Mets’ Pete Alonso shows why is the guy who wanted Juan Soto

New York – Juan Soto had several questions for New York Mets During his negotiations on the free agency this last winter. One was about their assembly construction.

Soto just spent the 2024 season in Bronx as half of the historically productive duo, which attracted a constant comparison with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He a Aaron judgeAmerican league MVP was a strenuous puzzle to solve in New York Yankees“The line -up. The left -handed soto hit the second. The right -hand judge fired third. They protected each other and measuring the jugs. Leaving Yankees would mean leaving the judge.

“That was one of the basic parts of the discussion,” Soto said on Tuesday in Spanish in Spanish. “Who behind me bat?”

The answer seemed clear. Pete Alonso He remained a free agent. The first Baseman is homemade and adored in Queens. Even more importantly, it is right -handed for the purposes of the assembly. Is not at the level of the judge – who is? – but since debut in 2019 he ranks directly as judges in home running. He was an obvious supplement to Soto.

“I told them the best option was him,” Soto said.

At the end of January, Alonso’s return still seemed unlikely. The owner of Mets Steve Cohen, during the fans’ event in Citi Field, called the negotiation “exhausting” and “worse” than the persecution of Soto. He left the door open, but that day in the crowd in the crowd, he also said that the organization was ready to cross the four-time All-Star star.

Less than two weeks later, just a few days before the spring training, the parties concluded an agreement on a two -year contract after this season. Thirty -year -old Alonso went out of seemingly METS to protect a franchise investment of $ 765 million. Two months to partnership, premature revenues of the season 2025 support the opinion of Soto. The best example came in Tuesday’s victory over Miami Marlins.

Mets, leading 6-5, had runners in the corners with one out in the sixth shift for Soto. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough brought right -hander Ronny Henriquez – And despite the runner in the first place, he made an unusual decision intentionally walking. This loaded Alonso bases and created an opportunity with double playing just a fair match-although McCullough made another unusual call by dragging to Infield and Outfield. METS manager Carlos Mendoza said he was not surprised by the Marlins decision to go through Soto.

“I think it gets to the point where your poison chooses it,” Mendoza said.

Two playgrounds later, Alonso burst 93 mph the document into the left center field for a three -time off -road gap and blowing the game open on a cold, grim afternoon in Queens.

It was Alons’s second twice the day – his first, Texas Leaguer on the right field in the third shift, rode in Mets’ first two runs. Alonso served as an engine of crimes in three holes, for Leadoff Man Francisco Lindor and Soto, launching .333 with three home runs, 15 RBI and 1,139 OPS through the first 12 club games.

“It looks like the teams are trying to beat with Soto,” Mendoza said. “And then, before you know, they make mistakes with Pete and ready to go and get them to pay.”

Alonso tries to reverse the three -year decline in offensive production and, after the worst offensive campaign of his career in 2024, make a better swing decision. It is soon, but so far Alonso has more often leaving the playground outside the strike zone. They play a higher percentage of the album. Crush the playground the opposite-in Mets’s domestic opener on Friday clubing a fast ball 95 km / h from Kevin Gamman down and out of the strike zone for two-run home run to the right field.

Bitting for Soto, which has 0.404 at the base as Met, made it easier to work.

“He’s such a professional,” Alonso said about Soto. “It is obvious that we know that he has strength, has a hit tool. He can hit average. Super dynamic player offensively. But the thing he really benefits is just to see – because we see a lot of playgrounds and we just see what they do with him.

With other soto playgrounds, the most disciplined hitter games, there is more tension for jugs. With multiple runners at the base comes more playgrounds – and fastballs – through a plate to absorb alonso. It is a formula that Soto imagined during the winter. Whether it goes beyond this season remains unknown.

There is no doubt that fans are popular. During the domestic opening Mets’ on Friday, Citi Field, alonso yelled during the introduction of Pregame. The fans did so again when he entered the dough box for his first AT-BAT. And then once again, a moment later, when he emerged from the excavation to call the curtain after hitting the home run of two runs.

This week was one of the possibilities to replace Alonso removed from the album when the first Baseman Vladimir Guerrero JR. and Toronto Blue Jays He agreed to the 14 -year extension of the contract by $ 500 million. The Guerrer Treaty should help Alonsom to gain a gainful potential if he decides to unsubscribe from his contract and hit the free agency again this winter.

Meanwhile, in his seventh season, Alonso prosper is the first Baseman Mets to hit his team’s most valuable player.

“That’s why you want (protection),” Soto said. “First, have a chance to have more damage and so on.