Ex-Mets veteran slams franchise for tearing apart Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz & Brandon Nimmo core trio after $765M deal

The New York Mets have had the worst possible start to the offseason so far. They made the conscious decision to trade Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien from the Texas Rangers. His departure was followed by free agents Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso, two important pieces of the Mets' roster in recent years, signing with other teams.

The Mets were linked to Edwin Diaz, who opted out of his five-year, $102 million contract with the team. However, New York signed reliever Devin Williams before they could close a new contract with Diaz, something the reliever's team didn't like. He ended up signing a three-year $69 million contract with the two-time defending champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While they seemed interested in Diaz, the Mets were entirely non-commital to getting back the franchise leader in home runs, Pete Alonso. After the Baltimore Orioles offered him a five-year $155 million deal, Alonso checked in with the Mets if they wanted to match that offer, signalling his intentions to remain a Met. But the Mets refused to offer a contract.

Former Mets third baseman Todd Frazier, on Foul Territory TV on Thursday, felt the Mets made a big error by letting go of the trio.

“There’s not that many players out there that have the ability of what Pete Alonso can do in a baseball game,” Frazier said. (6:30) “Edwin Diaz one of the best closers we’ve seen in our generation. Brandon Nimmo, is solid as all can be.

“Those are three guys any team would take in a heartbeat.“

Frazier further stated that if the Mets were insisting on changing the core after a failed season, it would make other free agents question whether Queens is the right destination for them.

“All right, now you’re not all in, now what are you gonna do?” Frazier asked. “What is the next step for the Mets? There’s not that many out there.

“Guess what, those guys have gotta say, ‘You know what, I’ll come there.’ But who would want to go there now knowing what they do?”

Steve Cohen's clear message after Pete Alonso's signing gives direction

The New York Post's Jon Heyman directly wrote to Mets owner Steve Cohen after Pete Alonso finalized his deal with the Orioles. Cohen asked the Mets fanbase to have some faith in the management.

“I totally understand the fans’ reaction,” Cohen reportedly texted. “There is lots of offseason left to put a playoff team on the field.”

With Alonso and Kyle Schwarber now off the boards the Mets will look to sign at least one of Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman to hit behind Juan Soto in their lineup.