Lindor, Alonso committed to team despite recent trades

KANSAS CITY — Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso are committed to the Mets, even if the Mets aren’t committed to winning next season.

Comments by right-hander Max Scherzer about his talk with Billy Eppler this weekend were published in The Athletic on Tuesday hours ahead of the 6 p.m. ET trade deadline. Scherzer told MLB insider Ken Rosenthal that the Mets informed him of their plans to reset in 2024 before trading him to the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.

Eppler, according to Scherzer, called 2024 a “transitory year.”

He also told Lindor the same. The shortstop said he still believes in the vision of the team, even if that vision doesn’t include a title next season.

“It’s a repositioning of players and assets in the organization and trying to build a sustainable system,” Lindor said Tuesday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium ahead of the Mets series against the Kansas City Royals. “They’re trying to put forward a farm system that is going to be sustainable for many years to come. I would call it reallocating the assets that we have. Moving some players to try to allocate some players who are going to help us maybe late this year, next year, and the years to come.”

Lindor is still signed for eight more seasons, so he doesn’t have a whole lot of choice in the matter. The shortstop could ask for a trade but the Mets don’t have to accommodate it. But having been to the World Series with a core of homegrown players in 2016 with Cleveland, Lindor knows that player development is crucial to future success. The best teams in baseball are winning with talent that has been developed internally, not bought in free agency.

“I came from an organization that developed players and brought them up and created a sustainable winning franchise,” Lindor said. We have the resources on top to buy players, but when you create that formula of having successful players come up developed to help us win up here, and you have the resources, it could turn to something extremely fine.”

Whether or not the Mets are committed to Alonso at this point remains a question.

Scherzer also mentioned that Eppler named Alonso as a potential trade candidate. The Mets’ three-time All-Star first baseman and the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year is under team control for only one more season. The Mets and Alonso haven’t yet come to an agreement on a new contract for 2025 and beyond. Alonso hasn’t yet met with the front office, but Eppler will meet the team in Baltimore this weekend to talk with Alonso and also others. Owner Steve Cohen is also expected to talk to the team at some point this week.

“Whatever their plan is, like it really doesn’t necessarily matter to me because I’m here right now,” Alonso said. “I want to be the best player I can be right now and for as long as I’m here. That could be forever.”

But it also could be until the winter.

New York Mets

As it happens

Breaking news and analysis of the Amazin’ Mets from the award-winning team at the NY Daily News

Eppler said earlier in the weekend that the club won’t be “punting 2024″ but they don’t plan to load up for a championship run either. Lindor sees an opportunity to try to get into the 2024 postseason as a Wild Card winner team, but Alonso is only focused on the present.

“That’s their decision,” Alonso said. “But for me, regardless of our personnel, we’re going to try and win every single game. And for me, my job is to go out there and perform every single night. I can’t necessarily worry about the team philosophy because it’s just in my DNA as a player that every time I’m written in the lineup, I’m doing whatever I can to win the game.”

Cutting ties with Alonso might be a hard sell to the fanbase. But Alonso doesn’t have to sign with the Mets as a free agent, so while their decision doesn’t affect him right now, it might in the future.

The Mets called up four players from Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday to replace right-hander Justin Verlander, right-handed reliever Dominic Leone and outfielders Tommy Pham and Mark Canha on the roster following their trades out of New York. Outfielder Rafael Ortega, catcher Michael Perez, right-hander John Curtiss and left-hander Josh Walker joined the Mets in Kansas City after being flown in ahead of the deadline.

The Mets are still carrying a taxi squad of sorts as the series gets underway, with other minor leaguers at a hotel in case of any other roster moves or weather cancellations.

Outfielder Starling Marte (migraines) is with the Mets in Kansas City and expects to be activated soon. He hasn’t had any migraines in a few days and was able to take fly balls Tuesday. Manager Buck Showalter said his return is “hopefully imminent.”

Closer Edwin Diaz (right patellar tendon surgery) has progressed to a strength program, as well as continuing long-toss. He’ll undergo several tests in the coming weeks to give the Mets an idea of how aggressive they can be with his rehab.