Pete Alonso's rumored suitors give Mets and Steve Cohen an edge for a looming reunion

The 2024 offseason should be a fascinating one for the New York Mets. Not only is the team linked to Juan Soto and several other high-end free agents, but they've got a long list of their own players hitting free agency, none bigger than Pete Alonso.

Alonso has spent his entire six-year career with the Mets and has been the most prolific power hitter in the National League since debuting in 2019. He's a fan favorite and is someone that the Mets would obviously prefer to see remain with the team for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, they're not in control of what Alonso decides to do with his future given his free agency status.

Uncertainty regarding Alonso's future has some Mets fans on edge, and rightfully so, but this list of Alonso landing spots if he were to leave Flushing courtesy of Jon Heyman of the NY Post, gives the fan base reason to feel optimistic.

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Pete Alonso looming suitors give Mets fans reason to feel optimistic about reunion

Heyman listed eight landing spots for Alonso if he were to leave the Mets, and curiously, the New York Yankees are not one of them. This might change if the Yankees miss out on Juan Soto (perhaps to the Mets), but for now, Alonso is not linked to the Yankees, which is great news for Mets fans. The Yankees have money to spend and a hole at first base, plus, they're the Yankees. The rest of the list feels like long shots.

The San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners are listed as the top two landing spots for Alonso. While they could both use a big bat, how realistic is the fit in either location? Oracle Park and T-Mobile Park are both extremely pitcher-friendly (even more than Citi Field, per Baseball Savant). Would Alonso want to sign there and risk seeing his numbers decline? Would a team like the Mariners even be willing to give him what he can get on the open market?

Next up on the list is the Houston Astros, a team Heyman believes is more focused on re-signing Alex Bregman. If they miss out on Bregman perhaps it becomes more of a realistic fit, but for now, there isn't much to worry about on that front.

Teams like the Toronto Blue Jays (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), Boston Red Sox (Triston Casas), and Philadelphia Phillies (Bryce Harper) are on this list, but they have first base filled. Sure, the Jays could move Guerrero to third base and the Phillies could move Harper back to the outfield, but how smart would those decisions be? How likely is it that the Red Sox trade Casas just to make room for Alonso?

The bottom line here is while yes, these teams could pursue Alonso, there's even more of a reason to believe that Alonso won't end up signing with any of these teams. If he were to leave the Mets, the Yankees make the most sense on paper, but they're not even on this list. Assuming Alonso wants to remain a Met, this list gives Mets fans more of a reason to believe that he'll end up re-signing after all.