The New York Mets bullpen this season has been much like a Jenga tower. Think about it! They are all carefully stacked, and promising solid, but one wrong move and the entire thing can fall. And last week A.J. Minter might have been that wobbly piece.

Minter has barely just settled in after signing a $22 million deal this off-season with the Mets. He missed all of his spring training recovering from his hip injury too. But he came back strong and hot once the season started. His 1.64 ERA over 13 games just says what he brings to the table—swagger plus stability.

Plus, not to forget, this man is a lefty with a playoff pedigree. For the Mets, this was a jackpot. But whether it was evil eyes, bad luck, or whatever it might be, Minter might be done for the season!

It all started Saturday during an outing with the Nationals. Just nine pitches in, and Minter winced on the mound after a cutter to James Wood. And he was done for the day. The early diagnosis didn’t highlight anything more than tricep tightness. But then new information reveals that things are serious. Carlos Mendoza updated, “All we know right now is we’re dealing with a pretty significant injury here. So he continues to talk to multiple people to see what we’ve got here, but the one thing we know is [it’s] pretty significant.”

Now for the Mets, this is bad news, because this was supposed to be the year the bullpen held on strong. With Edwin Diaz there and A.J. Minter brought in, they had their leverage. But now their Jenga towers sway again. Till now, though, the New York Mets are not hitting the panic button yet. But if Minter’s season is done, they should be panicking. Because it could have ripple effects. And let’s be real, in a division like the NL East, losing a key arm is going to have more effects than what meets the eye right now.

While the Mets scramble to patch their bullpen, there is another elephant lounging in the room— Pete Alonso’s contract!

Is Steve Cohen ready to let Alonso walk away from the Mets?

Pete Alonso’s contract is, at best, uncertain. Right now the Polar Bear is off to a thunderous start and has already launched six homers. He also drove in 27 runs and racked up a 1.088 OPS in just 29 games. He is doing just ‘Pete Alonso’ things. But while his bat is loud and clear, the front office is quiet and eerie about his future in New York.  Mets owner Steve Cohen was at the Show podcast with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. There he addressed the Alonso issue, but not with any urgency. “We know he can opt-out at the end of the year, and we’ll deal with it then…Obviously, Pete’s going to explore his market like he should—and I’m supportive of that.”

But basically, Cohen is saying nothing is certain, and if so, he seems fine with it. Now, is this surprising? Not really. Because Cohen and Alonso’s relationship did take a hit during this off-season. It took a personal sit-down between the two for Alonso to finally come back to the New York Mets. Cohen also mentioned that Alonso’s deal was more cumbersome for him than for Soto—and that might be another red flag that he might not pursue him.

However, make no mistake, because it doesn’t matter whether the Mets are serious about him or not—Alonso will get a good offer. That is if he continues to do what he is doing so far. He will be 31 years old next year and, with no qualifying offer attached, an attractive target for the teams who need such cornerstones. But the Mets have much to lose because the man is just 21 runs away from breaking the Met’s all-time record.

The Mets fans want Alonso in blue and orange, and it’s why shouts of “We want Pete” just echoed through the off-season. But it all lies with Cohen. Do you think he will get an extension? Let us know.