Mets' Pete Alonso News Gives Royals Perfect Buy-Low Opportunity For 25-Year-Old Bat
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Sometimes, major signings have a ripple effect that goes beyond the team acquiring the player.
The Kansas City Royals have an opportunity to get caught up in the tide of the move the New York Mets made on Wednesday night. First baseman Pete Alonso is returning to Queens on a two-year deal that includes an opt-out after the 2025 season.
To the best of any existing knowledge, the Royals were never in on Alonso. He was expensive ($30 million this season), and Kansas City is happy with Vinnie Pasquantino manning first base. But another Mets player, who could be of interest to the Royals, might be expendable now.
If Alonso didn't re-sign, Mark Vientos was likely to move from third base to first base in New York, opening the door for a few young players to compete for the starting job at the hot corner. Now, that opening has closed.
Brett Baty, the oldest of the infielders in New York without a clear path to playing time, could now become the ideal buy-low trade target for Kansas City.
At 25, Baty has had three seasons of limited playing time in Major League Baseball, and it hasn't worked out in his favor. He's slashed .215/.282/.325 in 169 games, resulting in a disastrous 70 OPS+.
There was a time when Baty was not only regarded as the top third base prospect in the Mets' system, but one of the best in the entire sport. In 2022, the season Baty made his big-league debut, MLB.com ranked him as the number-27 prospect in all of baseball.
If the Mets aren't going to give Baty a chance to start full-time in 2025, they'd be best off moving him to a team that will give him that opportunity and looking to get back either a pitching prospect or a big-league bullpen arm. That could play right into the Royals' hands.
Baty has hit well in the minor leagues whenever he's been demoted (.854 OPS in Triple-A last season), and all he may need is the confidence that comes with knowing he has some time to figure things out in MLB. If the Royals are feeling opportunistic, they could give him that opportunity.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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