Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns addressed a few topics. In an appearance on The New York Post’s podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, he touched on the future of first baseman Pete Alonso as well as the club’s outfield and relief groups.
Stearns reaffirmed the Mets have no desire to trade Alonso this offseason. The new baseball operations leader said he’s “pretty darn confident (Alonso) is going to be our first baseman on Opening Day.” He wasn’t committal on the three-time All-Star’s longer-term future in Queens. While Stearns predictably indicated they’d love to keep Alonso beyond the 2024 season, he spoke generally about the challenges of extending players who are deep into their club control window.
“We also understand that as players approach free agency, there’s often a desire to test free agency,” Stearns said. “It’s really tough to line up on these types of deals in the last year of a player’s team control, the last year of arbitration.” The baseball operations president declined to go into detail about Alonso’s status specifically.
That said, Stearns’ broad reference to the difficulty of extending a player one year from the open market aligns with recent reporting on Alonso. Newsday’s Tim Healey indicated in early December there’d been no extension talks this offseason. As part of a reader mailbag yesterday, The Athletic’s Tim Britton wrote there is “little expectation that there will be substantive negotiations about a contract extension” at any point before the end of 2024.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Alonso for a $22MM salary in his final arbitration season. The sides will either agree upon a ’24 salary or exchange filing figures for a potential hearing by tomorrow’s deadline. If the slugger turns in a typical season, he’d likely look for a contract in excess of $200MM when he hits the open market. There might be renewed chatter about Alonso’s trade availability around the deadline if the Mets fall from contention, but the current organizational hope is seemingly that he’ll re-sign after testing the free agent waters.
That was the approach taken by Brandon Nimmo last offseason. Nimmo turned in a strong first season of his eight-year, $162MM deal. He hit .274/.363/.466 with 24 homers in a career-high 682 trips to the plate. That’s more than enough offense to profile in a corner outfield spot. That seems likely after the Mets brought in glove-first center fielder Harrison Bader on a one-year, $10.5MM deal last week.
Stearns indicated the specific outfield alignment is yet to be determined, but he noted that Nimmo has shown a willingness to do whatever the team feels is best. Plugging Bader in center would kick Nimmo to left field on most days. Starling Marte is still the presumptive starter in right as he looks to rebound from an injury-plagued, disappointing season. That could push DJ Stewart — who hit well in 58 games late in the year — to the designated hitter mix.
The Mets have been linked to more substantive additions (i.e. J.D. Martinez, Justin Turner) at the DH spot. While Stearns indicated he wouldn’t “close the door on anything” on the position player side, he cautioned they’re reluctant to take too many at-bats from young players. Brett Baty and Mark Vientos are in the mix at third base and DH, although the Mets lost Ronny Mauricio for most or all of the season when he tore his ACL in winter ball.
One area where another acquisition seems likely: the bullpen. Stearns confirmed reports they’re still looking to add to the relief corps. In a subsequent video call with various reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com), he indicated they’ll look for pitchers who offer a different repertoire or approach to some of the in-house options.
New York has a heavily right-handed bridge to star closer Edwin Díaz. The only southpaw who is guaranteed to start the year in the bullpen is Brooks Raley. Low-cost free agent pickups Michael Tonkin, Jorge López and Austin Adams join Drew Smith and Phil Bickford in the projected middle relief group.
Why was Alonso not extended a loooooooooonnngggggggg time ago?
Good question‼️
Same question with Ohtani…
Other than being whiney he does only one thing well. The package they can get back for him would be worth it because whatever long-term contact he gets, it’s not going to age well just before the halfway mark.
He’s a one trick pony and not worth what he thinks he’s worth.
It’s a pretty good “one trick,” being the best power hitter in baseball. And a clean power hitter with no steroid or HGH accusations.
He’s also one of the best clubhouse guys in MLB. The ownership, fan base and teammates absolutely love him.
So yeah, there’s a pretty strong case to lock him up long term. Unless, of course, people want to complain who AREN’T Mets fans.
