The Mets held a winter experience for fans that they dubbed, “Amazin’ Day.” And it somewhat predictably morphed into the fans chanting for the club to re-sign Pete Alonso. Steve Cohen was at the event and here’s what he had to say:
Saw the video of the panel from sny thirty minutes after it posted. Sent it to my friends immediately. Definitely feels like we're done with Pete. With Cohen coming out and saying publicly that he doesn't like the negotiations I'd say that sours the feelings he has about Pete as well. Gives a lot of validity to the reporting we've seen about the Mets moving on, and now I'm paying much closer attention to the other options.
They really don’t have an experienced fielder to play 3B. I’d sign Iglesias for $5 million for one year to split some time at 3B until some kid is really ready. He also can play 2B if McNeil needs a day off or if McNeil needs to be in the OF. Yes, seems like Cohen’s not having fun on this one but it is what it is and I still believe the Mets could go up a bit on the money but by not doing so, it shows where Stearns is on the subject. If Baty has a good start with some of the power that we know he has, then I’d feel better about losing the long balls off of Alonso’s bat. Stay tuned…………
I’m a big fan of Alonso and I was a big fan of deGrom but as tough as it was to lose Jake, I think a lot of people were glad in hindsight that we didn’t give him the contract that he got. We may very well feel the same way in a year or two if we don’t resign Alonso. I’m also going out on a limb here and am going to predict a big year for Baty if he’s a regular. He will have an OPS similar or better than Pete’s mark from last year.
And gaaaahhhhh. The new alternative away jersey is another atrocity from Nike. And hold your breath, this isn’t new in any way since the fugly script jersey comes from bad design days and the pullover jersey is a Nike template already in use by the Nats and Angels.
Cohen's take on the negotiations is that Alonso isn't coming down on his price (Asymmetic). He is only structuring the contract with the similar price. According to Cohen it isn't a good negotiation because of that. I would like to see what Alonso says about the negotiations.
Asymmetric refers to the player opt-outs. Reports are that Alonso offered 3 years at 90 with a player option after year 1. That means if Alonso has a great year, he can shop for a new contract, but if he stinks then the Mets pay him $60MM for 2 more years. No thanks. I see why Cohen would be miffed by that, especially when no one else is offering Alonso a better deal.
I still have hope for Bregman. He and Pete are the only good bats left to sign.
Exactly right on the asymmetry Paul. Basically, Pete must be losing sleep every night knowing he botched his future big time by turning down the 158/7 yr extension and now in a battle to battle for money every year or two. He misread the righty power-hitting 1B man badly. And, so did Boras. At every turn, Pete bungled this. I would have loved to see him as a Met for life, but this is how it goes in FA.
The vocal fans that booed Stearns and Cohen yesterday made me laugh. Ive heard fans saying not paying his demands is like trading Seaver. Please. Pete has made his bed.
I remain concerned that the infield shuffle with newbies is not going to go well. Right now the only certain IF position is SS. February is right around the corner. That is not a good sign. Let’s say Vientos to 1B, where he must learn a new position. 2B is a total mystery but it seems like some combo of McNeil/Acuna/?Maruicio is in play, leaving Baty to somehow figure out if he can become a major leaguer at 3B. It’s pretty disheartening.
I’d like to propose we solve this with a position move for a veteran: I think it’s high time to move Nimmo to 1B, much like Harper in Philly. This would get Nimmo off the long runs in the OF and lessen the plantar faciitis, limit the throwing for ol Google-arm, and let him focus on glove work where he is good. This keeps Vientos at 3B and leaves some competition for 2B. We have enough OF to make this happen.
I hear some gamesmanship here. I don’t think Cohen’s statement says “We’re out,” as much as it says “Keep [playing] around and find out how much we actually ‘need’ you: it’s less than you need us.”
I read somewhere that the Mets pulled their offer after Alonso/Boras rejected it. And also that the $68-$70 million was NPV, as the offer included deferrals.
