Just moments after being named the NL Rookie of the Year, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso joined SNY's Baseball Night in New York to talk about his historic first season as big leaguer. 

But when he was asked about his goals for 2020 and beyond, the 24-year-old unsurprisingly kept his answer team-oriented.

"I'm really happy with the season I had," Alonso said. "But the ultimate goal is to win a World Series. I want to win a World Series and help the New York mets hoist that trophy at the end of the year.

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen already said he's going to take a look at what can be done to improve the team's bullpen this offseason. 

Could that start with someone in their own backyard? 

According to SNY's Andy Martino, the Mets are looking at Yankees' free agent Dellin Betances as an option to bolster their bullpen. 

After speaking with the media at MLB's GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen chatted with SNY's Andy Martino. 

The two touched on what the second-year general manager is hoping to get accomplished both at the meetings this week, and the offseason as a whole.

Moments after Mets first baseman Pete Alonso took home the National League Rookie of the Year Award, New York general manager Brodie Van Wagenen spoke at the MLB GM meetings.

Here are the takeaways from Van Wegenen's discussion with reporters...  

Latest on Zack Wheeler contract negotiations...

"We started dialogue with his camp before the trade deadline last year. We expressed interest in having him be apart of what we're doing moving forward. Obviously he earned the right to explore free agency, he's got a decision to make later this week [on the qualifying offer the Mets extended him]. We'll certainly continue to have those discussions moving forward."

"Wheeler is a good pitcher. That's why we offered him the qualifying offer, we didn't take that lightly. I think he's put himself in a position to be an attractive player. We'll continue to have dialogue."

Pete Alonso was surrounded by family and friends as he learned he was named the National League Rookie of the Year from his parents house in Tampa, Fla. 

Take a look and watch the celebration as Alonso learned he was the sixth Met in franchise history to win the award.

After Pete Alonso was named National League Rookie of the Year on Monday, the congratulations from Mets teammates poured in.

Check out Noah Syndergaard, Dom Smith, Michael Conforto and Steven Matz all took the time to offer their congratulations to Alonso, who came just one vote shy of winning the award unanimously. 

Pete Alonso became the sixth Met to win NL Rookie of the Year on Monday, and was just one vote shy of doing so unanimously. 

Coincidentally, Jacob deGrom also got 29 out of 30 first place votes when he was named the Cy Young Award winner last season, when the San Diego Union Tribune's John Maffei voted for Max Scherzer over deGrom. 

Maffei infamously was uninterested in discussing his decision, hanging up on WFAN's Steve Somers when the radio host attempted to find some kind of explanation for not voting for deGrom.

John Harper, SNY.tv | Twitter |

If there was a moment that perfectly summed up Pete Alonso's momentous season, one that was capped off Monday with the announcement of his National League Rookie of the Year Award, I would argue that it wasn't one of his record-breaking 53 home runs, eye-popping as some of them were. 

Instead I'd say it was his bases-loaded walk, of all things, in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sept. 6 that forced home the game-winning run against the Phillies -- largely because it left him doing TV interviews on SNY and then MLB Network shirtless, after his jersey was ripped off him by teammates in celebration.

What has been a fait accompli since the 2019 MLB season ended is now official: Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year. 

Alonso beat out finalists Mike Soroka of the Braves and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres for the award. He received 29 of 30 first-place votes, with the other one going to Soroka. Yordan Alvarez won AL Rookie of the Year unanimously.

"I am so grateful to the Baseball Writers' Association for their recognition," Alonso said. "I'm truly blessed and humbled to be part of a group of some of the best to ever play the game. This season was the most special time I've ever had on a baseball field. I'm extremely thankful to the Mets for allowing me the opportunity to prove myself at the major league level this year. I can't wait to get back to work in the spring and make a push for the postseason in 2020."

After meeting with the Mets in at MLB's GM Meetings in Scottsdale on Monday, Chris Fetter has emerged as a "strong candidate," according to SNY's Andy Martino. 

Fetter, 33, currently serves as pitching coach at the University of Michigan and is widely considered to be one of the hot coaching names around the industry He interviewed for the Yankees pitching coach job earlier this month, but eventually lost out to Matt Blake.

He also has experience coaching at the professional level and was the Dodgers' minor league pitching coordinator before leaving to join Michigan's coaching staff.