He’s Dave Kingman, v2.0. If ownership loved him, he’d have been locked up. And the reason he hasn’t…because ownership knows he isn’t going to get what he thinks he’s asking for.
@SeeUonTheUlnarSide He’s not even the best power hitter in the NL East. Olson and Schwarber hit more bombs last year.
@Padam
Kingman was a career 115 OPS+ and compiled 17.7 bWAR until age 37. Alonso is at 136 OPS+ and 17.3 bWAR at 29.
If his teammates love him so much, why don’t they protect him when he gets hit by pitch ? How many times did he get hit, without a Met pitcher throwing at the other team. There’s something wrong there.
You are citing one year. Look at the numbers since Pete came to MLB. He’s a better power hitter than anyone in MLB.
I’d take Pete any day over Schwarber, as would every MLB team. Olson has the benefit of playing in a much better and consistent hitting lineup with the Braves. Put him on the Mets and he’s back to what he was with the A’s.
People forget that last season was his only down year and that’s only because he was playing with an injured wrist and he still managed to hit 46 bombs
@yankee – it was a half sarcastic joke. Outside of the overstated WAR and Kingman playing on bad teams for the majority of his career, they both did only one thing well. At least Kingman could attempt a few innings in the OF.
@seeu – Olson plays solid D. Alonso is charged with an error the moment he steps on the field.
I’m citing the last currently available meaningful statistics. The most meaningful if you’re trying to extrapolate.
So we should crown Schwarber and Olson “greats” because of their 2023 campaigns?
By your logic, Blake Snell would be “better” than Sandy Koufax because Snell won Cy Young last year and Koufax didn’t pitch….
That’s some interesting logic.
foxsports.com/mlb/peter-alonso-player-stats?catego…
foxsports.com/mlb/matt-olson-player-stats?category…
Your math skills are lacking, Ace….
One of the best clubhouse guys in MLB?? Whatever you’re smoking, I want some. There were reports of him having negative clubhouse value this past season. Not even saying these reports were true but out of the 900 major leaguers, there’s at least 800 of them have never had such rumors. Definitely not “one of the best clubhouse guys.” And as far as his trick being a really good one: when I look at comparable for Alonso there are two very clear ones: Ryan Howard and Chris Davis. His profile doesn’t age well. As a Mets fan, I can’t wait for them to trade him
Like Ulnar said, it’s an elite trick. The guy is 251-342-538 with a 136 OPS+ in one of the toughest hitters’ park in baseball. Over 40HR and 100RBI in three of his four full years. Leads all players in HR and RBI last five years, along with a positive DRS two of the last three years. The 205 BABIP last year was a fluke. He’ll have a more normal year and will get paid. My worry is how he’ll age when he’s 33-36.
He would have 99% of all Mets offensive records if he stays a Met. That’s pretty special.
Because he’s a union guy that believes in free agency. Lindor was extremely reluctant to extend and Conforto outright refused an extension.( to his own detriment). All 3 are big MLBPA supporters.
No home town discount means risk to all sides. Lindor is overpaid and Conforto in hindsight made the wrong decision. Who will offer Alonso more? Likely no one so barring an injury or “Judge like-final contract” year season, he’ll test free agency and most likely end up re-inking with the Mets.
@dewey A 6.0 bWAR player playing a premium position and is the face of a large of market club making $34MM is overpay?
Why was Alonso not extended
=====================
Why aren’t all free agents extended?
He wants a Pujols-level 10 year 300 million deal. Let some other team pay him until age 40. If he won’t sign a reasonable extension on reasonable terms, yes he needs to be traded and traded sooner rather than later. It’s a lost year anyway.
I agree with you, I wouldn’t give him a 10 year deal, maybe 5, if not trade him now before the season starts. Trade him to the Cubs along with Quintana for Steele, Ben Brown and Morel, this gives the Mets 2 young starters and a good bat. I wouldn’t stop there, trade McNeil, Vientos and a SS prospect to Seattle for Gilbert or Kirby. Sign Hoskins and Soler to make up for the power lost.
Rotation of: Senga, Steele, Severino, Manaea and Brown/Vasil.
