History wasn’t made in the 2022 Home Run Derby for New York Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso. Seeking to become the first three-peat winner in the history of the Home Run Derby, Alonso was eliminated in the second round by Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez, who made life difficult on the Mets’ star by slugging 31 homers before Alonso got to bat. Alonso hit 20 home runs in the first round to beat Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna but could only slug 22 against Rodriguez, ending his reign as Derby champ.
The finals ended up pitting Rodriguez against Washington’s Juan Soto, who has been the news story of baseball amid rumors that the Nationals will seek to trade him if Soto won’t sign a long-term extension. Soto ended up picking up the win, beating Rodriguez 19-18 to secure his first Derby crown in the process.
One of the interesting parts of the night from a Mets’ perspective was the fact that outfielder Starling Marte was frequently celebrating with Soto whenever the Nationals’ slugger advanced. Soto said after the fact that he and Marte have had a pre-existing relationship, which explains a lot, but Twitter had a field day as it appeared to relish the fact that Marte was taking an active role in encouraging Soto to potentially join him as a Met.
The Soto talks could pick up quickly as ESPN’s Buster Olney reported during the broadcast that rival executives are expecting Washington to move Soto within the next 15 days in order to maximize a potential return. Any team acquiring Soto now would have him for three pennant races over the next two and a half seasons, a fact that could justify emptying out the top prospects of your farm system to land one of baseball’s best players at age 23. That discussion will surely be had by folks in the Mets’ front office over the next two weeks.
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