Editor’s note: McCovey Chronicles will be covering news from around the league all season long with our new daily MLB Chronicles column.
On Opening Day, Pete Alonso of the New York Mets went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. It was a mostly unremarkable appearance, but what was remarkable is that he appeared at all. All spring, it was rumored that Alonso would begin in the minor leagues, not because he wasn’t ready for the bigs, but because the Mets could get another year of control if they kept him down for two weeks.