Keith Hernandez clear regarding Mets and Pete Alonso: 'They gotta sign him'

The two main focuses of the Mets' offseason so far -- from an outside perspective at least -- have been Pete Alonso and the need to improve the pitching staff.

David Stearns said on Tuesday that one of the Mets' main priorities would be adding to the starting rotation, and it came out Wednesday that Stearns had discussed Alonso's future with Scott Boras, who is open to discussing an extension before free agency.

On Thursday, SNY's Keith Hernandez weighed in on both topics.

And he didn't mince words when asked how important it is for the Mets to sign Alonso -- set for free agency after the 2024 season -- long-term.

"I think it's very important. Pete, if you look at his record, he's got a body of work. He's not just a comet, shooting star that's gonna burn out," Hernandez explained during an appearance at the MLB store in Manhattan. "He is incredible with his power numbers. 

"I've always referred to him -- almost from the first year when he hit the 50-plus home runs -- he to me is the second coming of Harmon Killebrew. Big power hitter like him. You can't find those. They gotta sign him."

As far as pitching, Hernandez said it should be prioritized over offense.

"Pitching is the name of the game," he said. "You can have all the hitting you want and if you don't have pitching it's gonna be difficult. I always refer to the '69 Mets. They didn't have a powerful lineup, but they had the pitching and they won the world championship.

"If I had my choice between a good offensive team and a mediocre pitching staff or vice versa, I'd take the good pitching staff any day of the week."

HERNANDEZ, VOLPE DISCUSS CARLOS MENDOZA

Both Hernandez and Yankees infielder Anthony Volpe -- on hand at the same event as Hernandez -- discussed the Mets' hire of Mendoza as manager.

"It was a surprise," Hernandez said. "We'll see how it goes. It was a decision that wasn't taken lightly and I'm looking forward to meeting him, actually."

"He’s the best," Volpe said. "We’re definitely gonna miss him. They got an amazing guy. From day one he brought me along, took me under his wing and kind of showed me the ropes, and for me that was huge, just having someone that I could always go to.

"Whether it be like the littlest thing of how I should approach my routine or when I should get into the cage so that I get my work in, but I’m not really interfering with anyone else. Little stuff like that that. He was just so free to bounce ideas off of, and then through the ups and the downs, he was always there, willing to work and everything like that, so [I’m] definitely gonna miss him and gonna be fun to compete against him now.

"He ran all of our meetings and scouting report meetings and stuff like that, so just the way he communicated with the team and how we was able to connect with every single player -- whether they be the young guys, veterans or guys from different countries and stuff like that. Just the way he communicated I thought was amazing."