The New York Mets had a busy offseason, bringing in fresh perspectives to enhance player development and adding inexpensive fliers to increase pitching depth. The rumours of an extension involving star first baseman Pete Alonso, who is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2024 season, were among the most prominent stories of the offseason. The 29-year-old slugger, who is represented by Scott Boras, who normally stays away from extensions, is not going to accept one that puts him in Queens, and David Stearns and Steve Cohen will probably bring it up again the next winter.
Pete Alonso’s free agency case will be looming as the New York Mets head into what many believe to be a bridge year as they try to set themselves up for a successful long-term future.
The Mets are worried about Pete Alonso’s impending free agency.
The New York Mets had an unusual season last year, but Pete Alonso didn’t have the best of campaigns either. Although he still finished the season with 46 home runs, which was third most for any hitter, his career lows for both average (.217) and on-base percentage (.318) were reached. Although he saw a 20-point drop in wRC+ from his incredible 2022 season, the underlying data points to some bad batted-ball luck for him. Alonso should have hit for a significantly better average than he did, which would have enhanced both his overall wRC+ and OBP, according to his predicted batting average of.246.
The Mets are more interested in knowing if Pete Alonso will be worth the long-term salary he is expected to demand than in whether they can afford him. At a position where it’s hard to collect WAR, Scott Boras is likely to seek for the biggest contract ever granted to a first baseman, established by Joey Votto ($225 million). The years might result in a ten-year contract for a 30-year-old. David Stearns will have some concerns because first basemen are intrinsically worthless defensively, which is factored into the calculations despite the problems in WAR that some have pointed out.
It’s not as easy as just letting Pete Alonso go; even though the Queens team won 101 games in 2022, they lacked big hitters, and Alonso is a popular favourite in the city. Pete Alonso is the only player with more home runs (192) and runs batted in (498), and his level of run output will be much missed. Pete Alonso has the potential to be a vital component of a Mets playoff club, even though the team still hopes to compete in the near future despite their burgeoning young prospect class.
The complexity of the matter prohibits a quick judgement about Pete Alonso’s future status with the New York Mets. His contract demands might be within David Stearns’ comfort zone, and his performance in a walk year might be strong enough to render him necessary. Given that most projection systems see the Mets ending above.500 for the season, it’s also likely that they make the playoffs this year.
It’s obvious that the Mets and Pete Alonso won’t agree on a preseason deal, and when free agency rolls around the following winter, the two parties will probably cross paths again. Though there are plenty of good bats available and they may still seek for a DH, this does not indicate that the Mets are done for the winter. J.D. Martinez, who hit 33 home runs and had a.893 OPS in 113 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, has been connected to them. He was named to his sixth All-Star team.
With Spring Training just a few weeks away, there is a plethora of talent looking for a place to call home, so it will be an exciting few weeks for the Mets and other teams still lingering in free agency.