I wonder if the best chance of an Alonso return is a one-year deal.
+1000 on your first two grafs, Chris. I am also concerned about the IF situation but believe that there’s still time. As far as Cohen’s comments, he clearly could have been silent and not comment on the current roster. But I don’t think he’d ever say, “we are aggressively pursuing other options now that Alonso is probably out of the picture.” That would give up whatever leverage they have while demotivating the players fighting for one of those spots.
For me, I am giving Stearns the benefit of the doubt until his results don’t warrant it. He’s made some odd moves that didn’t pan out but he has a pretty strong track record. He’s building a high floor/high ceiling franchise, which is exactly what Mets fans have been wanting for eternity.
The way this looks to an outsider, and maybe to Pete Alonso: ‘how does this guy give one guy $765MM and not give me some gratitude after all the things I’ve done?’ The look isn’t flattering and I can’t blame Alonso for having his feelings hurt. After all, he told us last year that he was pleased with his year and after all, he was an all-star. He feels disrespected and unappreciated, and I’m not sure it would be healthy to have him under this mindset.
Had Pete not turned down a long-term deal and had he not signed Boras, I’d agree with you and empathize with the big guy. But he did both and here we are. It’s unfortunate but I can’t blame Cohen/Stearns. I think they are being smart. I think the odds are still high that he’s a Met for at least 2025 and all of this will be forgotten.
Facts are facts. Alonso is a right handed first baseman who is nit athletic. He runs poorly, his defense is below average and he is over 30. He is also shown that he is already in decline. He blew it when he turned down the seven year offer two years ago. If he is worth more than he is saying, why hasnt he been scooped up? GMs have gotten wise on the Boras way, which for the most part isnt working anymore. GMs are much wiser and look at the facts much deeper and unless you are a stud player its going to hard for players to get huge contracts. I wish Pete well, but he blew it.
Saw the video of the panel from sny thirty minutes after it posted. Sent it to my friends immediately. Definitely feels like we're done with Pete. With Cohen coming out and saying publicly that he doesn't like the negotiations I'd say that sours the feelings he has about Pete as well. Gives a lot of validity to the reporting we've seen about the Mets moving on, and now I'm paying much closer attention to the other options.
Say hello to future All Star 1b Brett Baty
Some might push back on All-Star but I'm going to say that when Baty makes the team, it will be as a 3B
a little tongue in cheek for me, but also, i can totally see it happening. Have him work with Keith for a weekend and let him fly.
They really don’t have an experienced fielder to play 3B. I’d sign Iglesias for $5 million for one year to split some time at 3B until some kid is really ready. He also can play 2B if McNeil needs a day off or if McNeil needs to be in the OF. Yes, seems like Cohen’s not having fun on this one but it is what it is and I still believe the Mets could go up a bit on the money but by not doing so, it shows where Stearns is on the subject. If Baty has a good start with some of the power that we know he has, then I’d feel better about losing the long balls off of Alonso’s bat. Stay tuned…………
I’m a big fan of Alonso and I was a big fan of deGrom but as tough as it was to lose Jake, I think a lot of people were glad in hindsight that we didn’t give him the contract that he got. We may very well feel the same way in a year or two if we don’t resign Alonso. I’m also going out on a limb here and am going to predict a big year for Baty if he’s a regular. He will have an OPS similar or better than Pete’s mark from last year.
Wow Bob! That’s an awfully high limb… I don’t have the gravitas to match you but I have hope.
If it stays this way, I think we are going to have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with the existing players that we have.”
This scares me the most of all of Cohens comments.
And gaaaahhhhh. The new alternative away jersey is another atrocity from Nike. And hold your breath, this isn’t new in any way since the fugly script jersey comes from bad design days and the pullover jersey is a Nike template already in use by the Nats and Angels.
Cohen's take on the negotiations is that Alonso isn't coming down on his price (Asymmetic). He is only structuring the contract with the similar price. According to Cohen it isn't a good negotiation because of that. I would like to see what Alonso says about the negotiations.
