The Crane Pool Forum

Chill out, it's just an exercise. But for fun, let's trade Pete Alonso!

We all know why we shouldn't trade him, but here's why we should:

1) Including Verlander's $17.MM vesting option (you kinda have to count on that), the Mets currently have ($155MM) allocated to just 8 players in 2025. That is already 61% of the $241MM tax threshold which we know Cohen wants to dip under. That leaves around $2.6MM on average for each of the 32 remaining roster spots on the 40-man. If you give Pete somewhere near $30MM of that, that leaves only ~$1.8MM for the remaining 31 players. Not counting arbitration or pre-arb guys (Peterson, Megill, Lucky Lucchesi), the Mets only have Senga and Manaea contracted for the 2025 rotation. That's not really great.

(my reference for salary stuff, as always --> https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/new-york-mets/payroll/2025/)

2) Pete will be 30 and 30-old guys don't get younger and tend to not get better.

So what could the Mets get for Pete? This is where it gets kinda ugly. As I speculated in the other thread, the Cease trade might be a little instructive here, but there are differences. Cease is a year younger than Pete and offers 2 years of team control. If a team acquired Pete today (pretty much 0% chance he's traded before Opening Day), that team only has Pete for one season before he becomes a FA. Also Cease outperformed Pete by fWAR three years running. Not everything, but it's definitely something.

These teams were the worst in MLB in fWAR at 1B last year (the Mets collectively had 8.9) so here seems like a good place to start:

30) Pirates -2.2
29) Royals -1.6
28) Rockies 0.3
27) Astros 0.7
26) Detroit 1.0

It seems very unlikely the Pirates or Royals would be in the market for Pete Alonso and Detroit has Spencer Torkleson so I'm giving them the boot. That leaves the Astros, the Rockies and I'm throwing the Cubs in cause I think there's a potential match there.

TRADE #1:

Astros get Pete Alonso

Mets get #6 prospect Joey Loperfido (AAA OF/1B), #10 Colton Gordon (AAA LHP), and #28 Camilo Diaz (Rookie League SS)

This feels light to me, but compared to the Cease trade it feels decent? Potential low-cost 1B replacement, pitching depth and SS lotto ticket. Maybe the Stros add a better third guy to get Pete mashing at Minute Maid.

TRADE #2:

Rockies get Pete Alonso

Mets get #6 prospect Zac Veen (AA OF), #10 Benny Montgomery (A OF), #15 Joe Rock (AAA LHP)

Veen is the prize, I guess. He used to be heralded but his stock has dropped. Benny's kind of a lotto ticket and Joe Rock just has a great name. Rockies have to find a place for Kris Bryant which complicates things but Pete at Coors is scary. Like the Astros deal, the Mets could maybe squeeze a little better second or third prospect.

Trade #3:

Cubs get Pete Alonso

Mets get #11 prospect Ben Brown (AAA RHP), #15 prospect Matt Mervis (AAA 1B), #30 Josh Rivera (A SS)

This one I kinda like. Brown is another guy who was maybe more heralded a couple years back but has great stuff, Mervis can start at first right away and the Mets add another athletic shortstop which they love to do. Cubs move Bellinger back to the OF and Pete tortures Wrigley for the next 7 years.

Are these trades nuts? Or kinda in the ball park? I think I'd do the Cubs one and then sign a big FA pitcher and cry myself to sleep at night for the next decade. What is your Pete WATP?

Centerfield is posting from Seo's account.

No, trading Pete isn't nuts - I've been warming to the idea for the past 12 months or so. He's too one-dimensional, last year he was basically a glorified Dave Kingman.

If they trade with the Cubs, I'd like another shot at Pete Crow-Armstrong. (Not sure how likely that is.)

Joe Rock should change his name to Joe Rockhead.

Great work Seo , I wouldn't be very upset if he were traded for maximum get back come the deadline, assuming he is doing what he does , and I think it is likely

I'm on board with shipping his fat ass and balding head out of town.

The Angels are pissed I didn't include them. Their #1 graduated prospect is 1B Nolan Schanuel but they think he and Pete could co-exist as some 1B/DH duo. MLB ranks the Angels system as 30th out of 30 teams so it's hard to find a decent trade here.

TRADE #4:

Angels get Pete Alonso

Mets get #3 prospect Caden Dana (A RHP),#5 prospect Ben Joyce (MLB graduate, fireballing RHP reliever), #12 Ryan Costeiu (A RHP), and maybe some other dude. The Angels system is thiiiiin so finding feel-good prospects here is kinda tough. But a huge contract for Pete seems very much like an Arte Moreno thing.

The Mariners and Marlins also seem like a great fit on paper, but I can't see either team throwing a huge contract at Pete Alonso and Pete in the NL East seems like a terrible idea anyway.

I know you can always buy pitchers but given the budget, we need to develop a few of our own soon.

Christian Scott apparently is going to be good. I like Butto as a backend guy, but not sure about anyone else on the way. Anyway =you take the best they offer but it would be good to get a stud pitcher.

I didn't mean that post above about his big ass and bald head.

I'm 1000% with you

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 2:39 pm Centerfield is posting from Seo's account.

Don't insult poor CF like that

Center likes to go big is all.

Summytimes REAL big.

Pete Alonso is in a walk year, and in the middle of his prime, and is one of the best pure power hitters in the game.

I predict 61 home runs.

That would leave him with one more than Darryl Strawberry.