Just minutes after the New York Mets completed a historic collapse, falling from first place in the National League East as late as August 2 to finish 13 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and out of the postseason altogether, the most prolific home run hitter in franchise history made an announcement that only made a bad situation worse for the 64-year-old franchise.
Heading into the last day of the regular season, the Mets faced a win-or-go-home game in their finale against the Miami Marlins. Even a win would not be enough. They also needed the Cincinnati Reds to lose to their game against the Milwaukee Brewers. And the Reds did lose, 4-2.
But the Mets could not take advantage of the opportunity that had been handed to them. Rather than rise to the occasion against the 78-83 Marlins, the Mets turned in a lifeless performance mustering only five hits on their way to an anticlimactic 4-0 defeat.
Alonso Makes Expected Announcement
And then, speaking to reporters shortly after the game, and the Mets season, was over, first baseman Pete Alonso — whose 38 home runs were second-most on the team behind Juan Soto’s 43 — announced that he would exercise the opt-out clause in his contract and enter free agency for the second offseason in a row.
The announcement, in all likelihood, ends Alonso’s Mets career after seven seasons — and 264 home runs in a Mets uniform, more than any hitter in the history of the team. Alonso on August 12 belted career homer number 253, passing New York legend Darryl Strawberry who held the franchise record since 1988.
Alonso’s announcement, however, could not be said to come as a surprise to the Mets organization. After a protracted free agency period after the 2024 season, Alonso finally re-signed with the Mets on February 12, just days before the start of Spring Training.
But the two-year, $54 million contract he agreed to in order to reunite with the Mets contained the opt-out clause after his first season — and most baseball insiders expected that Alonso would inevitably choose to exercise it.
Alonso’s Season Ends With a Whimper
Alonso ended his season, and probably his time as a Met, is disappointing fashion. He came the plate Sunday in the fifth inning with two outs and the bases loaded with his team behind 4-0. He drove a 115 mph line drive to left field only to see the Marlins‘ rookie outfielder Javier Sanoja make a leaping grab to end the rally.
This was supposed to be the Mets‘ year, led off by the historic free agent signing on December 8 of Soto to an all-time record contract of $765 million over 15 years.
The Soto signing was just the first of Mets‘ owner Steve Cohen’s lavish expenditures, which added up to a $341,037,794 player payroll, second in MLB only to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For the first few months of the season, the massive investment appeared to be paying off. On June 12, New York led the division by 5 1/2 games over the Phillies, the team with the third-highest payroll ($290 million). But from that date through the end of the season, the Mets managed to win only 38 games while losing 55.
They will presumably regroup and hope to do better next year, but it now appears that Alonso will no longer be a part of the Mets‘ effort to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2015 — and win it for the first time since 1986.
Mets Pete Alonso Announcement Confirms Fears Minutes After Historic Collapse