MLB executives believe at least one of Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor or Kris Bryant will be traded this offseason, according to MLB.com's Jon Morosi.

The way I see it, of the three, Betts is most likely to find a new home. And he's a good fit for the Mets.

Bryant fits the Mets, too. I'm not convinced Chicago will end up trading him, though. Like with Lindor, while it's worth it for each team to listen to offers, the Cubs and Indians have these players under contract for more than just next season.

With Pete Alonso on the verge of winning the National League's Rookie of the Year award, we took a look at the Mets first baseman's most memorable moments of the season. 

From his record-breaking blast to the Polar Bear stripping down (kind of), here they are and watch the video above:

April 1:  Alonso hits his first major-league blast, a three-run shot while on the road in Miami.

The Mets could be in danger of losing their hitting coach to a division rival.

With Chili Davis' contract up and the Mets not having yet reached an agreement to bring him back, Davis is among the names drawing interest from the Phillies for their vacant hitting coach gig, reports Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

According to Breen, the Phillies are expected to make a decision soon.

It's fully expected that Mets first baseman Pete Alonso will win the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year award on Monday night over Mike Soroka and Fernando Tatis Jr., with any actual suspense over it revolving around whether he will take it home in unanimous fashion.

When Alonso is officially crowned, the Polar Bear will become just the sixth Met to win Rookie of the Year.

A look at the other five...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- When Brodie Van Wagenen suggested last week that Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman might be in the 2020 rotation, he appeared to telegraph that the Mets were more likely to play in the free agent reliever market this offseason than sign a starter.

That makes sense, when you consider that a better bullpen would likely have delivered the team to the postseason.

That bit of context helps to inform our understanding of the first li'l nugget of the team's post-managerial search offseason, that the front office met Monday morning with the agency that represents both Zack Wheeler and World Series champion reliever Daniel Hudson.

One rival GM predicted the Mets will hire Jeremy Hefner to be their next pitching coach, SNY's Andy Martino noted on Monday, with that GM expressing regret over missing out on hiring Hefner. 

Hefner, who is viewed as a rising star in the industry, is having his interview with the Mets on Monday at the GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to The Athletic's Marc Carig.

The 33-year-old Hefner served as the assistant pitching coach for the Twins this past season. He joined Minnesota as a scout in 2017.

The annual GM Meetings take place from Nov. 11-14 in Scottsdale, Ariz. On hand will be Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen and his staff, along with representatives from the 29 other teams.

While the big event of the offseason is the Winter Meetings each December, things often start to take shape at the GM meetings.

Van Wagenen discussed the Mets' offseason plans while introducing Carlos Beltran as manager last Monday, but he didn't go into detail. Here are five questions Van Wagenen should be asked as the GM Meetings begin...

As the only Mets position player to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award, advice from Darryl Strawberry goes a long way for Pete Alonso.

The franchise's former right fielder from 1983-90, Strawberry's 17-year career started in New York, where he earned seven of his eight All-Star appearances and helped led the Mets to the 1986 World Series championship.

So with the NL Rookie of the Year Award set to be announced Monday on MLB Network -- Alonso, Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Mike Soroka and San Diego Padres shortshop Fernando Tatis are the three finalists -- Strawberry offered advice for the Mets first baseman Sunday through the New York Post's Kevin Kernan.

Anthony McCarron, SNY.tv | Twitter |

We'll be talking about Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge for years to come, especially if their careers keep soaring from here. How lucky are we to have dueling sluggers with personality plus tearing up the same baseball town at the same time? 
 
Alonso, who broke Judge's rookie home run record last season, likely will add another connection to Judge on Monday, when the National League Rookie of the Year is announced. The Mets first baseman must be the choice, unless there is a significant tear in the space-time continuum or something similarly seismic. Judge won the AL Award in 2017 when he set the homer record Alonso (53 homers) eventually beat by one. 
 
With all these links between the two, comparisons are natural. Who's better? Where will their careers end up? SNY asked some baseball brains to talk about the similarities and differences between the sluggers and we looked at some numbers from their respective rookie seasons. 

Former Mets pitcher Jeremy Hefner will interview for the Mets vacant pitching coach position on Monday, it was reported by The Athletic's Marc Carig late Saturday night.