Nimmo, Lindor, Hoskins, Soler, Morel, Alvarez, Marte, Baty and Bader.
Why on earth would the Cubs do that deal? Lmao
He’ll never get that type of deal… i think 7 max and that would be a desperate team
Because he wants to test free agency. Most players do. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to stay. He just wants to see how much he can get.
I believe Pete’s 900k signing bonus in 2016 and 555k for 2019 ROY helped allow him patience for free agency.
The Yankees stink. Cashman is embarrassment with all the “interest” too bad no one is interested in playing for the Yankees. The Mets are actually a better team. And has a better front office. When cashman could write checks like Cohen and there was a chance at a winning team players wanted to sign with the Yankees. Past 10 years + they can’t sign anyone. Don’t say Cole. lol he’s 1. And AJ was young he’s stupid lol to sign his career away with a losing team. Should have went to San Fran of LA or houston. Watch all the clean shaven Yankees hit .200 or less this year.
The Yankees were not a losing team. Mets better? How? Their record was worse than the Yankees. The yankees have a better offense especially after trading for Soto. The Mets best pitcher is kodai and Gerrit Cole is much better. Their rotations after that are much murkier, but id rather have the Yankees rotation as it sits over the Mets rotation. Outside of diaz the Mets bullpen isn’t good, the Yankees are better in that department as well. All Alonzo does is hit home runs, he forgot to hit anything besides that, just look at last seasons average. Judge is a better power hitter and can actually hit for average, now they have Soto too. So in what world are the Mets the better team? The Mets have a better catcher, 1st basemen, and shortstop, other than that give me dj at third over any of baty or vientos, the outfield is definitely in the Yankees favor, their bullpen is better than the Mets, and their rotations are about even but give me the Yankees cause of Cole. In no way is the Mets better than the Yankees.
@Braves St. Celtics
Why respond to troll bait?
Everyone always goes right to Cole. Yes he’s great. But how many wins did the team leave in the table for him? Hi mane games did he lose giving up 2 or less runs? Exactly. And the Mets were the better team so what if they lost a handful more games. You said it yourself, better team.
I’m a Mets fan and I agree with you.
Precursor to Alonso being gone at the trade deadline.
They can pull in quite a haul for him. May not be a popular move, but it makes a lot of sense.
Team control, that’s the only reason I can think of. If his agent is Boras then you know he’s not giving away anything.
Nor should he, whether or not Boras reps him.
Loyalty is a two-way street.
@ Blue Baron
Up until free agency the player gets what the team gives. I can see why a player would be resentful at the team if they never seriously offered him anything more than the necessary one year contract. In the case of Jose Ramirez he just walked away from tens of millions of dollars making himself look like an idiot while making Cleveland ownership extra profit. The loyalty to ownership sounds a lot like plantation owner & his slaves to me. The current system is stacked in favor of the “owners” until the slaves become “free agents”.
They live, Ramirez walked away from nothing. He’s happy and additional money doesn’t guarantee more happiness. I wish I was in their shoes but if I were, I’d have to consider family, etc. Without getting into politics, there are many places I would not want to live if I had a choice. Some because of weather but others because of beliefs and choices.
For tax purposes Texas & Florida are the best places to play. Southern California has the weather Being a native Californian if I’m a player I’d want to play for the 3 Southern California teams. Seattle is too far north & isolated. The other 27 teams offer extreme weather, Astro-turf, or the typical large city problems. I’m not sure what would motivate a player to want to play out his career in Cleveland.
THEY LIVE – it’s interesting that you said Jose is an idiot for walking away from millions of dollars. He didn’t do that for Cleveland ownership, he did it because he is HAPPY in Cleveland (shockingly). But I’ll take that any day. He’s a baseball player that puts the game before money. Really don’t think the idiot is who you think it is in this situation.
You must be a Cleveland fan I’d assume❓I personally like Ramirez and respect the player & the man. His agent should have done better for him being he’s the #1 3B in MLB.
Why? The more he takes, the less a team like Cleveland has to spend elsewhere? The sport needs more people like Ramirez, not less.
