Pete Alonso to miss three to four weeks with sprained left wrist
Pete Alonso of the Mets reacts as he is pulled from the game after being hit by a pitch in the first inning against Atlanta's Charlie Morton at Truist Park on June 07, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Credit: Getty Images/Kevin C. Cox
PITTSBURGH — The Mets’ already arduous task of scoring more runs than the other team got even more difficult Friday.
Pete Alonso, their best hitter, landed on the injured list with a bone bruise and sprain in his left wrist. That type of injury usually keeps players out for three to four weeks, according to the Mets.
That was the result of Alonso absorbing a 97-mph fastball from Atlanta’s Charlie Morton on Wednesday. A battery of tests and evaluations across parts of three days yielded the final diagnosis.
“We got better news than it could’ve been,” manager Buck Showalter said. “So take it as a positive. It could’ve been worse.”
Still, the Mets lost one of baseball’s preeminent sluggers — for at least most of the rest of the first half of the season — at a particularly bad time. After a 14-7 loss to the PIrates on Friday night, the Mets have lost seven consecutive games.
Alonso leads the majors in home runs (22) and the National League in RBIs (49). His .872 OPS is the best on the Mets.
He is one of only a few players on the team who has hit to his capabilities amid their mediocre couple of months. Among those who have underperformed: Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte, Daniel Vogelbach and Mark Canha. Also, rookie Brett Baty has slowed down after his earlier hot stretch.
Entering play Friday, the Mets averaged 4.31 runs, 20th in the majors.
“He’s not going to be here and we’re going to miss him, but life goes on,” Showalter said. “What are we going to do? We scored 10 runs [Thursday] against one of the best teams in baseball [Atlanta] without him there — against a really good pitcher [Spencer Strider].
“I’m not going to say ‘someone has to step up’ and all that stuff. You just gotta be who you are. We have the people to withstand it. Obviously, we’re a better team with Pete.”
For Alonso, this functionally eliminates any shot he had at hitting 60 home runs this year. He had 20 at the one-third mark, endured a relatively quiet week and homered in consecutive games before getting hurt.
This is just his second trip to the injured list in five seasons in the majors. He missed 10 days in 2021 because of a sprained right hand.
“I have a lot of confidence in Pete,” Showalter said. “He’s got a lot of things like this that he’s been challenged with before and he always responds well.”
In Alonso’s absence, the Mets’ first-base options include Canha and rookie Mark Vientos. Showalter recently referred to Canha as probably the Mets’ second-best defensive first baseman behind Alonso. Moving Canha from leftfield to first would make room in the lineup for Tommy Pham, who has been a hot hitter lately. That was their approach Friday.
Vientos started at first Thursday, the first game of the year in which Alonso did not play. Vientos has struggled in a part-time role in the several weeks since his call-up.
“Vientos can play over there,” Showalter said. “He’s handled himself well over there. We’re keeping everybody involved.”
Taking Alonso’s roster spot was infielder Luis Guillorme, who was called up from Triple-A Syracuse. He gives Showalter a legitimate backup shortstop option, which the Mets hadn’t had recently.
Guillorme had a .233/.324/.267 slash line when the Mets demoted him — for the first time since 2020 — on May 17. He didn’t hit particularly well with Syracuse, either, but played primarily shortstop.
He said he was unhappy to be sent down and struggled to adjust to the lesser staffing, technological and logistical resources available in the minors.
“It’s good to be back,” Guillorme said. “Just wish it was for a different reason.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
