Mets First Base Dilemma

The Mets have a big decision to make in the next week or so. They have two players, Dom Smith and Pete Alonso, who have both earned the right to be the opening day first baseman. They essentially have 3 options: send Smith to the minors, send Alonso to the minors, or keep both on the major league club. Right off the bat, number 3 can be eliminated. There is no reason to carry two first-base-only players, especially when they both need to be playing every single day. That leaves two options: keep Alonso or Smith. Alonso has definitely been much better this spring, although Smith has held his own. On merit alone, Alonso deserves the job; there is one caveat though: service time. If the Mets keep Alonso in the minors for 2-3 weeks, he’ll be under control for 7 years instead of only 6. This would help the Mets in the future, as they’ll be able to hold onto Alonso for an extra year. And it certainly makes sense, because an entire year is worth more than 2 weeks. The main thing holding them back from keeping him in the minors is Brodie Van Wagenen. He has said the Mets are all in this year and his actions certainly reflect that. He has also stated that the best 25 players will be on the team, meaning that service time won’t be in consideration. Alonso is clearly in the top 25 players, meaning that if he is held back, Brodie will be seen as hypocritical. This would cause Mets fans to lose trust in their GM, which is never a good thing. Clearly, the Mets have a situation here at first base; I, personally, am in favor of keeping Smith until Alonso comes up. Smith has earned the right to be given a chance in the majors and deserves to get another shot. If he performs well, leave him there and let Alonso work on his defense. If he doesn’t, call up Alonso.