Last offseason, it took brutal negotiations that ran until February between Pete Alonso and the New York Mets before the Polar Bear finally re-signed with the only MLB franchise he's ever been a part of. Alonso is set to hit free agency once again this winter, and based on what Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated had to say, a repeat of last offseason's frustrations is set to take place once again.
"According to a rival NL scout, the Mets recognize that their clubhouse is in need of a culture shift following last season's slow collapse. The expectation is that the Mets will float utility man Jeff McNeil on the trade market and let franchise cornerstone first baseman Pete Alonso walk in free agency unless he takes a team friendly deal," Ragazzo wrote.
This means exactly what you think it does. The Mets are open to bringing Alonso back, but only on what they deem to be team-friendly terms, much like last offseason when Alonso eventually agreed to a two-year, $52 million deal including an opt-out after the first season. If Alonso gets the long-term deal he's been seeking, it almost certainly won't be the Mets paying him.
On one hand, it makes sense that the Mets are unwilling to give Alonso the deal he covets. On the other hand, it's a lot less likely that Alonso will come crawling back to Queens like he did last offseason for several reasons.
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Pete Alonso is coming off a much better year than he was last offseason
Often in free agency, timing plays a huge role. Alonso entered free agency coming off a solid season in 2024, but his .788 OPS, 34 home runs and 88 RBI were all career worsts in 162-game seasons (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign 2020). Many assumed that since Alonso was about to turn 30 and was coming off his worst season, he'd only decline from there.
Well, Alonso slashed .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs and 126 RBI in 2025. He led the National League with 41 doubles, was an All-Star, won his first-ever Silver Slugger award, and was simply one of the best run producers in the majors. His .871 OPS was his best mark since his rookie year back in 2019, when he launched 53 home runs. Alonso went from coming off his worst season to one of his best. From an advanced metrics standpoint, this was Alonso's best offensive season in the majors by a fairly substantial margin.
Teams will be more inclined to pay players big-money deals coming off great years as opposed to bad ones, obviously, which is great news for Alonso.
Signing the Polar Bear would not involve any additional compensation
In addition to Alonso's down year production-wise in 2024, Alonso was offered and rejected the qualifying offer, meaning that, in addition to giving him a lot of money, if a team other than the Mets were to sign him, that team would've had to give up at least one draft pick in compensation. Some teams would've had to part with a couple of draft picks and international bonus pool money. For a player like Juan Soto, giving up picks and international bonus money is easy. For an older first baseman coming off his worst season, that's a harder sell.
Well, since Alonso received the qualifying offer last offseason, he was ineligible to get one this offseason, meaning all it'd take for a new team to sign him is money. Perhaps his demands will scare teams away, but the fact that it'd only require money undoubtedly makes Alonso more attractive.
David Stearns will likely have to get uncomfortable to keep Alonso
All the stars are aligning for Alonso to likely get more years and money than Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns, would like to give to the first baseman to keep him in New York. Alonso is coming off a much better year and will not require additional compensation.
Should the Mets be willing to get out of their comfort zone for Alonso? That can be debated. Replacing his bat will be nearly impossible if the Mets choose to let him go, and it felt at times this season that their lineup lacked length even with Alonso. However, Alonso's already subpar defense is only declining, and paying first basemen on the wrong side of 30 rarely ever ages well.
If Stearns is willing to get uncomfortable, Alonso will presumably remain a Met for 2026 and beyond. If not, and he sticks to requiring Alonso to take a team-friendly price, odds are, he will sign elsewhere. He's already established himself as one of the game's premier sluggers, and there's nothing really hindering teams from signing him, which wasn't the case last offseason.
It'll be interesting to see what the Mets decide to do coming off such a disappointing finish in 2025.