I don’t think slaves made the MLB minimum.
“Up until free agency”..200M dollar “slaves”, right? I love how dumb, out of touch people who obviously watch too much tv, compare being a million dollar athlete to being a “slave”. Clearly, you have no idea what “slavery” entails nor should you be talking about it. What next dum dum, 40M a year supermodels as “slaves”?
“Up until free agency”..So you suggesting that “slaves” have unions to protect their rights and travel in private planes with 1st class accommodations and high end restaurants?..What a dweeb.
You’re again putting money at the root of happiness… Which is sad.
Think of the money Ohtani saved by postponing his salary until after he leaves the Dodgers and California
Loyalty is a two-way street.
=========================
I think it is more about the numbers and the environment than loyalty. Betts was never going to stay in Boston for the next ten years if he preferred the LA environment. The RS were never going to match the Padres contract with Bogaerts, no matter how much they liked the guy.
It’s the same with us commoners.
@THEY Live,
Boras isn’t the problem. It’s the Mets. Boras wants to talk contract now. Mets don’t.
LOL because Boras wants free agent money in any extension. Pete’s realistic value is 22-24M for 5-6 years. He’s not signing for that now.
@ Longtime Fan
Boras talks a big game but he always has his own interests first. He always tells the client to go to Free Agency. In this case who is going to outbid the Mets for Alonso❓I’d imagine nobody.
I disagree. A player agent is legally obligated to put the client’s interests first.
If Boras didn’t do that so effectively, he wouldn’t be so highly regarded by players.
Blue, there are risks and ethically you’re right. In the real world though Boras does a projection based on his clients. it doesn’t mean it’s accurate individually. He’ll get more than expected for some and less for others but the same fee percentage for all. Personal injury lawyers do the same thing. They advertise their wins but don’t mention they occasionally get a case dismissed or lose at trial. You have to freeze the screen to see the small print on TV.
Boras puts his clients interests first. Key there is client(s). He has no qualms about screwing over one or many of those on his books to benefit his client base as a whole. That’s why he almost always takes his guys all the way to free agency. He lobbies hard against his guys taking early team friendly extensions even if that’s what would make them the happiest, because he needs that leverage for all his clients.
But the key point is that he takes his clients to free agency if, and only if, that’s what they want.
It’s their decision, not his.
He’s a very convincing person and a smooth talker. He convinces young players with little life experience to subscribe to his strategy. He does not always do what is best for them. Sure, ultimately it’s the players decision. But that doesn’t mean Boras isn’t taking advantage of some of his guys to help others.
I think they’ll offer Pete something big like they did to Nimmo and keep him, like the article speculated, that is if he really wants to stay in Queens.
I’ve never commented on mlbtraderumors, and have followed 15÷ years. This is the most embarrassing off-season I’ve ever seen, Stearns is fastly becoming a fire on sight candidate. DO SOMETHIMG. I dont want to wait around for around losing year. This is pathetic. Maybe Hoskins and a capable DH or Chapman or for God’s sake sitting on your thumbs which i know you’re into. Bring brody back (never thought I’d utter those words). Stearns and Cohen are pathetic idiots.
Maybe you should go back to not commenting. Stearns has been here a few months and already you want him fired. Calm down. They’re already way over the CBT. What would you have him do? You say Hoskins and Chapman; well, they’re both still available. imo, Chapman is going to cost way too much and will be a bad contract in a few years. Hoskins is intriguing but who knows what he’s asking?
Wanting BVW back is hilarious. A couple months into the Stearns regime and you want a failure like BVW back. He got Diaz (at an enormous cost) but here’s his free agent signings: signed Familia (horrible), Wilson Ramos (meh), Rajai Davis (dud), Jed Lowrie (horrible), Michael Wacha (dud), Porcello (horrible), Dellin Betances (horrible), and a whole host of other guys who did squat for the Mets. He did do a few good trades (JD Davis and Stroman) and drafted Baty and PCA, but Stearns hasn’t had a draft yet.
Give Stearns some time before you want him gone. At least wait until the offseason is over. Jeez.
