These NY Mets players could’ve been their Jalen Brunson in a different scenario

Jalen Brunson came to the New York Knicks a few seasons ago and for most non-NBA fans, you probably didn’t even recognize the name. He wasn’t regarded as a superstar. A second round pick with the Dallas Mavericks and not a true superstar in the league, the thought was the Knicks might’ve overpaid for a B-level player. New York Mets fans know a lot about this.

It didn’t take long for Brunson to prove his doubters wrong. Now a New York sports legend with a championship drought questioned and a finals MVP to cement his legacy further, Mets fans who don’t really care much for the Knicks or other sports in general are left to wonder if maybe there’s a Brunson-type player out there for us to have.

In a different life, we actually may already have him on the roster. Brunson was a good but not spectacular player on the level of others. A force nobody saw coming, it’s these three Mets players who feel representative in some ways to what Brunson accomplished.

Three Mets could have been a Jalen Brunson if things played out differently

1) Bo Bichette

There’s still time, right? Bo Bichette came to the Mets as a highly paid free agent, but also not the major acquisition of the offseason. He was Plan-B to Kyle Tucker. Even if things didn’t play out that way, Bichette was a major free agent who didn’t sell tickets. However, in the right scenario, he absolutely could have been the star to take over the Mets and lead us to a championship.

It’s not completely Brunson-esque with Juan Soto on the roster. It’s almost impossible to overtake him in terms of importance. Nevertheless, there is a resemblance. Highly debated and for many an unsatisfying move, Bichette capping off a huge regular season with a World Series MVP is the ultimate dream. Will we get more than one season to see it happen? Talks of him opting out are already underway.

2) Freddy Peralta

Freddy Peralta was a prize for most fans this offseason as far as a starting pitcher acquisition went. Free agency was very blah while trades were limited. Peralta may have more of those Brunson intangibles next offseason when he becomes a fallback option to Tarik Skubal.

Whether he’s here or not is a question nobody will be able to answer for at least a few months. Peralta is a Mets trade candidate and with an asking price of over $200 million while comparing himself to Max Fried, he’s going to dissatisfying most fanbases if Skubal was ever a realistic option. It might be difficult for a pitcher to compare best to Brunson because they aren’t involved in every game. There’s one more candidate who fits the bill.

3) Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor has been with the Mets for so long it’s easy to misremember how each of us felt about him when he came to New York from Cleveland. An All-Star multiple times already and a regular in the MVP discussion a few times, he wasn’t in the same category as a few others. Lindor was a trade but signed around the same time as some other prolific shortstops. His contract was one million more than Fernando Tatis Jr., a shortstop at the time. Trevor Story, Corey Seager, and others were notable free agents at his position. The same way Knicks fans may have desired someone other than Brunson was a fleeting thought for Mets fans when it came to the choice to make Lindor the longtime shortstop.

Lindor has yet to win the big one with the Mets which leaves him behind Brunson in any kind of discussion about superiority. Maybe more highly-regarded than Brunson when he first came to New York, they are comparable especially when we look around the league at where Lindor often ranks. Impressive yet not unworldly like Soto, the time has probably passed for him to be our Brunson. The 2024 Mets winning a championship might’ve been the best opportunity to become comparable. Lindor can still accomplish the goal. It just won't be comparable enough to what Brunson did with the Knicks.

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