Industry insiders continue to name the New York Mets as the “most likely” landing spot for free-agent first baseman Pete Alonso, but there’s been no indication since the conclusion of the 2024 National League Championship Series that the two sides have come close to putting pen to paper on the type of contract Alonso’s camp desires.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and The Athletic’s Jim Bowden touched upon how this stalemate could end in a way that may benefit both parties.
“At this point, Alonso will almost certainly get an opt-out-laden short-term deal, and the Mets do have a gaping hole at first, and until another team steps up, the expectation will be a renewal of vows,” Passan said. While Passan added that the Mets “can shift Mark Vientos across the diamond and fill the third-base void internally or externally,” Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News shared that “there doesn’t appear to be much interest in that plan.”
SNY, the television home of the Mets, mentioned on Monday that big-spending team owner Steve Cohen remains “very open to high average annual value deals that aren’t lengthy” after Cohen signed All-Star outfielder Juan Soto to a massive 15-year, $765M contract earlier in the offseason. On paper, the Mets shouldn’t want to lose the 34 home runs and 88 RBI that Alonso contributed across 162 regular-season games in 2024. However, that doesn’t mean Cohen and team president of baseball operations David Stearns should be quick to overpay for a 30-year-old right-handed hitting first baseman after teams such as the New York Yankees, Cleveland Guardians, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks addressed the position via other transactions.
“I just can’t see the ‘Polar Bear’ in another uniform — at least not this year,” Bowden said. Bowden also suggested the slugger may have to agree to a three-year deal with a high average annual value and multiple opt-outs considering no team seems to be in a rush to sign him to a five- or six-year contract.
SNY noted that Alonso bet on himself when he reportedly rejected a seven-year, $158M contract extension from the Mets during the 2023 campaign. He then endured multiple slumps last season, and it appears those cold streaks will cost him millions of dollars in guaranteed money.
