I know I am tired of hearing about it already, so you must be too. Not news flash: Pete Alonso is unlikely to sign a contract extension before or during the 2024 season. If you’re a Met fan as I am, the notion of Pete not being a Met is disturbing if not more so. Pete’s a home-grown product and the best 2nd round draft pick the Mets have ever selected. It would be fitting that Pete stays a New York Met for his entire career and wears a Met cap into the Hall of Fame one day. He might already be clear to be in the Met’s HOF. Since Alonso is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, it’s the smart money to figure Boras and Alonso will wait until the offseason to maximize his opportunity in free agency. Pete Alonso just turned 29 in December, and this is biggest chance to cash in that he will ever have as a player.
Ryan Finkelstein does a great job on his daily Mets podcast https://linktr.ee/LockedOnMets and was on record two seasons ago saying the time was then to sign Pete to a long-term contract extension. Having 2 years left on his contract made it more attractive for Pete to consider it then than now. It’s especially true now that Alonso is represented by Scott Boras which he was not two years ago. What this does not mean is that Pete will be gone forever after this season.
New Mets POBO David Stearns said as much this week in his comments in the press.
“I think that’s probably the most likely outcome,” Stearns said when asked if he anticipated the absence of negotiations with Alonso until next offseason. “We’re not going to get into the specifics of any particular negotiation. …
“But look, when you have a really talented player, who’s really good, who’s entering his final year of club control, who happens to be represented by Scott Boras, these things generally end up into free agency, and we understand that. This is an organization that’s dealt with that before.”
Some Mets fans feel that Stearns does not understand what Pete Alonso means to the franchise and its fans. That’s not true since Stearns grew up a Met fan and knows the franchise history as well as anyone. But in being seemingly unemotional about the possibility of Pete leaving is what rankles Met fans. Yet it’s just plain smart in terms of the way to run a franchise.
Let’s say the Mets get off to a dismal start and fall out of the race like last year before the trading deadline in late July. Pete could be traded to a contending team, and the Mets could pick up a couple of assets and then bid on Pete’s services in free agency after the season is over. That’s a win-win. The blueprint here is that just a little over a year ago, Brandon Nimmo (also represented by Scott Boras) took the risk of going to free agency after the 2022 season and then re-signed with the Mets for 8 years and $162M.
On the other hand, if Pete and the Mets overachieve and contend for the division all season and play for at least a Wild Card, the team can just hang on to Pete and give it all they have to play postseason baseball in 2024. Wild card teams win the World Series sometimes.
Stearns and team owner Steve Cohen know all this and are in a good position to let things play out. One thing that’s rarely mentioned is what would happen if Pete Alonso was not the Mets 1B. Dom Smith who was a 1st round draft pick going #11 in 2013, is long gone and there’s no heir apparent in the organization. Even if the team is flirting with the thought that Mark Vientos could slide over to 1B, Vientos has a lot to prove to be a viable everyday player much less at 1B. And it would be no bargain for anyone to immediately follow Pete Alonso at 1B.
Playing for a contract is not going to motivate Pete Alonso to play any harder than he already does. That’s just one of the reasons Met fans love him so much. Alonso did have a low batting average in 2023 – .217, the lowest of his career, but was also one of the unluckiest hitters In MLB having his hard-hit balls fielded more than the norm. Some regression to the mean is anticipated in 2024.
Baseball is both a game and a business. Fans are emotional and sentimental when it comes to their favorite players. Pete Alonso might be in his last roundup with the Mets. Then again maybe not. It won’t be boring that’s for sure.
