Part of the reason why Pete Alonso returned to the Mets on a two-year bridge deal last winter was that his free-agent market was nearly non-existent, at least when clubs were presented with the slugging first baseman’s list of demands curated by his agent, Scott Boras.
After opting out of the final year of his contract, which he made known moments after the Mets were eliminated on the final day of the regular season, Alonso’s contractual needs remain the same: Long-term, big money. Whether that means seven years and $200 million or more remains to be seen.
Regardless, his prospects of getting such a contract should be better than they were a year ago after a 38-home-run, 126-RBI, .871 OPS campaign in 2025.
That is not happening as of yet, even with the Winter Meetings looming next week.
ESPN‘s Jeff Passan reports that Alonso and Boras are still waiting for a team to “step to the forefront” as a legitimate favorite to sign him.
That ultimately bodes well for the Mets, as president of baseball operations David Stearns has maintained his desire to keep Alonso in Queens. It’s just that he doesn’t want to do so on the first baseman’s terms. Stearns was resistant to making that long-term offer last year, which is why his free-agency saga dragged into February, just days before pitchers and catchers reported for spring training.
Reservations obviously exist in committing significant years and dollars to Alonso. While his bat is still elite, his defense is declining, meaning any team that signs him would likely want him to start upping his at-bats as a designated hitter. Alonso is reportedly open to just that, but paying a DH-only bat $30 million or more per year down the road would be a tough pill for most teams to swallow.
The Mets started speaking with Alonso and Boras roughly two weeks into November, but other teams like the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners could understandably be lurking. For some reason, that hasn’t happened yet.