My only issue with Stearns is firing Buck. He was well liked and a great baseball mind. He gets replaced by a bench coach. Raw deal,
and very unprofessional. Buck did not have the bad year, the players did.. He was told who to play (Vogleback).
Cohen is paying 150M in luxury taxes. You’re right he’s an idiot.
@CleaverGreene: That idiot has been more successful and made a lot more money than most of can dream about.
I’ve been a die hard Met fan for numerous years. Mets fans that don’t get it make comments like this.
I’m kind of surprised Stearns even committed that much to Pete. He put almost no resources into 1B/DH while with Milwaukee, and just kind of assumed that would continue.
I guess having an almost infinite budget has changed his view on the position. I’m so excited to see how he operates in such a different market.
It was infinite. Now its currently spent. How much additional cash above the current payroll do YOU actually believe he has been given for this year?
More and more, the problem seems to be David Stearns who doesn’t appear wanting to extend Alonso. Scott Boras has repeatedly said he’s very open to talking about extension this offseason. Alonso wants to be a Met long term but Mets seem uninterested which is disgraceful. The man bleeds Orange and Blue and yet the Mets are fully responsible for this unnecessary cloud hanging over Alonso and Mets fans.
If Mets force Alonso into signing with another team, it will be unforgivable for many Mets fans including me.
And if Arte trades Shohei at the deadline or let’s him walk, every Halo fan is gon…Wait..nevermind..
Boras always says that in public. He makes it sound like yeah of course we are open to an extension, send an offer right over. What isn’t mentioned is the massive overpay you have to send over to get his client to actually sign the extension. When you are a year away and have boras you are almost certainly going to free agency. Between Soto and Burnes boras can slow up and clog up another free agent market next year.
And Boras also has Bregman, Altuve, Cole (if he opts out), etc. Next year’s FA market will be a Turtle Race.
Overpay? Paying a player what the market will bear is, by definition, not an overpay.
Funny, overpay is a term that only fans throw around. You’ll never hear it from anyone actually involved in MLB.
“You’ll never hear it from anyone actually involved in MLB”…Aren’t the guys, players and ex-players on “MLB Network” actually “involved” in MLB?…I hear them talking about “overpays” 5 or 6 times a week.
@mlb fan: The media are not part of MLB. Owners, players, and team and league staff are.
The media are outside observers, only somewhat better informed than fans.
If he wants to be on the team so bad, he should just sign a blank contract, like I believe Don Baylor once did.
Yeah, if Pete is ‘team first’, sign a reasonable 7/165M extension.
@stymeedone: What a dumb comment. Nobody should ever sign a blank contract.
How much do you give Alonso, mate? be honest.
Freeman got 6/$162, $27/yr in 2022; Olson got 8/$168mm, $21/yr. in 2022.
I’d give Pete 6/$150, $25/yr and I could make the argument that’s an overpay.
He’s a one trick pony that can barely field 1B. As soon as his bat speed fades you got Chris Davis 2.0. Infinite budget or not the Mets are smart to not extend him to an excessive extension.
Obviously you don’t watch baseball he is an above average 1st baseman
I must not see enough Met games because from what I have seen of Alonso he is a good 1st baseman. A lot of people say Muncy can’t play 3rd either, which is not true. I’ve also heard that Freddie can’t play 1st. Which is not true either. Also that Altuve sucks at 2B. Which is not true either.
Muncy is terrible at 3rd base. I watch a lot of baseball. Muncy routinely misplays balls hit directly at him. I’ve seen him block balls with his gut & chest as if he thinks that’s how you’re supposed to play the position.
“I must not see enough Met”…Did you just compare a a “ham hands” defender like Pete Alonso to a gold glove defender like Freddy Freeman.?…Pete wants 35% more $ than Freddy Freeman, but only offers HALF(at best) of his overall, all around value.
And most make less than $20MM per season. He deserves to be paid above average, not at the top of the market.
Above average offensively, yes. Above average on defense and anywhere else?..Not really. I think it’s already been established on this thread that Pete is a “one trick” Pony with an elite “one trick”.
