After turning in one of the strongest offensive performances of his career in 2025, it was an easy decision for Pete Alonso to opt out of the final year of his deal with the Mets and return to the open market. After last year’s contentious trip through free agency that saw Alonso return to Queens only after a soft market left him to sign a short-term deal, it’s understandable that many observers have wondered if this year could be his last in New York. Those questions about Alonso’s future were somewhat amplified by a report that the Mets aren’t especially enamored with Alonso defensively at first base and would intend for him to spend time at DH if he returns to the club next year.
That’s actually something Alonso appears amenable to, however. Agent Scott Boras, who represents Alonso, told reporters (including Tim Healey of The Boston Globe) yesterday that Alonso would be willing to spend at least some time at DH next year, and that would be especially true if he were playing for a winning franchise or in the right situation for that to take place. Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Mets and Alonso have opened talks about a new contract and that there’s a “better feeling” around those early negotiations than was present last winter.
That all creates some reason for optimism among Mets fans that a reunion could be on the table once again this winter. At least on paper, they certainly seem to be the clear best fit for his services around the league. The Mariners and Padres could use help at first base but seem unlikely to spend what it would take to bring in someone like Alonso. Teams like the Pirates and Marlins are in desperate need of offense and are seemingly willing to spend more than usual, but a deal for Alonso would be a massive departure from their usual comfort zone and Alonso himself might prefer to play for a more consistent winner than either of those teams.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any suitors for whom he would be a fit, of course. The Red Sox have been heavily speculated about as a destination for Alonso, and if Alex Bregman departs in free agency Alonso might represent their best chance to add an impactful, right-handed bat to the lineup who can replace him. The Giants had interest in Alonso last year, but have added Rafael Devers to the lineup and moved him to first base since then. Both teams also have young, up-and-coming first base options (Triston Casas, Bryce Eldridge) they’d be displacing by signing Alonso. That further complicates the fit.
Heyman also suggests that there’s at least some interest in Alonso from the Orioles, who will have Samuel Basallo drawing regular at-bats at either first base or DH on days that Adley Rutschman is behind the plate but could look to add someone more reliable than Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle to handle the other position. Alonso would be an interesting fit given the team’s heavily left-handed lineup, but adding pitching figures to be the team’s top priority this winter with most of their rotation headed into free agency and closer Felix Bautista sidelined for most if not all of the 2026 season.
As sensible as the fit between the two sides might seem on paper, that doesn’t mean a reunion is necessarily a slam dunk. The Mets have gotten involved in the market for players making the jump from NPB to MLB in the past, as they were a finalist for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and landed Kodai Senga. They’ve already been connected to Tatsuya Imai on the pitching side of things, but corner infield sluggers Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto could be attractive alternatives to Alonso as well. Murakami, in particular, could have appeal at just 26 years old; president of baseball operations David Stearns went well out of his typical comfort zone to land Juan Soto last winter in part due to him being exceptionally young for a star free agent. Josh Naylor, Ryan O’Hearn, Paul Goldschmidt, and Rhys Hoskins are among the other first basemen on the market this winter, but none besides Murakami can offer anything close to Alonso’s power output.
Good news for the Mets
Why would he not be open to it? he never wants to leave New york. Is Clifford ready for the show?
No. Clifford is a borderline mlb player. Mets are better off with other options.
He never wants to leave NY? I wonder why he chooses to live in Tampa, Florida.
You must know something that even Pete doesn’t seem to know.
Thought Pete is from Florida…
Edit: born Tampa
Yes, he lives in the Tampa/St. Pete area and continues to live there. He’s a Tampa and North and West Florida kid. He even stayed in-state for college at the University of Florida up in Gainesville.
I always find it laughable when we see posters that try to convince others (themselves really) that an athlete who lives somewhere else, often for their entire lives, never wants to leave the city that they play in. And it’s more laughable when you know that the cultures don’t mesh well, like in this case with thinking that a Florida guy loves being around NYers. Yeah, good luck with that. Clearly requires living in a box if that’s the thought process – and clearly has not been around people from where Alonso lives.
FYI to the poster who made the statement – A guy plays for a particular city because he’s paid to. He lives in the place that he loves. and never wants to leave. In this case, he currently plays in NY, but lives and has always lived in the Tampa/St. Pete area his entire life. If it needs clarification. The Mets pay him to play in NY. Pete pays Florida and the Tampa/St. Pete area to live there.
Alonso will leave in a heartbeat if given the money he wants.
I bet this poster was one of the many people that said the same thing about DeGrom until DeGrom made it very clearly that he did not care for NY at all after he signed with Texas – another place where they don’t mesh well with NY culture.
@NYMETSHEA
BTW, my first comment was in reference to @mlbnyyfan’s post.
Sorry if I sound like I was responding to you.
