First baseman Pete Alonso spent the majority of his offseason considering all of his options as a free agent. The slugger ultimately signed a two-year deal to return to the New York Mets. While fans are happy to keep the ‘Polar Bear’ in Queens, this contract agreement almost felt forced.
A few couplet teams such as the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees were listed as potential suitors for Alonso if he did not return to the Mets. We now know one superstar did all he could to convince Alonso to sign with a division rival.
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Bryce Harper did what he could to bring Pete Alonso to the Phillies
Bryce Harper is about to enter his 14th season in the MLB. The eight-time All-Star has spent the majority of his career as an outfielder but has recently moved to first base. The Philadelphia Phillies moved Harper to first in an attempt to lower injury risk and so far, it has paid dividends. However, the superstar appeared to be ready to move back to the outfield if it meant he could be teammates with Pete Alonso.
Despite being division rivals, Harper and Alonso do have some common ground as they are both clients of agent Scott Boras. Harper tried to use this connection to his advantage to add Alonso to the Phillies.
Although the authenticity of Alonso’s agreement with the Mets is still questionable, it felt like he was returning to Queens all along. Obviously, the Mets have had no issue spending money this winter and have made it abundantly clear that exceeding the luxury tax does not bother them. With this mindset, re-signing Alonso to a short-term deal fit within their plans.
The Phillies have the third highest payroll in the league behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets. While they obviously want to get better, adding Alonso’s salary to their books was never really logical but Phillies fans can now dream of what could have been.