Latest Pete Alonso milestone proves Mets have no business letting him leave

After recently clubbing his 40th home run of 2023, Pete Alonso became one of just five players in MLB history to hit 40 or more home runs in three of their first five seasons, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Not only has he done it in three of his first five years, but one of the years he didn't was the shortened 2020 season.

What makes this stat even better is that 2020 season. That year he homered in 7.7 percent of his at-bats, which means he would have hit his 40th home run of that year in his 520th at-bat. Hypothetically speaking, he was on pace to clear 40 home runs in the shortened season as well.

Alonso's power has been absolutely tremendous and with the Mets entering a full-scale rebuild, they need to seriously consider holding onto him for the time being.

Pete Alonso provides unmatched power for the Mets and should remain with the team through the rebuild

Pete Alonso is nearly the definition of what it means to be a New York Met. Tim Boyle of Rising Apple said it best:

"The Mets were unafraid to subtract in drastic ways. However, the pieces they did move on from this summer were short term and not homegrown. Alonso is a guy who performs on the field, off it, and in the gift shop. He is Mets baseball."

- Tim Boyle (Rising Apple)

Alonso has another year of team control before becoming a free agent and he'll likely be eager to remain with the Mets for years to come.

The argument that Alonso doesn't hit for a good enough average should be completely overshadowed by the fact that he's still 28 years old and he's never posted an OPS+ lower than 120, meaning he's been above average in that category, significantly, for his entire career.

Moving on from Pete Alonso makes no sense for the Mets. The most recent moves were all strategic moves, trading away expiring or disgruntled veterans. Pete Alonso is neither of those things and he should remain a Met for the foreseeable future.