I still doubt my O’s have genuine interest in Alonso, but I would sure like to have him. Mayo really started to get it together in September but its still too soon to say he’s definitely figured it out. Mountcastle realistically shouldn’t be on the team next year. Get the guy that is a reliable offensive producer for a team that has been completely unreliable offensively the past two years.
I don’t want the Orioles going anywhere near Alonso.
I want to improve our mediocre infield defense, not make it dramatically worse, and I don’t trust his bat to age well as he gets further into his 30s.
I get that, Mayo wasn’t all that a great defender but still markedly better than Alonso. As far as his bat goes, I don’t think you have to worry about a Chris Davis 2.0 kind of thing. But we certainly do need a big bat to help this lineup best case scenario is it would be in the outfield but we definitely need it somewhere as this offense is anemic.
I agree that we need to add at least 1 big bat this offseason, but Alonso is a poor fit for the Orioles IMO, and I think there is a very good chance that whoever gives him his $100+ million will regret it in short order if they are not a top spender like LAD, NYY, or NYM.
He’s just such an atrociously bad fielder and baserunner that his bat has to be consistently elite to be worth what he’s going to get from somebody, and he wasn’t consistently elite prior to age 30 so I don’t know why anyone would expect that to change now that he’s on the wrong side of 30.
I smell Chris Davis
Scruff,
So you’re saying Mayo has shown some signs of emulsification and might still blend in well in the bigs?
For me the jury is still out on Mayo. He showed definite signs of improvement at the end of the season but it was tough to look at all the way up to that point. You definitely need to add some offense somewhere to the lineup. You can’t just hope guys stay healthy (Westburg) and produce (O’Neill in both cases) or return to form (Cowser). I would like it to be a big bat in the outfield, but at this point I’ll take any damn offense I can get.
Scruff – I don’t see the Orioles putting up 25M a year for Alonso either. It would be an incremental 17M versus what they would arb for Mountcastle (who should be a non-tender).
I wouldn’t discount the defense being a consideration. They kept Mateo on the team all year in 2025 and had he played full time innings was on pace for 33-35 errors. Plus they lauded him for his defense.
He would be the big RH bat that O’Neill was supposed to be though…so if you don’t tender Mountcastle and didn’t waste the $ on O’Neill, paying Alonso would be roughly the same in 2026.
Yeah the O’ Neill signing is looking most unwise. Obviously you’re stuck with the guy and have to hope you get something from him now. A guy like Kyle Tucker would obviously be a great boon to this offense but thats even less likely.
Honestly I see them trying to duplicate the O’Hearn pickup from 3 years ago, giving Mayo full reign and working Basallo into the 1B mix.
I don’t see how Mountcastle also fits, not for $7-8M in arb. Moving the wall back in was supposed to benefit Mountcastle more than anyone else, he went back to pulling the ball like he did before but balls weren’t going over the wall. They have to do much better with that spot.
He’ll return to the Mets, just wants a better contract.
He’s been wanting that for how many years? Better start watching the THE TOWN and working on that accent. Maybe buy a Garnett jersey and drinkin’ Dunkin’. They’ll need to fill the offensive void of losing Bregman somehow — enter another Boras client.
Final minutes to log your Prediction contest entries — 20 minutes left!
You’re wrong!! Deadline is TONIGHT
Ah, you’re right. Mistook 11pm CT for 11am CT in haste. Thanks for the correction. Glad I beat the incorrect deadline.
Wanting a better contract as the reason he returns to the Mets is correct.
If he was looking where he’d be happy, and didn’t care about money, he’d sign with his hometown Rays.
The problem for Alonso is it’s the exact same market as a year ago only you can probably subtract the Blue Jays and the Giants from it. Maybe the Yankees get the itch to spend some big money but with Ben Rice they don’t really need to
I think if he’s open to DH, the combination of Alonso and the Green Monster would be insane.
It would be but the Sox still have the elephant in that room being Masataka Yoshida. I would sign Alonso and see if there is any interest in either Yoshida or Casas and ship out both if possible
I would dump Yoshida for Alonso but I would not trade Casas.
Very nice of him. Team player.
How nice for one of the worst fielders in all of baseball who is surely demanding a 9 figure contract this offseason to say that he is “open” to “some” DH time for the team he expects to give him $100+ million dollars.
Real team player, that guy.
Why would he want to take his “Cold” Glove defense off the field and only bat and sit on the bench?
Yeah, too much risk of helping the team there.
Gotta focus on Numero Uno.
Putting aside the Heyman/Boras/hype routine,, I’m not sure how a “I’m available for DH duty” helps his value beyond “I’ll try to be a good teammate.”
He can hit for power, play the field (badly) but WAR doesn’t love him, and maybe that’s reflective of his real value. He’s going to get paid, MLBTR has him at 4 years, $110M and that seems both about right for the market, although his ask will be much more. It would be foolish to pay his ask. He’s going to spend a lot more time at DH, regardless.
-9 DRS according to the Fielding Bible for Alonso. Worst among 1Bmen
So let’s say he did cost the Mets 9 runs over his 160 games. His offensive output was pretty good.
