Despite already winning the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the New York Mets might not be done signing mega-million deals this offseason. The franchise’s ability to extend star slugger Pete Alonso this offseason was put in doubt after their record-setting deal with Soto. However, with Alono’s market depreciating, the Mets could circle back around and get a deal done with the franchise star.
Pete Alonso reportedly doesn’t have much of a market
MLB insider Jeff Passan had this to say regarding Alonso’s market during a recent appearance on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight Podcast (h/t Mets Batflip on X):
“The perception is that there is not much of one.”
Alonso was expected to be a coveted asset on the open market for teams across the league to target. However, the interest has not been there so far, which could open up the possibility of the Mets retaining the star slugger on an affordable contract extension.
The Mets would “love” to bring back Alonso
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently commented on the team’s interest in retaining Alonso and indicated that signing the 30-year-old would be a priority:
“We’d love to bring Pete back,” Stearns said from his suite at the winter meetings (h/t Jorge Castillo of ESPN). “Pete’s been a great Met. He had some enormous hits for us, and we’ll see where that goes.”
The four-time All-Star first baseman is coming off a spectacular 2024 season in which he played in all 162 games, blasting 34 homers, hitting a .240 batting average, and posting a 2.6 WAR. Alonso’s 216 home runs since 2019 are the second-most in baseball over that span.
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However, despite his consistent success at the plate, Alonso’s lack of quality defensively has likely affected his market. But the longer he waits for a new deal, the less expensive it will likely become. In November, Jon Heyman of The New York Post projected a deal six-year deal worth north of $150 million for Alonso. But considering the veteran first baseman’s market has dried up, that number could potentially be lowered by a significant rate.
The Mets would love to bring Alonso back, as Stearns indicated. However, they have options at first base if they decide to move on and they have other areas to address through free agency like their bullpen. Combining Alonso with Soto would be an exciting proposition, however, and could be the dynamic duo that pushed the Mets over the edge in the postseason.
