The New York Mets, the team with the second-highest payroll in baseball at over $341 million, ended their season in lifeless fashion Sunday. Needing to simply win to get into the National League playoffs, the Mets managed zero runs against the Miami Marlins, who went on to eliminate the New York club with a four-run shutout.
The defeat completed a catastrophic, 3 1/2 month collapse in which the Mets led the NL East by 5 1/2 games on June 12 then proceeded to lose 55 of their next 93 games and missed the playoffs completely. But hard as it is to believe, that wasn’t the last bit of bad news for the Amazin’s on the final day of the season.
But the Mets‘ bad news could turn out to be good news for the Boston Red Sox, because minutes after the final out on Sunday, a prolific Mets power hitter who had reportedly been eyed by the Red Sox last offseason declared that he would become a free agent as soon as he becomes eligible, the day after the World Series ends.
Pete Alonso, the 30-year-old, seven-year veteran first baseman who became the Mets’ all-time leading home run hitter this season, announced that he would exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with New York, making him a free agent for the second offseason in a row.
On his future with the Mets: “Playing for this organization, this city – they’ve continued to believe in me. I love playing here. There’s some great guys in this clubhouse, some great people on the staff.
Alonso Replaces Rafael Devers’ Bat
The Red Sox, at least in theory, have a first baseman in 25-year-old, 2018 first-round draft pick Triston Casas. But after missing all but 29 games this season with a patellar tendon tear, and playing just 63 in 2024 due to a rib injury, the Red Sox may not be “sold” on the idea that Casas is the answer at first base, according to longtime MLB insider Jon Heyman, who called Alonso a perfect fit for the Red Sox.
After the June 15 trade of their own slugger Rafael Devers, the Red Sox “will need to replace Rafael Devers’ bat (even if they re-sign Alex Bregman — no guarantee),” Heyman wrote earlier this year. “Alonso, whose wife is from Boston, is practically a Devers duplicate offensively (.859 career OPS for Alonso to .856 for Devers) who embraces first base.”
Devers notoriously refused to take up first base for Boston after the injury to Casas, a major factor leading up to his trade, though he did agree to play the position for the San Francisco Giants.
Alonso Tailor-Made For Fenway Park
Primarily a pull hitter from the right side, Alonso’s swing appears to be designed to hit in Fenway Park. According to Statcast, though Alonso totaled 38 home runs for the Mets this season — 20 at home, 18 on the road — 40 balls hit by the slugger would have been home runs in Fenway Park.
As shown on a spray chart compiled by Fangraphs, 22 of Alonso’s 38 home runs were pulled in what would be the direction of Fenway’s “Green Monster” left-field wall, and would have cleared the wall or at least hit it — and 11 of his doubles fit that description as well.
In his career, Alonso has recorded 41 official at-bats in Fenway Park, hitting three home runs. That’s a rate of one homer every 13.67 at-bats, better than his current career rate of one round-tripper every 14.25 at-bats.
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