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11/4/23

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. 

22 comments:

  1. First of all, I love Pete and want him to be the Mets first baseman through the year he.plays as a 35 yr old

    Under Bore Ass that's not gonna happen

    So

    Sign Belliger for 4 years

    Start the seasonnwith Belliger replacing Marte

    Trade him at all-star break

    Move Bellinger to first after the Pete trade

    Promote Gilbert to Queens



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  2. Mack I believe Bellinger is a Boras guy too. I don’t want anything to do with his inconsistency for the 6 or more years Boras is going to want for his services. No way Boras is letting him sign a 4 year deal coming off a career year.

    Same thing with Pete. Once Boras asks for 8 or 9 years for Pete you tell him to F Off. Pete will be 29 to start next season. 10 years for a 25 year old Soto is one thing but I don’t want to pay Pete thru his 37 or 38 year age seasons.

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  3. Happy Birthday, Tom. Love following your posts.

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  4. Mack's plan warrants consideration, just don't pay a guy twice as long as he should be paid. Let fiscal sanity return to Queens. How? Develop our own Ronald Acuna caliber players

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  5. Thanks, Ray. I feel 55, which was reinforced when I was pulled over doing 55 in a 70 today. I'm fighting that ticket :)

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    1. You sure you don’t have those numbers backwards? 🤔

      Anyway, Happy Birthday. But I'm still 13 years ahead of ya. 🤣

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  6. Happy Birthday Tom,

    Love Pete, would love for him to be a lifelong Met. Unfortunately, with Boras as his agent I don't see that happening.

    I would make him a very strong 6 year offer now. Say 6 years/$180M or 7 years $200M. If he refuses that offer than you have to trade him. There is just too much risk that he is a .220 hitter. I know his power is off the charts, but if he is only a .220 hitter the minute, he loses a little off his swing or his power diminishes we are screwed. You have to trade him.

    I am also not sold on Bellinger. He's also a Boras client...so NO.

    I totally agree with Mac. Sign a solid hitter to a great 1- or 2-year contract and see what we have in Batty, Mauricio and Vientos.

    Pitching, pitching, pitching...that's where the money has to be spent.

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    Replies
    1. Big hitters don't sign great 1-2 year deals, unless they're 37+.

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  7. Tom, if you were doing 55 in a 70 it would have been my horn you heard behind you.

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  8. Don’t forget Schwartz,he’s coming on. If he has a big year at Syracuse, who knows?

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  9. Hometown discount,why would anyone give Cohen a hometown discounts. The guy spends money like a drunken sailor. They invented a rule to try to stop him.

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  10. Chris Davis is the ultimate slugger-declining-quickly warning. He hit about .280 at ages 26-27. Age 27 was his mega power year, with 53 HRs, 42 doubles, and 138 RBIs.

    Then, at 28, 29, 30, his power diminished somewhat and he hit just .196, .262, and .221. (Pete at 28 dropped sharply to .217)

    From 31 on, drastic drop off in HRs and Davis averaged about .185 and became a complete albatross.

    Let the buyer be well aware.

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  11. Woodrow, I think Stearns will try to build a sustainable winner, which means 2024 should keep the Baby Mets here and provide them lots of Vogelbach-free opportunity to get at bats. If they start faltering for a prolonged stretch, they will be gone - back to AAA or elsewhere.

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  12. Bill, thanks. Sang last night for a half hour, room was captivated, I felt 55. No PEDs either.

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  13. Lou, we'll see. Schwartz is in the AFL All Star game today, as is Parada. The two combined are hitting about .200 and Schwartz has been very quiet at the plate in Arizona for the past 2 weeks..

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  14. I still say find out what teams are willing to give up for Alonso and if the package is good, trade him. Are the Mets going to replace his production from within? no but you can't break the bank for a 219 hitter for the next 10 years which is what Boras will ask for.

    2024 should be about building for the future and to do that, you have to allow your up and coming players play for more than a year before giving up on them.

    Play Vientos at 1B, Baty at 3B. A lot of times, players pick it up during their second year.
    (don't get why Baty and Vientos are not playing in the Dominican winter league). Come to think of it, why isn't Mauricio playing LF there as well?

    Sign Yamamoto, fix the BP and bring in better bench players. Wait for Soto in 2025.

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  15. Happy Birthday Tom and many more. Pete for pitching works for me because pitching, defense and timely hitting wins championships and you can quote me on that! Tom how about all the seniors on this site meet some day at Citi and we'll rent a room and sing "Meet the Mets" and then head down to the field and move the dam fences in.

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  16. but if Pete is traded we may have to move em back.

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  17. Hmm,pitching wins championships. That used to be the mantra. But is it still true? Texas and Phoenix weren’t pitching first teams.

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  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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