A New York Mets insider seems very confident the team will re-sign slugger Pete Alonso. However, he thinks it could be weeks before a deal is finalized.
It has been a productive last couple of months for the Mets. They entered the offseason having the goal of improving a roster that stunned the baseball world by reaching the NLCS in October. And in some ways, they have done that.
The addition of former New York Yankees superstar Juan Soto will offer a major boost to the lineup in 2025. However, if the Mets want him to perform as he did in the Bronx, it would be good if he had homegrown All-Star Pete Alonso hitting behind him in the lineup next season. But the first baseman remains a free agent and available to any team in the league.
Alonso’s market being far weaker than expected has given New York the unexpected chance to re-sign him this winter. Yet, the two sides hit another impasse in negotiations earlier this month. Although it seems like he will be playing elsewhere in March, SNY MLB insider Andy Martino explained on Monday why he thinks the club will re-sign their top power bat. But it will take a very long time.
- Pete Alonso stats (2024): .240 AVG, .329 OBP, .459 SLG, .788 OBP, 34 HR, 88 RBI, 91 R
New York Mets’ last offer to Pete Alonso will be hard for rival teams to beat?
“That final offer from the Mets that Alonso turned down is going to be hard to beat for the Blue Jays,” Martino said Monday night. “That was the $70 million that we talked about for three years. Additional deferred money. That could have been a real win in what ultimately the final dollar figure could have looked like.
“Given what the Blue Jays gave Anthony Santander, which was in the sixties after the deferred money, [Alonso] is probably not going to get as good an offer from Toronto.”
- Pete Alonso contract (Projection): Three years, $85 million
The Blue Jays were viewed as a new favorite in the Pete Alonso sweepstakes but it looks like they are heading in a different direction this offseason. And no other team has emerged yet as a serious contender. So if the Mets do re-sign him when could that be? Well, it could be near the end of the winter.
“I am still getting an expectation that if he comes back it is going to take a while. It easily seems like we can get to spring training and this is still a topic. And when Pete re-signs the Mets could already be in camp. There’s no reason for the Mets to rush.”