The Mets’ offseason has left one of the franchise’s legends nearly “speechless.”
Keith Hernandez joined SportsNite on SNY to discuss the state of the organization after Pete Alonso left for the Orioles on a five-year, $155 million contract on Wednesday.
The slugger’s departure comes after Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Rangers in November and Edwin Díaz agreed to a three-year, $69 million contract with the Dodgers this week.
Hernandez, a Mets broadcaster who had his number retired by the team, said the offseason changes feel unprecedented.
“I’m a little speechless,” he said. “This is very explosive. In my years with the Mets, I haven’t seen this kind of development happening in a new direction, I don’t think. It’s clear – it’s profound.”
After the Mets’ months-long collapse that left them out of the playoffs, president of baseball operations David Stearns made it abundantly clear that the team needed to focus on getting better at “run prevention” — which meant beefing up the defense and pitching staff.
“It’s going to be defense and also pitching,” Hernandez said of the team’s new direction. “I always look at the ’69 Mets when you have a team that won a world championship with great pitching and didn’t run great offense… absolutely not.”
The Mets got second baseman Marcus Semien, highly regarded for his defense in center, in the Nimmo trade, but they will need to fill holes at first base and left field. Plus, they still have questions to resolve with their pitching staff.
Owner Steve Cohen told The Post’s Jon Heyman that he understands fans’ frustration over the loss of three beloved players, though he had some optimism about building a successful ball club.
“I completely understand the fans’ reaction,” Cohen texted Heyman. “There’s still a lot of offseason to put a playoff team on the field.”
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