Getty The Mets still haven't had serious extension talks with Pete Alonso yet. A recent report sheds light on how things might eventually happen.
This offseason has been a lot quieter for the New York Mets than in recent years. While they were involved in the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes to the very end, they didn’t simply turn to the next top-tier free agent after he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That shouldn’t be a surprise. Will Sammon of The Athletic said that’s exactly what the Mets would do. President of baseball operations David Stearns has opted for short-term deals with big-league free agents this winter, which has been seen as underwhelming by some. However, a Mets player set to hit free agency soon who could be in line for a long-term extension is first baseman Pete Alonso.
During the General Manager Meetings in November, Stearns said an extension for the slugger would eventually be discussed. Agent Scott Boras also publicly commented on his client’s willingness to have those conversations before hitting the open market next offseason.
According to a January 9 report from Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic, there have been no legitimate negotiations yet. This shouldn’t be alarming. Serious extension conversations typically happen in February and March when most roster building for the upcoming season is complete.
There are two other noteworthy pieces of this report, though. Britton said expectations are low for the Mets and Alonso’s camp to engage in serious extension talks before the end of 2024. Furthermore, he said fans should expect more of a “Brandon Nimmo approach to re-signing Alonso.”
Nimmo, another Boras client, entered free agency following the 2022 season. After testing the market, he eventually signed an eight-year, $162 million contract to remain with the Mets.
Other Examples of This Approach From the Mets
Since Steve Cohen officially became Mets owner in November 2020, the organization has employed this type of strategy with internal free agents on multiple occasions. Most notably, there was a trio of players the Mets tried to re-sign following their 101-win campaign in 2022.
Those players included Nimmo, Edwin Diaz and Jacob deGrom.
New York went two-for-three in this situation, re-signing both Nimmo and Diaz to deals worth more than $100 million each. Diaz’s five-year, $102 million deal is the richest ever for a relief pitcher. Meanwhile, deGrom jetted for the Texas Rangers to sign a five-year, $185 million deal.
Cohen is MLB’s richest owner and is worth close to $20 billion, per Forbes. While a January 9 report from SNY’s Andy Martino said the Mets have a soft budget of $10 million for the remainder of this winter, money is no object for New York. If they want to acquire a player and he signs elsewhere, it’s not because of money, as evidenced in their Yamamoto pursuit.
Alonso Is Already One-of-One in Mets History
Alonso has only been in the big leagues for four full seasons (plus the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign). However, he’s found a way to put himself in rare franchise company. His 192 career home runs already rank fifth in Mets history.
The first baseman’s power production looks even more impressive when viewed yearly. Here’s what he’s done since his MLB debut:
- 2019: 53 home runs, 120 RBI
- 2020: 16 home runs, 35 RBI
- 2021: 37 home runs, 94 RBI
- 2022: 40 home runs, 131 RBI
- 2023: 46 home runs, 118 RBI
Before Alonso came along, there had been just three seasons of 40-plus homers in Mets history. They were accomplished by Todd Hundley (41 in 1996), Carlos Beltran (41 in 2006) and Mike Piazza (40 in 1999), per FanGraphs. So, Alonso has doubled that number all by himself.
He’s had a similar impact in the RBI category. Before Alonso’s debut, there had been three seasons of 118-plus RBI in franchise history. According to FanGraphs, they were accomplished by David Wright (124 in 2008), Piazza (124 in 1999) and Robin Ventura (120 in 1999). Once again, the slugger has doubled this number of occurrences on his own.
Quite simply, the Mets have never produced a position player like Alonso. This is the kind of homegrown talent any team would like to retain on a long-term contract. New York has the means to get a deal done. But it remains to be seen how (or if) an agreement eventually comes to fruition.