MLB insider details why Pete Alonso turned down Mets extension offer

It was reported by Joel Sherman of the NY Post that Pete Alonso received a contract extension offer from the New York Mets before his walk year. The terms he reported were seven years, $158 million. Alonso, unsurprisingly, declined.

With Scott Boras representing him, hopes of an Alonso extension are far-fetched. Boras is known to push his clients to free agency. Most of the time it works out in his favor, but as we saw this past offseason, his plans don't always work out in his clients' favor.

SI's Pat Ragazzo gave some insight as to why Alonso turned down an extension offer from the Mets.

Why Pete Alonso turned down Mets extension offer

The money didn't turn out to be an issue. It was the years. Rather than the seven years that the Mets offered him, Alonso wanted a nine or 10-year deal. The Mets did not give that to him, obviously. They made the right call by not giving him a longer deal.

Alonso is 29 years old. He'll be 30 by the time he plays his first game next season. Giving a 30-year-old first baseman a nine or 10-year deal should be a non-starter for any team, and there's almost no way he'll get that in free agency, especially if he doesn't heat up very soon.

The best first basemen in the league make around what Pete was offered. Freddie Freeman signed a six-year deal worth $162 million to join the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent when he was 32 years old. Matt Olson signed an eight-year extension worth $168 million to stay with the Atlanta Braves when he was 27 years old.

Alonso was offered a deal with a higher AAV than Olson but lower than Freeman. He got more years than the older Freeman and fewer years than the younger Olson. It seemed like the perfect compromise.

Alonso turning it down and betting on himself makes sense, especially with Boras representing him, but the Mets have no reason to be desperate before Alonso even tests his market. If the market dictates that he should be getting nine or ten years (it almost certainly won't) then the Mets will need to make a decision.

It'll be interesting to see if Alonso will come to regret turning down the reported seven-year extension. So far this season he has just a .761 OPS which would be a career-low by far.