Getty Pete Alonso is set to hit free agency next winter. Top Mets exec David Stearns doesn't think an extension will happen before then.
President of baseball operations David Stearns has been open about his desire to keep first baseman Pete Alonso with the New York Mets for the foreseeable future. But with spring training underway and Opening Day right around the corner, New York’s top executive doesn’t expect to agree to a long-term extension before he hits free agency.
“That’s probably the most likely outcome,” Stearns said, according to Chuck King of the Associated Press. “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 with really good players and has ended up in a perfectly fine spot.”
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on October 5 that Alonso hired the Boras Corporation to represent him. The right-handed slugger is set to earn $20.5 million in his final year before entering free agency next winter.
Alonso Is Rapidly Climbing Franchise Home Run Leaderboards
Although he’s only been in the big leagues since 2019, Alonso is among the Mets’ most prolific home run hitters. He’s entering the 2024 campaign with 192 career home runs. That has him tied with Howard Johnson for the fourth-most dingers in franchise history.
Only three Mets hitters have more career homers than him right now. Those players include Darryl Strawberry (252 homers), David Wright (242) and Mike Piazza (220).
Alonso is fresh off a 46-homer campaign in 2023, which was the third time he’s slugged at least 40 during his young career. Projection systems are expecting another big performance for the slugger in 2024. ZiPS is pegging him for 34 home runs, while Steamer projections have him at 41.
Alonso not signing a long-term extension has been a real possibility for quite a while. The Mets will try and go the Brandon Nimmo route in attempting to re-sign their first baseman. After the 2022 season, Nimmo tested free agency. He ultimately landed back in Queens on an eight-year, $162 million deal.
Will New York Get Him Some Lineup Protection?
Stearns has made a lot of roster moves in his first offseason in charge of the Mets. But after whiffing on starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he’s handed out just one multi-year big-league contract. That was a two-year, $28 million deal with starting pitcher Sean Manaea.
An area the club could still improve upon is designated hitter. New York has been linked to veteran slugger J.D. Martinez. He would provide a huge boost to the lineup. However, it doesn’t appear as though anything is imminent right now, per SNY’s Andy Martino.
A lack of big splashes hasn’t deterred Stearns from believing his squad can compete for the postseason.
“We expect to compete for a playoff spot and have exciting baseball at Citi Field in September and October,” Stearns said to King. “Success can be defined in a lot of different ways, but certainly our expectation going into the season is that we’re going to have a quality team that wins games and is a competitive playoff-caliber team.”
Heyman called on the Mets to sign Martinez or Jorge Soler in free agency on January 31 because they “owe it to” Alonso to get him some legitimate lineup protection. It remains to be seen if Stearns will make one more meaningful acquisition for the offense, though.