New York Mets free agent first baseman Pete Alonso is hitting the open market over the winter, coming off another season full of slugging.
Alonso hit .272/.347/.524 over 162 games last season, with 38 home runs and 126 RBIs on the season. He was valued at 141 wRC+, well above average in terms of run creation, and 3.6 WAR on the season.
Last offseason, the slugger signed a two-year, $54 million deal with a player option on his 2026 season.
With another impressive season at the age of 30, he will rightly look to cash out and sign a long-term, big-money contract either with the Mets or another organization.
The Mets have a massive payroll already, and despite owner Gary Cohen’s deep pockets, there is some hesitation within the organization about giving Alonso his desired contract.
According to reporting from Mike Puma of The New York Post, Alonso’s contract situation could get complicated when both sides sit down for negotiations once again.
“Alonso, who turns 31 in December, is expected to seek a contract of at least seven years - a length consistent with deals the player's agent, Scott Boras, completed in recent seasons for Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman at the same age (Chapman received a six-year extension from the Giants after his first season with the club on a different contract),” Puma writes.
“Unlike last offseason, the Mets can't extend another qualifying offer to Alonso. It was that offer Alonso viewed as a significant barrier in his attempt last winter to secure a long-term agreement. Any team signing Alonso would have been required to forfeit at least one draft pick.”
“Chapman perhaps serves as a guide for Alonso: The third baseman, with a qualifying offer attached, arrived to the Giants on a three-year deal (with an opt-out) worth $54 million before the 2024 season. But weeks before he could have opted out, Chapman agreed to a six-year contract worth $151 million.”
Considering how popular Alonso is within the Mets fanbase, along with his notable locker room presence and status as one of the faces of the franchise, it is hard to envision New York not giving him the deal that he wants, or something close to it.
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