Of all David Stearns’ misfires last winter, probably none resonates louder than at first base. 

The all-time Mets home run leader is playing at a typical Pete Alonso level for the Orioles. He began Monday with an .812 OPS and 22 homers; not surprisingly, he had appeared in all 106 games for his new team. 

Stearns, the Mets president of baseball operations, signed Jorge Polanco to play first base. Polanco has played only two games at the position. Mark Vientos was miscast at first base before hitting the injured list with a broken hand. Jared Young has at least brought a level of respectability to the position, but it’s hard to view a decent stretch by Plan C as organizational success. 

Also, Alonso has excelled defensively. This comes after Stearns’ main talking point heading into the offseason seemed directed at Alonso: the need to improve run prevention. Alonso is three outs above average defensively, placing him in MLB’s 85th percentile. 

Francisco Lindor was asked before Monday’s game if the Mets front office miscalculated by not bringing back Alonso. 

“We do all miss Pete,” Lindor said. “We love him and he’s a great player and he’s going to be one of the greatest Mets to ever play. I think they made an effort [to keep him]. All I know is they thought they were going to improve the team. At the end of the day, we love Pete. We miss Pete.” 

Whether the Mets tried to keep Alonso depends on how you view the seven-year, $158 million offer extended to him two years before he hit free agency. Last November, Alonso was realistically a goner after the Orioles offered him $155 million over five years. The Mets never countered. Within days they signed Polanco to a two-year deal worth $40 million. 

Stearns had a brutal offseason, importing Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. as core position players, along with Polanco. Bichette needed two months to get going offensively (by which time the Mets were buried in the standings) while Robert and Polanco have spent much more time on the injured list than active. Semien has simply been one of MLB’s least productive players. 

Polanco began the day with 101 plate appearances for the Mets and a .431 OPS. 

“We certainly signed him with the anticipation of him being a force in our lineup,” interim manager Andy Green said. “His health hasn’t allowed that to happen for us this year … it’s hurt us. I talked to him [Sunday] for a little bit and just said what I truly believe: by the time he’s done in a Mets uniform he’s going to help us win big games that matter a ton. I don’t think anybody has given up that expectation with him.” 

Now the Mets are headed to Monday’s trade deadline as sellers, something that should never happen to a team with MLB’s second-highest payroll. And yet it’s the second time in four seasons the Mets are selling at the deadline after constructing an underperforming roster. 

This is not to suggest the Mets would be a first-place team or even in the postseason hunt if they had simply re-signed Alonso. That’s unless Alonso magically could have gotten Freddy Peralta to pitch beyond the fourth inning or Kodai Senga to revert to his 2023 level. 

But the Mets would at least have a watchability factor heading into the dog days of summer. The sense of bleakness is only underscored by Juan Soto’s calf injury that will keep him sidelined into September if not the remainder of the season. 

And, of course, if Alonso had returned there would be less uncertainty about first base heading into next season. 

It’s understandable Stearns didn’t want to “run it back” with the same group after last season’s second-half collapse that left the Mets absent from the postseason. 

But there have been few more popular players in Mets history than Alonso, and the franchise record 264 homers he hit over seven seasons are a testament to his ability. 

By the way, the 22 homers he’s hit this season would lead the Mets. 

“He’s one of the greatest teammates I’ve ever had,” Lindor said. 

The Mets’ purge last winter included trading Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil and letting Edwin Díaz escape through free agency to the Dodgers. 

None have left the kind of glaring hole created by Alonso’s absence.