Mets icon defends Pete Alonso after clubhouse rumors surfaced

New York Mets icon Keith Hernandez works for SNY, the television home of the ballclub, and came to the defense of Pete Alonso after it was previously suggested the All-Star first baseman was part of supposed clubhouse problems that impacted the Mets throughout a disappointing 2023 season. 

"I don’t know where that was coming from," Hernandez said about the situation while speaking with reporters at a Thursday event held at the MLB store in Manhattan, per Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News. 

WFAN radio host Sal Licata, who also works for SNY, said on the air in August that he learned there were "issues in [the Mets] clubhouse" that resulted in the club allegedly making Alonso "available" before the trade deadline. 

Later in the summer, Alonso told reporters he'd "never seen" and didn't know "the person who said that." In late September, Licata insisted that "nobody ever said Pete was the problem" and that "nobody ever said" Alonso was "a bad guy." 

"The clubhouse did have issues," Licata added at that time. "It was reported before I said it, it was reported after I said it. That’s the story."

Hernandez could neither confirm nor deny the final aspect of Licata's claims. 

"I don’t have a great feel of the clubhouse, because the clubhouses today are so big and they’ve got that one extra room where we were not allowed," Hernandez explained. "It’s not like the old days where you can mingle with the players, but Pete’s a good teammate. I thought it was kind of mean-spirited. Whoever started that, I thought it was very, very mean-spirited."

Hernandez also made it known on Thursday he thinks the Mets should sign Alonso to a long-term deal this offseason and before the popular "Polar Bear" reaches free agency after the 2024 campaign. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said this week he does "not anticipate" trading Alonso this fall or winter, and the two sides are going to have "conversations" about a possible contract extension ahead of spring training.