Extend or trade Alonso. Pick one or the other.
Why not let him play out his deal and then sign him back?
Why not sign now? Why not gain prospects and sign another 1B?
Prospect return will be lower than expected for one year of Alonso. Boras and Alonso want to test the market. Let him. Sign him next year.
Low or not, there would be a prospect return. Mets are going nowhere in 2024. They should be reloading for 2025. Either sign Alonso now or trade him.
We will have the same conversation soon with Bo and Vlad.
They will. Eventually. Just not now.
Anticipate a trade
Mets fans need to start wrapping their minds around the fact that Pete is gone. Stearns isn’t going to overpay Bora$ for a slugging 1B/DH. And Bora$ isn’t going to take anything less. Trade him before it’s too late.
It’s not that hard to wrap one’s mind around. It happens all the time.
They should just trade him now and get the most value they can if they don’t plan on extending him. Feel like that’s what Stearns is setting up here.
I’d just like for the Mets to pickup a slugging DH like Turner or JD, of course along with bullpen pieces.
“pretty darn confident (Alonso) is going to be our first baseman on Opening Day.”
==================================
If I were a Mets fan, that statement would not inspire confidence. I’m not saying he’ll trade him, and maybe he is trying to get an advantage in negotiations, but that definitely sounds like Stearns has been talking with other GMs.
That’s the way it should be. The answer to, will he or won’t he be traded?” Should always be, “It depends on what we can get back.” If someone blows them out of the water with a prospect package and takes on his entire salary, why wouldn’t you listen? Being confident he’s the opening day first baseman just means he doesn’t expect that kind of offer.
Best move with Pete is to let him become a FA
The market will set his price. The Mets slightly top that price
That’s right.
Mets fans gotta relax just wait. Cohen and Stearns right now are in a vindictive mood. They were pissed that Mark A. wouldn’t let them partner up for the last couple of years for free. We held on to Stearns unless we got a good compensation for him. So Stearns did everything he could to screw the Brewers over in trades or signings without actually looking like he was doing a bad job. Now they are going to wait until Burnes and Adames become free agents. Let Woodruff heals up this year then your going to see them sign all four next off-season. You will have Burnes, Woodruff, Adames and Alonso all on new contracts with Baty, Vientos and the catcher really taking off. All along teaching Mark not to say no to the great Cohen lol
Players like Alonso= have completed 4 or 5 of controllable seasons and have already made enough money that 2-3 generations of their family can live without working.
These players have a small risk, as a serious injury can end their career before they gain true wealth but that isn’t the problem it would have been prior to arbitration.
Players deserve FA and I’m all for players playing where they want and making as much money as they can.
That said, as a fan, I would love to see some incentive for teams to keep their players so more players spend more than 6 years with their team.
What I have come up with is a CBT “credit” to teams for homegrown players.
For every season after they qualify for FA, a contract only counts 90% toward the CBT if they remain with the team they spent the majority of their 6 controllable seasons with.
To qualify, a player must be on the team prior to arbitration. Then a 10yr / $200 contract would be $20M AAV for everyone else but $18M if he agrees to stay.
Interesting. The small market clubs would never agree to that as most have no interest (“can’t afford”) in retaining homegrown players and want their full cut of their revenue-sharing checks.
I agree that owners not wanting or trying to be competitive is a problem in MLB.
Forbes listed the Oakland A’s as the 3rd most profitable team in 2022 for Pete’s sake (see what I did there?)
This will not address that.
What it does do is give the teams that want to win (majority in my opinion) an incentive to not let their stars walk and help keep players on the same team longer more often.
I think I’m the only Mets fan on earth that hopes they trade Alonso. His profile doesn’t suggest long term success. His best comps for long term contract are Ryan Howard and Chris Davis. Big power hitters don’t age well. They have one trick, and if their bat speed slows even slightly (whether it be age or laziness after getting paid) that one trick falls apart. The best comp for someone who was successful late in their career was Big Papi, but the Red Sox never gave him that big contract and made him fight for his money. Not coincidentally, he dropped 20-30 pounds late in his career to reinvent himself