The New York Mets surely envisioned having a much better record than 30-33 in June after their offseason spending spree. Alas, here the Mets are, languishing in fourth place in the NL East standings, with their nemesis Atlanta Braves starting to create more of a separation in the division. And their circumstances may have taken a turn for the worse after an unfortunate development regarding first baseman Pete Alonso's wrist.
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, Alonso may be headed to the injured list, further compounding the Mets' woes.
Pete Alonso was hit by a pitch squarely on the wrist early on in the second game of the Mets' three-game series against the Braves, forcing the 28-year old slugger to exit the contest. The early reports regarding Alonso's wrist were positive, with manager Buck Showalter even holding out hope that the Mets first baseman is healthy for when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
But clearly, further testing did not reveal a promising prognosis, which could knock him out for at least the next 10 days.
Alonso has been mostly himself this season, remaining as one of the more reliable power hitters in the entire league despite the Mets' struggles. The 28-year old first baseman has smacked 22 home runs in 261 plate appearances, slashing a very solid .231/.326/.546 which is good for a 1.8 WAR, per Fangraphs.
The Mets, which have been a mediocre offensive team this season (ranking 16th in runs per game), may find it difficult to replace Alonso's production for the next week or so if he does indeed land on the injured list. During his absence in the Mets' heartbreaking 13-10 loss to the Braves on Thursday, the team turned to Mark Vientos to fill the void at first base, and the results weren't pretty.
Vientos hasn't really managed to translate his hitting acumen to the big leagues, as he looks like a Quad-A player at the moment. And with the Mets needing to gain ground in the standings, giving too many plate appearances to Vientos may not be ideal. The Mets will be hoping that Pete Alonso's injury is nothing too serious and is something that wouldn't force him to miss much time.
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