When the Mets made the disastrous trade for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, speculation was that the Mariners allowed them to protect two of their minor leaguers from being involved in the trade and that the Mets chose Pete Alonso and Andres Gimenez, their two top prospects closest to the majors. The Mariners ended up taking Jarred Kelenic, the Mets’ top pick in the 2018 Draft. Meanwhile, Gimenez had a disappointing season while Kelenic did even better than expected. If given a do-over, the Mets wouldn’t make the deal – at least we hope they wouldn’t make the deal. But if given a do-over on the protected player aspect, clearly they would keep Kelenic over Gimenez.
But, let’s say the Mariners called up the Mets right now and instead of a mythical do-over, they offered a trade. With Evan White and his .838 OPS last year in Double-A atop the major league depth chart at first base and with another multi-tool OF in the system in Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners offer Kelenic for Alonso straight up. What would the Mets do?
Of course, Alonso hit 53 HR and won Rookie of the Year last year at age 24. Kelenic, at age 19, went from Lo-A to Double-A and put up a combined .904 OPS at three levels. In 92 PA in the hitter-friendly Texas League, Kelenic had an .857 OPS, albeit with a .246 BABIP.
With Alonso, you have proven MLB production and a million-dollar personality. With Kelenic you have someone on target to be in MLB by age 22 (if not earlier) at a much more demanding defensive position. And while he’s no Alonso, the Mets do have someone likely better than White to play 1B with Dominic Smith.
Could this trade be a giant win for the Mets, giving them perhaps the finest season of Alonso’s career along with all of Kelenic’s MLB production? Or would it be the continuation of a horrible trade, giving up a superstar after just one season in return for a guy who may never play a day in the majors? How bad do you want to see Kelenic in a Mets uniform?
Would you trade Alonso for Kelenic
- No (89%, 49 Votes)
- Yes (11%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 55
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I had read somewhere that Kelenic was having a hard time with a legit curveball. I just tried to find that post again and could not. I did find this oddity though. It’s a short clip of Kelenic hitting a thrown frisbee by batting a ball off the tee. It seems impossible, but here it is.
https://www.mlb.com/news/jarred-kelenic-hit-a-frisbee-with-a-baseball
To the point of Kelenic and the curveball, it seems like the consensus in Seattle is that he’s the real deal and a potential Top 5 MLB talent with MVP caliber skills. Oh boy. ETA in Seattle could have been this year but more likely 2021 now. Meanwhile Cano is a year older. Hopefully he’s 100% healthy by the time play resumes.
Bull, it was at the end of this article that I put some videos of Kelenic hitting and noted how he showed no chance at Whitley’s curve balls.
Nope.
I was unable to vote on this poll for some kind of technical reason. However, I would not trade Alonso for Kelenic. Nope. No way. It’s tragic that we don’t have them both though.
I just changed a setting and it should allow everyone to vote now.
This is a tough question made even harder by the great unknown of 2020. How does a season with no games affect Kelenic? Are the Mets more likely to make a deep run in a playoff with a shortened season, even without Noah? If things were normal I’d do this trade. Now, I just don’t know. Probably still do it based on age and position.
No chance I’d make that trade. An all star with 6 more years of control for a prospect? Kelenic may end up being better but Alonzo is the surer bet. He’s already done it at this level.
53 home runs, a leader and a fan favorite for Kelenic. No way. The best trade will be the Wilpons for a new owner who gas money and wants to win. Then we can go out and sign a center fielder. Or we can wait for the Crow.
They will most certainly try to pitch more carefully to Alonso and also pitch around him, so might he hit 53 HRs again? Well not this year with a shortened season at best. But he is so strong and can hit a mistake out of the park wherever it is pitched. His fielding at first was good and will improve if KH gives him some fielding lessons on how not to break too far to the right as there happens to be another fielder there with a better play on the ball. And yes he is under control for several years.
You don’t trade someone like Alonso for anything less than an established player also on the rise; but certainly not for a prospect, however much potential he has.
I would consider it. If they add Dunn, the deal is dunn! LOL! The reason that I would consider it is that at the time, I had Alonso and Kelenic #1 and #2 and definitely would have protected the centerfielder over a diminutive shortstop that is s speed/defensive type. But, the reason I’d take two birds in the bushes over the one in the hand is Alonso probably won’t get any better. So, what do we have? Tremendous power, high strikeouts, not expecting a high average due to the strikeouts, improving defense at an easy position to play, and not much speed. Alonso may improve on many shortcomings but I wonder how much. I’m afraid Alonso’s ceiling is a first baseman Rod Deer. While Alonso has flourished, Kelenic is an impressive prospect in the hardest position to play on the field.
Based on having Davis and Smith to play Alonso’s position, if I was only offered Kelenic, I still might do it. Great question, tough call, but my answer would be yes.
This trade has the potential to go down as the worst the Mets have ever made, and as you all know, that is saying a lot. Kelenic has the potential to be an all-star and Dunn has the potential to be a solid MLB starter. Notice what word was used 3 times here? Let’s revisit this in a few years before we get too excited. The list of potential Mets stars who never developed is rather long – Shawn Abner, Alex Escobar, Jay Payton, Fernando Martinez, Alex Ochoa, Lastings Milledge, Ryan Thompson, Jason Tyner, Gavin Cecchini…