Tom Brennan: Boras Dismisses Hometown Mets Alonso Discount

Pete Won’t Look Like This When He Eventually Signs His Mega-Deal

Boras the Unbashful pretty much came right out and said that Pete will be hugely paid, as per a NY Post article on November 2.

“Discount?  Fuggedabotit.” Not in exactly those words.

Big bucks soon to come will make him smile again. But who will pay?

Boras went on to cite how much money he’d gotten for two other first basemen, Mark Teixera and Prince “Spaghetti” Fielder.

Teixera signed a huge Yankee deal in 2009, when he was turning 29. And he was sure a beast….for the first 3 seasons of it….averaging 35 doubles, 37 HRs, and 114 RBIs.

The last 5 years? Not nearly as good.

He averaged a diminished 19 HRs and 56 RBIs, while hitting about .230.  For each of those 8 years, including the last 5 mediocre ones, he averaged $22,500,000. Adjust that for inflation, and it’s probably over $35 million a year if signed today.

He also hit a powerless .190 in 36 Yankee playoff games during that contract.

Did the Yankees get their money’s worth?  

He did reasonably OK, strong defense too, but I’d say he was not worth it.

Prince Fielder meanwhile signed a 9 year, $214 million Boras-negotiated contract for 2012-20. For the first 2 years, his output was a bit diminished from his prior seasons, but very similar to Mark’s first few mega-deal years…35 doubles, 28 HRs, 108 RBIs.

After 2013, though, the portly Fielder nosedived. 

Only 34 HRs, 158 RBIs in his last 3 playing years spanning 2014-16, an average of 11 HRs, 53 RBIs. Hit basically like Kranepool.

Fielder in 2014 had what turned out to later be career ending neck surgery, although he did play some, in a hampered state.

He of course still got fully paid, Jake deGrom reminded me, but insurance covered a large portion of the tab.

Of course, it costs clubs an unspecified amount of very large dollars to buy that insurance coverage in the first place.

So…do the Mets strike a deal with the devil for Pete? 

Because, when you ink a large, Boras-sponsored contract, you tend to tremendously overpay more times than not. 

My recommendation? 

Probably just say no. Shop elsewhere.

Some hope, of course, that JT Schwartz can step in to replace Pete. I think that is fantasy baseball.  Hope, of course, springs eternal.

Come on, David Stearns, make “wonderful” happen. Lots of luck to ya.

HBP BLUES

Baseball Reference nicely provides 162 game averages for a hitter’s career.

Over 162 games, Pete in his career averages 17 HBPs. Ouch.

Another slugger, JD Martinez, averages just 4.

Wazzup wit’ dat?

Also, Francisco Lindor was HBP 25 times in 777 Cleveland games, but 27 times in 446 Mets games, a far higher rate - nearly double the rate, in point of fact.

Wazzup wit’ dat?

HOW VERY ODD…

I am not a bettor, but initial 2024 WS winner odds came out right after the end of the 2023 classic. 

Braves? Ranked first.  Mets?  Ranked 12th.  

Somewhere, I can hear Steve Brennan saying “typical.”

And something that rhymes with "Mets Duck."

BEFORE I GO:

WHEN THE METS WERE 14-7 EARLY THIS YEAR, I WROTE THIS:

Edwin’s WBC injury has me hanging my head, too.

Each MLB team has what I would call a collective confidence.

The Mets in 1969 had it big time from mid August forward.

The Mets in 1973 had it starting in early September.

The Braves last year in 2022 had it.  Just 23-27 at the end of May, the rest of the way, they went 78-34.

The Mets had it in 2022 last year, for a variety of reasons, with their heads held high, but the key reason (in my view) was the incredible dominance of one Edwin Diaz.

His patellar tendon injury HAS to reduce the team's collective confidence.

He saved a ton of close games against tough line ups in 2022, and his 118 Ks in 62 innings screamed "SWAGGER."

That swagger got sent to the season-long IL.

So far it hasn't hurt them - the pen has been stellar in winnable situations so far.  

But as I reminded someone the other day, it is a LOOONG season and there will be big challenges.

David Robertson at age 37 in 2022 saved 20 of 28, a solid result, but now he is 38, and Edwin saved a superior 32 of 35 last year. 

Verlander and Max were supposed to bring swagger - but the V Man pulls a muscle I never heard of (I was probably snoozing in anatomy class) and Max surrenders 8 runs in 11 innings in his first two starts, with 4 HRs.  That seems to be more laggard than swagger.  That has to impact the team's collective confidence, too.

Me?  I think the drop in collective confidence could drop them below 90 wins this season.  Time will tell.  Maybe Brett Baty will add to the team's collective confidence soon.

No one thought the swagger would evaporate after the great Mets seasons of 1984-90.  But the Mets went 208-277 in 1991-93.  

Swagger and collective confidence are fragile things.

P.S. The tremendous excitement I had heading into March has dissipated. I like to write about a dominant team. I don’t see this Mets team being one - I'd like to be wrong, but I am insufficiently confident at this point.