MLB Rumors: Pete Alonso could be moved to the Astros in the offseason
As the Mets have entered a full scale rebuild, the rumors have begun swirling that they could continue selling well into the offseason. One of the more valuable pieces left on their roster who has gained traction to be moved is their slugging first baseman, Pete Alonso.
On the season, Alonso has put together some pretty significant slugging numbers. He's on pace for his third career 40 homer-100 RBI season. While he's only hitting .221 on the year, his 3.0 WAR and 129 OPS+ show that his value goes far beyond his batting average.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently revealed that Pete Alonso fully expects to be traded this offseason and that this rumor is common knowledge among several executives.
With that being said, it's never too early to begin exploring potential trade partners for the All-Star first baseman. Maybe the team with the biggest hole is the star-studded Houston Astros.
The hole at first base for the Astros is a gaping one. On the season, their first baseman are slashing .235/.295/.379 with an OPS+ in the 70s, well below league average. That position has only hit 17 home runs compared to Alonso's 39.
Adding Alonso would be huge for the Astros, and it would fit their continued "win now" mindset that they've continue to display over the last few seasons.
MLB Rumors: Cody Bellinger in line for big pay day this offseason
Cody Bellinger has been the biggest breakout player of the 2023 season, showing flashes of his former MVP self. For the first time in four years, Bellinger is hitting over .300, with his 2023 batting average being the highest he's posted in his whole career.
With that in mind, Bellinger will definitely be in line for a huge payday this offseason, assuming he declines his mutual option after the 2023 season is over. A player like Bellinger is a rare player to get ahold of and his agent, Scott Boras, definitely agrees.
"Demand is often created by rarity," Boras said. "When you have the rarity of age, skill level, a five tool player, a Gold Glove center fielder and first baseman who can run, throw, hit and hit for power, that's a rare commodity in baseball."
The former Gold Glover is still just 28 years old and coming off what will be one of the best seasons of his career. Though he won't bring home the NL MVP trophy this season, he has undoubtedly shown the talent and ability that made him one of the game's most captivating players a few seasons ago.
Cody Bellinger is truly a rare commodity in the sport of baseball and that rare commodity is likely to cost a team a pretty penny to acquire his services this offseason.
MLB Rumors: Luis Severino's last two starts shown potential for growth
For a few seasons, it appeared as though the New York Yankees had struck gold with Luis Severino. The righty was able to put together good seasons in 2017, 2018 and 2022 that showed he could be a big piece of the Yankees puzzle.
But 2023 has been far from the same for the former All-Star. In fact, 2023 has been his worst year of his career, by quite a wide margin.
At this point in the season, he's allowing more hits, more home runs, and more walks than ever before while also striking out less batters per nine innings. His ERA sits in the mid 6's and he holds a WHIP above 1.600.
This comes at the worst possible time for Severino, as he's entering free agency this offseason. This free agency will come after the Yankees picked up his $15 million club option last year.
But not all is bad for the Yankees starter. In fact, he's already begun rebuilding his stock for the offseason through his most recent two starts. Across 13.2 innings, Severino has allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and 0 runs while striking out 10 batters.
Though it may be too late for him to build his value back too significantly, he could still see himself earn a bit more money in the offseason with improved performance. It's unlikely that a team would want to lock him down for a significant amount of time given his regression this season. 2024 needs to be his bounceback year.