Pete Alonso’s Defense A Problem
Bottom of the seventh. One out. Oswaldo Cabrera at first. Joely Rodriguez delivers an 0-1 fastball to the pinch hitter Jose Trevino. It’s a weak pop in short right field.
It went for a double.
No, this is not Luis Castillo. Far from it. That said, it’s a play Pete Alonso should’ve made. It’s a play indicative of how Alonso’s defense has slipped considerably this year.
When Alonso first came to the majors, he was not a good first baseman. However, the New York Mets were more than happy to live with it because Alonso could scoop balls, and more importantly, hit homers.
Much to Alonso’s credit, he was not remotely satisfied with that. In fact, he talked about winning a Gold Glove one day, and he made improvements each year.
In his rookie year, Alonso was a -6 OAA. He improved that to a 1 OAA last year. That was good for 11th among Major League first baseman. That’s an astounding leap.
This year, Alonso is back to a -6 OAA.
Again, Alonso is mashing homers and driving in runs. To that extent, not many care all that much the defense has slipped considerably. Even with this game, some may argue it’s yet to hurt the Mets (not true).
For Alonso, it’s arguably taken him completely out of the MVP discussion. There was a time ranking fourth in the league for homers and first in RBI for a first place team made you a near lock for the award.
The problem for Alonso is 2022, and the more informed electorate look at total production, defense included. On that point, Alonso “only” has a 3.0 bWAR and 2.7 fWAR.
That’s despite a 142 OPS+ (seventh in the league) and 138 wRC+ (ninth). His bWAR is tied for 26th in the NL, and his fWAR is 23rd. That’s a far cry from what his offensive production would indicate.
Really, Alonso’s defensive issues impact him more than the occasional poor play. In the end, it’s going to cost him an MVP. That’s not just this year. That’s any year he’s this poor defensively.
So, even if you choose to ignore the impact on the Mets, the voters won’t. In fact, they’ll likely see the hit his defense has had ok his WAR and vote accordingly.
Overall, no matter your perspective, Alonso’s defense has taken a significant step back, and it’s a problem for him and the team. We’ll see how he (and maybe the Mets) address it before the end of the season.