Is this Pete Alonso's last homestand in Queens? This Week in Mets

“Anxiety is a future that hasn’t happened yet, but makes no other future seem possible.”
— Rosecrans Baldwin

Brandon Nimmo remembers coming back a few days later, to clean out his locker, contemplating the possible finality of it all. He walked out to the grass at Citi Field and took it all in, just in case.

It was October 2022, and the Mets had just been knocked out of the playoffs by the San Diego Padres. Nimmo was days away from becoming a free agent, and he knew he very well may have played his final game as a New York Met.

“I was just considering it the end of a chapter and beginning of a new chapter,” he said. “Those moments, they come every so often in life, and it’s nice to be able to recognize it and take it in.”

This week might be Pete Alonso’s last homestand as a member of the Mets. A star basically from the day he debuted with New York in 2019, Alonso is about to become one of the sport’s highest-profile free agents at season’s end.

He hasn’t thought much about any of that just yet.

“I’m just taking everything day by day and doing whatever I can to help the team win each day,” he said. “I’m really not necessarily worried about that. I’m just trying to help this team get to the postseason.”

Nimmo could relate. The Mets were in a division race down to the end of 2022, and he wasn’t spending much time thinking about his next contract when prepping for the playoffs was paramount. He said that’s a good dynamic to have late in a platform season, so you don’t end up thinking too much about your stats.

“I really think that that helps a lot, because then you’re just concerned with winning or losing,” Nimmo said. “You’re not concerned about hitting three more home runs or whatever it may be.”

Still, Nimmo said, it’s only human to think about

“You definitely don’t go through it always mulling that over throughout a whole game,” he said. “Your last game, you are aware that this could be the last one as a Met in this uniform, at this stadium. You do try to just take it in, kind of like you do on Opening Day or on your first day in the big leagues. It’s there and you understand it, but also the competitive side of you takes over during the game.”

Alonso, for his part, has bigger things on his mind.

“I always have to take it back to camp. Back in spring training, it’s like this is what you prepare for, this is what you prepare for in the offseason, this is what it’s all about,” Alonso said. “Everyone is just really pulling in the same direction, and it’s just been really exciting. This is where all that preparation and all that work goes to. This is the moment. We’re really excited for it.”

The exposition

The Mets dropped two heartbreakers to the Phillies over the weekend to lose their first series to a National League opponent since the end of May. At 81-67, New York is

—

If Atlanta wins: one game behind Atlanta for the final wild-card spot in the NL.

If LA wins: tied with Atlanta for the final wild-card spot in the NL.

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The Nationals took three of four from the Miami Marlins in D.C. Washington is 68-81.

The Phillies came back late to win that series over the Mets, and Philadelphia’s magic number to clinch the NL East is now five — giving it a reasonable chance of happening in Queens this weekend. Philadelphia is 90-59, good for the best record in the NL. It visits Milwaukee for three to start the week.

The pitching possibles

v. Washington

LHP Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.35 ERA) v. RHP Jake Irvin (10-12, 4.19 ERA)
RHP Tylor Megill (3-5, 4.48) v. LHP Mitchell Parker (7-9, 4.24)
LHP Jose Quintana (9-9, 3.91) v. LHP DJ Herz (4-7, 3.70)

v. Philadelphia

RHP Luis Severino (10-6, 3.77) v. LHP Kolby Allard (2-0, 4.29)
LHP David Peterson (9-2, 2.85) v. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (10-9, 3.24)
LHP Sean Manaea v. LHP Ranger Suárez (12-6, 3.05)
RHP Tylor Megill v. RHP Zack Wheeler (15-6, 2.60)

Inside baseball

Sean Manaea can admit now that, when he first signed with the Mets, he was a little nervous about it.

“It’s a huge market and could be a tough place to play,” he said. “I’ve had friends come through here who had different experiences.”

One season later, though, Manaea called the experience pitching for the Mets “incredible.”

“The fans have been incredible, the organization has been amazing,” he said. “I didn’t think it would go as it has. … Just knowing I can pitch in a market like this and not just survive but thrive in a way is new to me.”

This is pertinent because Manaea can — and almost certainly will — opt out of the second and final year of his contract with the Mets. He’s owed $13.5 million next season. The way he’s pitched this year, he should be able to net a multiyear deal worth well above $50 million total.

He wouldn’t mind if that next deal was with the Mets.

“I’ve loved it, my fiancée loves it, I’ve had family come through and they love it,” he said. “I’m a big fan of this place, and the rest of my family is. We’ll just see what happens.”

Injury updates

Red = 60-day IL
Orange = 15-day IL
Blue = 10-day IL

• The biggest news is, of course, the ongoing status of Francisco Lindor. Lindor left Friday’s game with back discomfort, missed Saturday’s game and returned Sunday for only an inning and a half before leaving again with back discomfort. The Mets were trying their best to be cautious with Lindor in hopes he could play as many games in the final two weeks as possible. Lindor will get an MRI on Monday, and the club remains in wait-and-see mode.
• Kodai Senga threw live batting practice last week and will do so again early this week. If all goes well, he could make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Syracuse by the end of the week and be in line for a major-league return next week.
• Christian Scott threw a bullpen session on Sunday. Scott’s chances of returning to the majors this season are diminishing, as he’s up against the clock.
• Dedniel Núñez is out for the season. If the injection of platelet-rich plasma that he received on Friday doesn’t heal his aching elbow, he may need surgery — though it wouldn’t be Tommy John surgery, David Stearns said Saturday.

Minor-league schedule

Triple A: Syracuse v. Charlotte (Chicago, AL)

Wild-card schedule

San Diego: v. Houston³, at Chicago White Sox³
Arizona: at Colorado³, at Milwaukee⁴
Atlanta: v. Los Angeles¹, at Cincinnati³, at Miami³

Last week in Mets

• Saturday was a reminder of a few qualities the Phillies possess and the Mets don’t
• The big adjustment Brandon Nimmo made Friday night
• Inside the mind of Luis Severino, who was kind enough to break down an entire starter batter-by-batter
• Part 1 of our Mets mailbag on the path to the postseason
• Lindor’s biggest swing of the season saved a series in Toronto
• How the Mets will line up their rotation the rest of the season
• How Ryne Stanek overcame the Doubt Monster to emerge as an important late-inning arm for the Mets bullpen
• An ugly win is still a win
• TWIM: Can this Mets core deliver in the most important moments?
• The Mets lost one of their true fan favorites, Ed Kranepool, last week

Trivia time

If the Mets were to sweep the Nationals, they would finish 11-2 against them this year. Only once in club history have the Mets posted a better winning percentage against a division opponent in a single season. Can you name the year and the opponent?

(I’ll reply to the correct answer in the comments.)

(Photo of Pete Alonso: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)