Hefner will meet with team officials at the general manager's meetings in Scottsdale Arizona, looking to become the second former Mets player to join the staff this offseason, with the team hiring Carlos Beltran to be their new manager earlier this month.

The 33-year-old was the assistant pitching coach for the Twins this past season after having joined the team back in 2017 as an advanced scout.

Former Mets manager Terry Collins is not a candidate to be Carlos Beltran's bench coach, SNY's Andy Martino confirmed Saturday.

The news was first reported by Mike Puma of the New York Post.

Beltran, who was named the Mets' 22nd manager last week, had previously told the team that Collins would be his ideal bench coach, according to Martino. A source told John Harper that Collins would have accepted the job if offered.

Former Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon was recently spotted working out in the gym in a video posted by MLB insider Hector Gomez.

The 46-year-old Colon, who played for the Mets from 2014 to 2017, has yet to officially retire from the MLB, despite not pitching since 2018 with the Texas Rangers.

With MLB free agency starting up in December, Colon could possibly be preparing for his 22nd MLB season if there's a team looking for pitching help.

The Mets farm system as a whole is in a bit of a transition phase. They traded high level prospects Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, Anthony Kay, and Simeon Woods-Richardson over the last 12 months. But they also had a great 2019 MLB Draft where they landed three big time prospects.

New York does not currently have a lot as far as top prospects who are on the verge of making a big league impact. I won't be writing here about the Andres Gimenez types or the David Peterson types who I believe are likely to contribute to the Mets in 2020 but are highly regarded prospects in the system.

Instead, the focus here will be on prospects who might come from out of nowhere a bit to make a contribution to the big league team next season. Here are three under-the-radar prospects I believe you could see contributing in Queens in 2020...

Mets rookie Pete Alonso is expected to take home some hardware on Monday when the Rookie of the Year awards are announced, but he was snubbed Thursday night when it came to another potential honor.

Freddie Freeman of the Braves won the National League Silver Slugger award at first base, given annually to the player in each league deemed the best hitter at each position.

The award is voted on by the coaches and managers.

On Thursday night at his Tru32 charity bowling event "Strikes with Steven", Mets pitcher Steven Matz gave his thoughts on newly hired manager Carlos Beltran.

"It's really exciting," Matz said. "He's very respected in the game. He was a great player himself. I think he brings some great leadership to the team, and he's very passionate about the game. I think we're all excited to have him as our leader."

Matz went on to talk about how Beltran's experience as a recent player should help the team a lot.

Keith Hernandez knows the Mets as well as anyone, calling the games in the SNY booth.

He recently explained what Carlos Beltran will bring as the team's new manager. 

"They're going to look up to him. He will learn on the job," Hernandez said. "He's had the experience in the Yankees' front office, being with Brian Cashman as a special assistant. He learned there, so it's not like he's coming in cold. He's aware of the analytics and that's part of the game, and managers today, you have to work with a more hands-on general manager and that analytic team, which Brodie has.

"I think it's going to be a good working relationship and I think the players are going to look up to him. A manager has to lead, players want to be led, and I think that he'll provide that." 

If Zack Wheeler departs via free agency, the Mets will have a hole to fill in the starting rotation. Should they consider filling it with a former bitter rival?

Cole Hamels, who will turn 36 years old before the 2020 season, had a 3.81 ERA (4.09 FIP) and 1.39 WHIP with 143 strikeouts in 141.2 IP (27 starts) this past season for the Cubs.

At this stage, Hamels -- who spent the first nine years of his career with the Phillies -- is looking to land with a contender. And he's open to inking a one-year deal, he told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

The Mets announced on Oct. 17 that the team would not be renewing the contract of Edgardo Alfonzo, who managed the Short-Season A-ball Brooklyn Cyclones to the New York Penn League Championship in 2019.

Alfonzo had been the manager of the Cyclones since 2017, and is expected to remain with the team as a club ambassador, according to SNY's Andy Martino.

Alfonzo recently posted on his personal Instagram account, reacting to the changes.

Scott Thompson, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Every New York sports fan has their one favorite player or coach, past or present, that they absolutely love. They've given years of service to help your favorite team win, and they've done so while playing or managing at the highest level. 

But not every marriage has come to a happy ending in the Big Apple. 