Asymmetric refers to the player opt-outs. Reports are that Alonso offered 3 years at 90 with a player option after year 1. That means if Alonso has a great year, he can shop for a new contract, but if he stinks then the Mets pay him $60MM for 2 more years. No thanks. I see why Cohen would be miffed by that, especially when no one else is offering Alonso a better deal.
I still have hope for Bregman. He and Pete are the only good bats left to sign.
Exactly right on the asymmetry Paul. Basically, Pete must be losing sleep every night knowing he botched his future big time by turning down the 158/7 yr extension and now in a battle to battle for money every year or two. He misread the righty power-hitting 1B man badly. And, so did Boras. At every turn, Pete bungled this. I would have loved to see him as a Met for life, but this is how it goes in FA.
The vocal fans that booed Stearns and Cohen yesterday made me laugh. Ive heard fans saying not paying his demands is like trading Seaver. Please. Pete has made his bed.
I remain concerned that the infield shuffle with newbies is not going to go well. Right now the only certain IF position is SS. February is right around the corner. That is not a good sign. Let’s say Vientos to 1B, where he must learn a new position. 2B is a total mystery but it seems like some combo of McNeil/Acuna/?Maruicio is in play, leaving Baty to somehow figure out if he can become a major leaguer at 3B. It’s pretty disheartening.
I’d like to propose we solve this with a position move for a veteran: I think it’s high time to move Nimmo to 1B, much like Harper in Philly. This would get Nimmo off the long runs in the OF and lessen the plantar faciitis, limit the throwing for ol Google-arm, and let him focus on glove work where he is good. This keeps Vientos at 3B and leaves some competition for 2B. We have enough OF to make this happen.
I hear some gamesmanship here. I don’t think Cohen’s statement says “We’re out,” as much as it says “Keep [playing] around and find out how much we actually ‘need’ you: it’s less than you need us.”
Yeah, I can see this take.
I read somewhere that the Mets pulled their offer after Alonso/Boras rejected it. And also that the $68-$70 million was NPV, as the offer included deferrals.
I wonder if the best chance of an Alonso return is a one-year deal.
If that happens, he should have just taken the damn QO!
+1000 on your first two grafs, Chris. I am also concerned about the IF situation but believe that there’s still time. As far as Cohen’s comments, he clearly could have been silent and not comment on the current roster. But I don’t think he’d ever say, “we are aggressively pursuing other options now that Alonso is probably out of the picture.” That would give up whatever leverage they have while demotivating the players fighting for one of those spots.
For me, I am giving Stearns the benefit of the doubt until his results don’t warrant it. He’s made some odd moves that didn’t pan out but he has a pretty strong track record. He’s building a high floor/high ceiling franchise, which is exactly what Mets fans have been wanting for eternity.
The way this looks to an outsider, and maybe to Pete Alonso: ‘how does this guy give one guy $765MM and not give me some gratitude after all the things I’ve done?’ The look isn’t flattering and I can’t blame Alonso for having his feelings hurt. After all, he told us last year that he was pleased with his year and after all, he was an all-star. He feels disrespected and unappreciated, and I’m not sure it would be healthy to have him under this mindset.
Had Pete not turned down a long-term deal and had he not signed Boras, I’d agree with you and empathize with the big guy. But he did both and here we are. It’s unfortunate but I can’t blame Cohen/Stearns. I think they are being smart. I think the odds are still high that he’s a Met for at least 2025 and all of this will be forgotten.
Facts are facts. Alonso is a right handed first baseman who is nit athletic. He runs poorly, his defense is below average and he is over 30. He is also shown that he is already in decline. He blew it when he turned down the seven year offer two years ago. If he is worth more than he is saying, why hasnt he been scooped up? GMs have gotten wise on the Boras way, which for the most part isnt working anymore. GMs are much wiser and look at the facts much deeper and unless you are a stud player its going to hard for players to get huge contracts. I wish Pete well, but he blew it.