The New York Mets walked into the weekend with at least a little leverage in the Pete Alonso negotiations. They walked out of it with none. When the Seattle Mariners locked up Josh Naylor on a five-year deal Sunday night, the Mets watched the last viable alternative at first base disappear from the market — and that changes everything.
The first base market just cratered
Before Naylor’s extension, the Mets could float the idea of pivoting elsewhere if Alonso’s price got out of hand. Now? The drop-off behind Alonso is steep enough to give any front office executive vertigo. There is no comparable power bat available, no replacement capable of anchoring the middle of the order, and certainly no one who matches Alonso’s durability or track record.
That’s why losing Naylor as a fallback stings. It wasn’t that the Mets wanted to move on — it’s that they needed the leverage of having a Plan B. And as soon as the Mariners pushed their chips in, Plan B evaporated.
Replacing Alonso’s production isn’t realistic
Alonso’s 2025 season was elite, full stop. He hit .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs and 126 RBIs, carrying an offense that would’ve been lost without his presence. You don’t replace that with one player, and you don’t replace it cheaply.
Unless the Mets plan to sign two or three big-name bats to make up the difference — something that isn’t remotely practical — moving on from Alonso would mean taking a massive step back offensively. And this team, even with resources to spend, isn’t built to absorb a hit like that.
Alonso now controls the negotiation
Alonso was already positioned for a big contract, but the Naylor extension shifts the landscape. The market now revolves around him, and he can dictate terms with more confidence than ever. His camp expected something in the four-year, $100-plus million range entering the offseason. That projection now looks conservative. A six-year deal with hefty guarantees isn’t just possible — it’s likely.
The Mets can stretch the money over a longer term, but the guarantee will be substantial. Alonso knows it, the Mets know it, and every other team in the league knows it too.
The Mets don’t just need Alonso — they need clarity
David Stearns can’t waste the winter waiting for this to resolve. The Mets need to know whether their franchise slugger is staying or going so they can build around that decision. And realistically, the answer should be obvious.
Alonso and Edwin Diaz are core pieces. They’re leaders. They’re proven in New York, which isn’t something you can assume with every star. They’re also irreplaceable relative to the free agent landscape.
If the Mets want to build a contender in 2026 and beyond, you don’t start that process by subtracting the best hitter in your lineup.
Time to act
Alonso’s value won’t dip. The first-base market won’t magically get deeper. And the Mets won’t stumble into an equivalent offensive force by accident.
They need to get this done, and they need to get it done quickly.
The longer this drags out, the more uncomfortable it becomes — but the path is straightforward. The Mets must extend Alonso and keep Diaz, then use their remaining flexibility to strengthen the rotation and bolster the lineup around them.
Anything else would be a step backward, and this front office knows it.
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