While this city has had its fair share of legends on every team, there have also been some pretty bad breakups throughout each league. And, as agents of chaos in this case, we're here to remind you of some of the ugliest divorces that your favorite teams have seen in recent years. 

Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |

MLB free agency is officially underway, and while there is a steep dropoff after the triumvirate of Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, and Stephen Strasburg, there are still dozens of quality players available.

For the Mets, there are solid options on the market who could help them address their three biggest needs: The bullpen, center field, and the starting rotation. New York also has the option of going the trade route to fill some or all of their needs, but with the team in need of restocking their farm system (instead of further diminishing it), the wiser play would be to fill most of their needs via free agency.

Along the above lines, here are five free agents the Mets should consider pursuing...

There were many memorable Mets games from the 2019 season, but these 5 stood above the rest. 

From walk-off homers to sensational comebacks, here they are...

The Los Angeles Angels finalized their coaching staff on Wednesday evening, naming former Mets manager Mickey Callaway their pitching coach.

Callaway's expected hiring was reported back in late October, but now the team has made the move official, as the 44-year-old joins Joe Maddon's staff.

Prior to his two seasons as the Mets manager, Callaway evolved into one of the most respected pitching coaches in all of baseball. With the Indians, Callaway oversaw the development of Corey Kluber, who won two Cy Young Awards while Callaway was with the team. In 2016, Kluber finished third in Cy Young voting, but the Indians pitching staff helped lead to the team to a World Series appearance against the Cubs.

In the last decade, fewer and fewer players are entering the free agent market when in their prime.

Instead, they tend to sign contract extensions in their younger years, swapping guaranteed money earlier in their career for more money during their prime seasons.

The following two position players, starting pitcher, and reliever are worthy of considering signing to a similar contract extension...

Steven Matz was part of the surge as the Mets went 46-26 in the second half of the 2019 season, scratching and clawing their way back into the playoff race.

Now, after finishing 3.0 games out of a playoff spot and watching the team hire Carlos Beltran as manager, Matz is already gearing up for the 2020 season.

"We got really excited to see what we are capable of," Matz said on Monday during an appearance on MLB Network Radio. "Now we've got a guy who is very well respected around the league coming in, and have that type of collaboration with Brodie (Van Wagenen) and him and all that type of stuff. I think that we are really excited and I think the fans are as well as to what we can do."

Mets infield prospect Andres Gimenez turned heads during the recently-concluded Arizona Fall League, winning the batting title as he slashed .371/.413/.586. But he wasn't the only Mets prospect to have a strong performance.

Four Mets pitching prospects -- Ryley Gilliam, David Peterson, Jordan Humphreys, and Blake Taylor -- pitched well, with the performances of Gilliam and Humphreys especially standing out.

Gilliam, 23, had a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 IP (seven games) while allowing eight hits, walking two and striking out 11.

Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |

"Could we get better defensively? Sure," Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said Monday at Citi Field after introducing Carlos Beltran as the 22nd manager in team history.

The above answer came after Van Wagenen was asked what he might focus on this offseason as he puts the team together for 2020. He also mentioned a desire to add depth to the starting pitching and "fortify" the bullpen.

Adding starting pitching depth shouldn't be too difficult, nor should fortifying the bullpen. When it comes to improving the defense, though, it could require a multipronged attack.

Though there's been plenty of buzz of late about Terry Collins potentially becoming Carlos Beltran's bench coach, another name is now reportedly in the mix.

Jerry Narron, who most recently served at the Diamondbacks bench coach, is a candidate for the job, according to Newsday's Tim Healey.

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reached out to Narron, who said he has "not heard anything yet," but he does "definitely want to stay in the game."

Like Collins, Narron has prior experience as a manager at the big-league level, which would undoubtedly be helpful for a first-time skipper like Beltran.

GM Brodie Van Wagenen said Monday that he considers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman possible options next year to join the team's starting rotation.

Technically, this is true. Van Wagenen is simply stating reality. However, I find it hard to believe this is the preferred outcome given how well Lugo pitched in relief this past season.

Similarly, because of his limited repertoire, Gsellman has long proven he's much more effective pitching in relief than in the starting rotation. In either case, as Van Wagenen said, they are options.

Here are four potential scenarios for how things could shake out with the starting rotation in 2020...

