.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: Right Well, John, it's sad, It's really sad.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: It is.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: I'll say this, and you know this market very very well.
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: And I'll ask the question this way, which player do
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: Mets fans feel most connected to at least before today?
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Pete Alonzo or Juan Soto.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: Oh, Peter Alonzo, there's your answer, and that's at some point. Yes,
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: you've got to win ball games. This is a competitive sport.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: All these elements are important, but this is still show business,
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: entertainment and emotional connection, and Mets fans have been emotionally
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: connected to Pete Alonzo and Edwin Diaz for years.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: This is I know.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: I have just Mets friends in my life, not work colleagues,
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: just friends who are right now bereft about this news.
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: They are despondent over these two signings, and they're asking
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: me what's next. And my answer is it's a good
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: question because unless unless the names are Cody Bellinger or
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: Ranger Suatez, who you would at least be signing away
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: from your division rival. That would give Mets fans some
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: measure of satisfaction, but it's still difficult to see them
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: feeling satisfied at the end the end of the day.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: If they come up with schoolball somehow and sign him
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: to an extension, then Mets fans will say, Okay, we
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: got acceptable, certainly not I like.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Range with Suarez, I like Bellinger.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: These are very good players, they're not Pete Alonzo to
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: the Mets fans, talk to the Met fans.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: I think this is an issue.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: The other issue is what about the clubhouse? Do they
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: are they interested in improving the clubhouse? Now, my understanding
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: is the Mets people have talked to other you know,
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: agents out there and saying they want to improve the clubhouse.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: They're telling us their clubhouse was fine, and to me,
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: it looks like they don't really they they're telling us
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: the truth, which I can't even believe that they're telling
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: us the truth.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: Instead of the other agents.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: And I don't think it's it seems like it matters
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: to them with the clubhouses because you lose Nimo and Diaz.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: They're two out of the most out of the foremost
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: up positive fine in the clubhouse, but the most positive
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: guys in that clubhouse, and I'm there a lot are
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Marte who's gone or as a free Agentimo Neimouh and
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: Sugar Das and Lindor. And right now you've only got
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: Lindor left. You've also got the issue of Lindor and
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: Soto not speaking to each other very much. You know,
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: they're gonna say, oh, it's no big deal. They're gonna
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: say that any I don't know if that you know,
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: you have to say it's no big deal if you're
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: the Mets or anybody there. But uh, we see it
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: every day and they need to I think they need
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: to work on the clubhouse and bring in Devin Williams
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: to replace Sugar. A guy called Sugar. Devin Williams nickname
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: is not Sugar, not sugar.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: He is nothing. There's nothing sweet about him.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: He's fine, he's fine, He's not gonna disrupt anything. He's
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: not a bad guy. He's just a little kind of morose.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: I mean that's the way. That's the way it flies
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: for me, anyway. And they had him in Milwaukee, so
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: I think they're telling us the truth and they don't
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: care about this.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: And John, to your point, a couple of things.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: Number One, I I'm not in the Mets clubhouse as
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: often as you are, but when I was in there
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: in twenty twenty five, the word that I would use
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: is tense. It felt like a tense room. Yeah it
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: felt didn't show it out that way, but yeah, it
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: really was. At the end, felt it felt tense. It
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: was at the end, all right. How did David Sterns
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: allow a player like Pete A. Lonsa to walk away?
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: My answer is short, I don't think he was that
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: interested in keeping him Chow because that contract is bad.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: We both disagree with that. We're already on that five
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: years is not a bad contract. At thirty one, you
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: know what, Schwarber's two years older and got five years. Uh.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Pete does play a position.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: You may say he's below average defensively, he does provide that. Uh.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: You know, I don't think there's any guarantee who's gonna
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: age well, who's not gonna age well? I think that
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: is hard to predict. I personally think Diaz will age well.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: And I've had people, maybe too people tell me that
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: Diaz is gonna age well. And we've seen closers, you know,
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: go out there at age thirty eight to forty. Kenley
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: Jansen is still going a role as Chapman still going.
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure why every team kind of agreed it's
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: a three year deal and no more than that.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: I don't get that. But good for the Dodgers, you know.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: And and by the way, signing all these guys, that
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: only helps them sign more guys.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: And then on the other side, John, this is what
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: I'm seeing with the Mets, and this, unfortunately will not
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: exactly appease our Mets and friends who are watching right now.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: There's nothing we can say today that will make you
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: feel any better. But but what I will say as
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: a reality check, and I think John your experience will
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: probably line up with this, is that when you are
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: in a situation where your fan base is demanding a
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: major move in response to moves that did not go
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: your way, the Mets are not exactly operating from a
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: position of strength. Other gms know that they are somewhat
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: boxed in, the other agents know they're somewhat boxed in.
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: This is not an environment which you're gonna make a
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: very safe, easy painless move. You probably now have to
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: go further outside your comfort zone because the industry now
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: knows that you are under.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: Duress, right, I mean, you're gonna have to overpay too.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: And you're so intent on getting a good quote unquote
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: good deal getting a daz for three million or five
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: million less when you spent seven hundred and sixty five
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: million dollars on a player last year, you couldn't give
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: ten percent of that a guy who's been a great
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: and loyal.
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: Meth I think John, I think you touched on it
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: that the one response they could make that would appease
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: the fans is if they trade for schoobl and extended.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: I don't know if it appease them because I'm in
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: New York, but I would say it would give a
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: distract them, A distraction distracted, a successful distraction exactly