Mets drop Pete Alonso to fifth in lineup amid continued struggles in clutch situations

The last time Pete Alonso started a game batting below cleanup was 2020. On Monday night against the Cardinals in St. Louis, the Mets' slugger will bat fifth.

Amid his continued struggles in clutch situations -- and following a game on Sunday where he had three tough at-bats with runners in scoring position -- Alonso, who had been hitting cleanup, has been moved down in the order.

The new lineup still features Francisco Lindor leading off, but has lots of changes elsewhere.

Following Lindor, the No. 2 through No. 7 spots look like this:

Tyrone Taylor, RF
Brandon Nimmo, LF
J.D. Martinez, DH
Pete Alonso, 1B
Jose Iglesias, 3B
Jeff McNeil, 2B

Alonso said on Monday that Carlos Mendoza told him about the decision during the flight to St. Louis, with the slugger relaying the reasoning as the manager wanting “see what the lineup is like with you at five, just wanna see what we could do just to give us a different look.”

Alonso added that he was on board with the change if it meant helping the team win.

“For me, I wanna win and I trust him to run out the best lineup every single day," he said. "If that’s what he thinks that’s what’s gonna help us win, I’m all for it.”

Mendoza added later that the change was also influenced by Cardinals starter, right-hander Andre Pallante, having reverse splits and being tougher against lefties, which influenced his decision to move Taylor up to the two-spot and Nimmo down to three.

“Just a different look… wanted to see what it looks like on a game like today,” he said. “I don’t know if this will go consistently. Maybe tomorrow we’re facing a lefty and Pete’s back in there in the four-hole. I think it’s just more like who we’re facing today.”

During New York's frustrating 3-2 loss to the Angels on Sunday in Anaheim, their ongoing issues with runners in scoring position were on display as the team went 2-for-10 in those instances.

But no one struggled more than Alonso, who had three opportunities with runners in scoring position and came up empty each time, grounding out in the first inning, grounding into a double play in the third inning, and popping out on the first pitch he saw during his at-bat in the fifth inning.

Since the middle of July, the Mets have been better than only the historically bad Chicago White Sox when it comes to hitting with runners in scoring position.

As far as Alonso, his average in those situations has dipped below .200 for the season.

In 130 plate appearances with RISP in 2024, Alonso is slashing .198/.331/.359 with four home runs.

His other clutch stats this season are poor as well.

With two outs and runners in scoring position, Alonso has a .636 OPS. In Late & Close situations, Alonso has a .603 OPS. When the game is tied, Alonso has a .678 OPS.

The only situation this season where Alonso's OPS is over .742 is when the margin is more than four runs. In 58 plate appearances in those spots, his OPS is 1.161.

Alonso's unsightly RISP numbers this season are an enormous aberration when compared to how he's performed throughout his career.

In 2023, Alonso hit .257/.377/.541 with RISP
In 2022, he hit .300/.424/.675
In 2021, he hit .252/.355/.469
In 2020, he hit .234/.375/.516
In 2019, he hit .246/.361/.585

“We’re creating a lot of traffic, we’re getting a lot of guys on base and more time than not he’s gonna come through, not only him but a lot of our guys,” the manager said. “There’s gonna be times when we’re not gonna get the big hit, it’s baseball.

“I’m not worried about Pete. He’s a great hitter, he’s a big part of our lineup. And I know he’ll continue to do damage whenever we need him.”

Alonso is hopeful the change impacts the team “in a positive way,” given his and the team’s struggles overall with runners in scoring position, but doesn’t see his approach at the plate changing.

“Realistically the same, I still wanna capitalize on pitches in the zone and I still wanna be able to put balls in play hard when they come into the zone," he said.

In addition to Alonso's difficulty in clutch situations this season, his power numbers are also down.

His OPS is a career-low .790, and he's hit just 23 homers after smashing 46 last season.

Alonso's career-low for homers came in 2021, when he hit 37. But he excelled in other facets of his game, slashing .262/.344/.519.

When asked about his struggles on Monday, the first baseman defended his season.

“I think I’m in a position where, I mean, I’m on pace for close to 40 homers, I’m an All-Star this year, so I think that to beat myself up or be frustrated, it’s really no use," he said. “So I’m really excited for the end of the year where we get to play winning baseball.

"I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished this year so far, and I think that there’s definitely gonna be some opportunities that I’m looking forward to capitalizing on.”

And his manager agrees with him on that front.

“I see at the end of the year the numbers are gonna be there,” Mendoza said. “He’s still gonna hit 40-something homers. I’m not worried about it.” 

Speaking on July 21, Alonso said he didn't think he was putting "any sort of pressure" on himself ahead of free agency.

"Oh, no, I don't think I'm putting any sort of pressure on myself at all when it comes to that," he said. "For me, the only thing I'm worried about is doing the best I can to win baseball games. For me, whatever happens with that happens. I just want to be the best version of myself every day to help this team win."