TKTKTK

John Harper, SNY.tv | Twitter |

The Mets have a new manager at least partly because Mickey Callaway repeatedly made strategic mistakes during games over two seasons, but also because there hasn't been a bench coach savvy enough to avoid at least some of the train wrecks. 

Which brings us to the Mets' next piece of business: find the right guy to ride shotgun for Carlos Beltran and make his transition to managing as smooth as possible.

In short, find the right bench coach.

Pete Alonso burst onto the scene in 2019. After breaking record after record, new Mets manager Carlos Beltran --like everybody else -- took notice. 

Beltran, a former slugger himself who hit 149 home runs in a Mets uniform, including 41 in 2006, said he needs no introduction to Alonso. He's well aware of what he's capable of.

The skipper also plans to add to Alonso's duties. 

After putting up a league-leading 57 saves and 124 strikeouts with a 1.96 ERA with the Mariners in 2018, the Mets did not get that type of production out of Edwin Diaz in his first season in Flushing. 

The Mets saw the closer's ERA balloon to 5.59 last season. That wasn't what New York general manager Brodie Van Wagenen envisioned when acquiring him via trade in his first offseason at the helm. 

But enter new manager Carlos Beltran. What does the Mets skipper see for Diaz in the future? Something mirroring 2018. 

Anthony McCarron, SNY.tv | Twitter |

It was a casual lunch, Italian food in Manhattan. Allard Baird and Omar Minaya both have known Carlos Beltrán for years and the three pals ate together last month, a meal that was "more personal than business," Baird says. 

"It wasn't in great detail about managing or anything like that," Baird adds. 

Still, Beltrán made a powerful impression when he talked about how he saw himself contributing to a ball club. It was clear to Baird and Minaya, the top lieutenants to Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen, that Beltrán was "much further along than anyone would've anticipated," Baird says, and had bloomed into manager material. 

Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom both turned in fantastic seasons in 2019 and now have the chance to earn the awards to go along with them.

Alonso was named as a finalist for both National League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player following one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory. He broke Aaron Judge's record for most home runs by a rookie with 53, and slashed .260/.358/.583 in 161 games in 2019. 

He'll finish in the Top 3 of Rookie of Year voting along with Braves pitcher Mike Soroka and Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.

The Mets have claimed pitcher Stephen Gonsalves off waivers from the Minnesota Twins, the team announced on Monday.

Gonsalves, 25, was a highly-touted prospect as recently as 2018, when he entered the season as MLB's ninth-ranked left-handed pitching prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com. 

He excelled in the Twins' farm system that year, going 12-3 with a 2.76 ERA between both Double-A and Triple-A. He made 23 appearances (22 starts) and struck out 120 batters with 65 walks over 120 2/3 innings before earning his first promotion to the big leagues in August.

The Mets made things official on Monday, introducing Carlos Beltran as the 22nd manager in team history during a press conference at Citi Field.

In addition to Beltran's introduction and his thoughts on taking over the reins, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen spoke about the hiring process and what could be in store for the team this offeason.

Here's what happened, in case you missed it...

As they build for the 2020 season, the Mets could have a gaping hole in the starting rotation and badly need to improve their team defense. Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon are free agents. Could the Mets be players for them? 

Asked directly about whether the team can add a top flight free agent without reducing payroll, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen danced around the question.

"At this point, we're going to explore all options with the roster," Van Wagenen said on Monday after introducing Carlos Beltran as the team's new manager. "Once we find the right fit, we'll try to make that a reality."

Doug Williams and Andy Martino deliver an all new episode of the Shea Anything podcast on the day the Mets deliver an all new manager!

The guys talk all things Carlos Beltran following his official introduction as the new manager of the Mets at Citi Field. They look back at what he said and why he got the job, and look forward to how things may go for Beltran in his new role with his old team.

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN

The Mets will have a gaping hole in their starting rotation if Zack Wheeler leaves via free agency, but is that hole something they could actually fill from within?

Speaking on Monday at Citi Field after introducing Carlos Beltran as the 22nd manager in franchise history, GM Brodie Van Wagenen talked up the ability of Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman as potential rotation answers.

"We've got some great players in Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman that may be considerations in the rotation," Van Wagenen told SNY's Steve Gelbs.