Is it better to have a glove guy at 1B that will save you 10 runs but not put up Alonso like offensive numbers?
There are only so many Matt Olsen’s that are elite in the field and bring the thump at the plate.
If one or the other is the choice, maybe having thump at 1B and focusing on defense at other positions isn’t a bad choice
DH is open to some DH time
Some? He’ll DH for whichever teams pays the most.
Exactly.
He would need to share DH duties with Juan Soto over the lifetime of his contract.
Please, don’t every compare Alonso to Soto. Don’t embarrass yourself. Soto’s stool has more ability that Alonso will every have.. The Mets have a conga line of position players and pitchers coming up. If you listen to Stearns, he said that young players are going to get more playing time. this means Alonso is not in the plans. Petes’ insistence on playing every inning of every game, kept the young guys from playing.
Jon Heyman is Boras’ propagandist.
He’ll end up being a dh in a few years anyway. He’s average at best in the field. He’s a liability in the field. Juan Soto will end up being a dh too which is why I think Peter Alonso is moving on from the Mets.
Zero chance hes back on mets
If the Mets want him back, they will pay what it takes. This is partially like the Cano situation with the Yankees years ago. You have a successful player who is a free agent for a team that can pay top dollar for him. Again, if the Mets want him back, they will pay him. If they short the money and/or years, other teams will be in play.
Guessed he watched video of himself.
If he would only talk to Fred McGriff, then Pete would get one of those old Tom Emanski intruction videos.
Resigns with the Mets… Also, sign Bellinger…
Pete is open to saying whatever gets him multiple offers to drive up his next contract
I bet he’d be open to winning some World Series. He’d have to sign with the Red Sox to get that chance
You were good in your comment until you mentioned the Red Sox.
If Pete wants a championship, he would just join the Super Team Dodgers.
The Mets are not going to offer Pete any deal to be the DH “some of the time. He will get a three year offer for $70 million to be the DH all of the time. He already injured Senga and almost injured McLean with the same routing toss Alonso couldn’t make. The Mets are not going to take that chance. Pete needs to come into Spring training 25 pounds lighter if he wants to play some first base..
It’s lunacy, to return Alonso to 1B especially with Soto in RF, ensuring the Mets defense is at best average if at four other positions (2B, SS, 3B, CF) they’re extremely good—not to mention they’ll be weighed down by Nimmo in LF and probably by Alvarez at C.
Statcast has Pete in the lowest 8% by FRV, lowest 2% by OAA, and his arm strength? Lowest 5%, while he’s since joined the slowest 8% by foot speed, with a catcher-like 25.3 fps. “But I’m willing to DH now and then,” says the dump truck.
A line of 253/311/485 for his last 549 PA, but he wants a 7-year deal based on his lucky April?
Thanks, Pete. See you around sometime.
@JackStrawb
Good to see a Mets fan speak logically. People seem to ignore that the Mets, with Pete this season, didn’t make the playoffs – only 4 games ahead of the Marlins in the division. A lot of that was based on the Mets fouling up many of the “little things”, like defense.
As a Marlins fan, I’d love to see Alonso playing 1B for a team that has Nimmo in LF, Soto in RF, McNeil at 2B, Vientos at 3B, and Alvarez at C. One of the big “little things” that affect winning.
Boras to Polar Bear…we’re gonna get a couple “mystery teams” involved to keep you relevant…Pete will be sitting at home until late April lol with Boras representing him.
Good hyperbole.
Personally, I feel the reality is that Pete will be somewhere in Spring Training. If the Mets and other big markets short him on years and money, I think he looks to one of the teams near his hometown, starting with the Rays, and possibly the Marlins, Rangers, Astros, or Braves.
I know some may look at Rays and Marlins and think I’m nuts, but they’re the Florida teams where he has lived his entire life. The Rays, Pete’s hometown team, just got a new owner with deeper pockets. The Marlins have extremely low payroll and are a target of MLBPA, while having one of their two main needs be 1B/DH bat. The Braves are in play if the price and years come down for Pete if he’s the better choice for them instead of bringing Ozuna back. Astros and Rangers are a fit for him if the price and years come down.
If things move to where these five teams are in play, Pete signs with one of them. And that’s before we mention the tax benefits in Florida and Texas.
Again, the reality is he’ll be somewhere for Spring Training.
Tax benefits. Ha ha. ha.
Do you know anything about the taxes in Florida or Texas?
Based on your laughter, I’m pretty sure you don’t. But please enlighten me…or troll elsewhere.
Open to some DH- as he should be. It’s a good ploy as I think he will be hard pressed again this off season to get the kind of money he “thinks” he is worth
He’s slightly better than Josh Naylor, who also had a lucky 2025, but Alonso’s two years older.
What would Naylor turning 31 instead of 29 have gotten as a FA in the 2025-26 offseason…. 3/50m?