It hasn't been sunshine and rainbows for the New York Mets. In fact, quite the opposite has transpired for the 2023 offseason's highest-spending team. The Mets have fallen off the pace in the playoff race, essentially requiring the team to sell off their veteran pieces to recoup some prospect capital. And it seems like the Mets' fortunes aren't getting better anytime soon, if Pete Alonso's defensive troubles on Tuesday night are any indication.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with the Mets leading the home team Kansas City Royals, 1-0, Jose Quintana faced leadoff hitter Maikel Garcia with a runner on third and one out. It looked like Quintana was going to take a step closer in getting out of the jam as he induced a pop-up from the 23-year old third baseman. But Alonso's defense did not cooperate.

With the pop-up heading towards the Royals dugout, Pete Alonso was in hot pursuit from first base. However, instead of catching the ball and nabbing the second out of the inning following an attempt at a sliding grab, the ball hit the 28-year old first baseman straight on the face.

Alonso's blunder then drew the jeers of fans on Twitter, as they couldn't help but pile on the Mets' troubles.

Given how the Mets' season has turned out, these reactions aren't too difficult to understand. The Mets expected to build off of a 101-win 2022 season, even spending boatloads of cash to add talent to their roster. Instead, they're likely to miss the playoffs barring a huge miracle, especially after selling off the likes of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Tommy Pham to contending teams prior to the MLB trade deadline.

Just to make matters worse for the Mets, they ended up losing to the Royals on the night in excruciating fashion as well. Despite taking a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 10th inning, they allowed the Royals to string together three runs to win the game. And to make matters even more terrible, they lost due to a costly balk from Josh Walker. Talk about getting hit in the face with a baseball.