After a long winter of waiting, Pete Alonso finally re-signed with the New York Mets on a two-year, $52 million deal. Alonso did not get the massive pay day that he and agent Scott Boras were looking for, but he did earn a decent chunk of change, and with an opt-out after the first season, he earned an opportunity to re-test the market if he had a better 2025 season.
Well, Alonso is off to a great start, leading Boras to already begin making his Alonso free agency pitch. Unfortunately for him, what he's selling isn't encouraging enough for the Mets to buy.
“Stop looking at first basemen 30 or older and believing they’re in their decline," Scott Boras, Alonso’s agent, tells USA TODAY Sports. “The truth is that they still can be very valuable, and there are only five or six people [first basemen in their 30s] who can do what Pete is doing."
Boras wants teams to pay attention to Alonso's production, and not his age (30), when in free agency. Unfortunately, that just isn't how free agency works.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Scott Boras' Pete Alonso pitch is wishful thinking
Juan Soto got his 15-year, $765 million deal from the Mets this past offseason because of how special of a talent he is, but also because he was just 26 years old when he tested the open market. The Mets knew that they'd have him for his entire prime, and were willing to take on his declining years as well because of how good he is right now and will be in the future. They expect him to be an extremely productive player for at least a decade, which makes sense given his age.
Free agency is more about what teams project players will do in the future than it is about what they've already done. What they've done can help project into the future, but teams are paying for future production.
Historically, first basemen on the wrong side of 30 do not age well. Albert Pujols was one of the most dominant hitters in MLB history in his prime, but had a steep decline as he aged. The same can be said for a guy like Miguel Cabrera. Alonso fits right into that mold. He can be the outlier, but why should the Mets think he will be?
Ultimately, teams aren't going to make an exception just because Boras wants them to. There's no disputing that Alonso has had a great year. In fact, Alonso, at age 30, is playing as well as he ever has. He's slashing .320/.434/.613 with nine home runs and a league-leading 34 RBI. He's been as well-rounded a hitter as he's ever been, thanks in large part to a much-improved approach at the plate. Alonso has been patient and has not tried to do too much. It's safe to say that the results have followed. He's been the best hitter by far on the third-best team in baseball right now.
Will this production continue for several years, though, especially when Alonso has never been this good before? There's a reason for teams to think the answer to that question is an easy no. Again, teams are paying for what they expect Alonso to do, not what he has done.
Alonso has undoubtedly earned himself a lot more money for next winter because of how well he's played, but age and position cannot be removed from the equation. The Mets would love to keep Alonso in town, but the odds of a savvy GM like David Stearns being willing to go above and beyond what's logical to get a deal done are slim to none. If Boras is expecting otherwise, he and Alonso might be in for another long winter.