The biggest news of a relatively quiet Winter Meetings dropped on the final day. Pete Alonso is headed to Baltimore (pending a physical) on a massive five-year deal. His departure from the Mets had been telegraphed by the team's reported reluctance to go beyond three years. It's nevertheless jarring for a team that has spent at the top of the league to be comfortably outbid on the franchise's all-time home runs leader by a mid-market Orioles club.
Alonso's departure came one day after the Mets let Edwin Díaz walk to the Dodgers. They're a few weeks removed from trading Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien. Clearly, president of baseball operations David Stearns and his front office weren't happy to run it all back after the team melted down in the second half. They've signed Devin Williams to replace Díaz. We've yet to see how they'll respond to the losses on the position player side. There's plenty more to come -- no team is complete on December 10 -- but the 2026 Mets will look a lot different than the teams of the past few seasons.
At the beginning of the offseason, Stearns spoke about a need to improve the pitching and defense (link via Will Sammon of The Athletic). Aside from the Williams signing, they've waited out the pitching market so far. Their position player moves, or lack thereof, suggest they're indeed focused on getting more athletic. Semien remains an excellent defensive second baseman. Alonso's lack of defensive value is a big reason they were reluctant to pay him into his mid-30s.
Where do they go from here?
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Jesus?
I bet he would swing a mean piece of wood
Being the son of a carpenter, I’d imagine he could fire up a lathe and make his own bats… good ole Jerusalem Sluggers.
Felipe and Matty > Jesus
Nothing to do with Mets’ 1B dilemma. Actually, Jesus Alou was an excellent defender. Matty and Felipe were downright awful defensively. In the case of Matty, he had very poor range which was surprising considering that he was a very fast runner.
@wifflemeister:
Yes, but he’d have to DH as he has no glove.
Goldschmidt & McNeil.
Assuming they can sign Tucker, no easy task, I was thinking exactly the same things. McNeil has fairly even splits, but Goldy is still a star hitter against lefties. With Tucker on board the lineup would be looking reasonably good.
No hit curveball.
Bet if you hung a curve, he’d nail it.
Heard he was a clubhouse cancer. Always complaining about the swearing and cussing. Didn’t like to drink beer. A buzz kil on the road. Always walking around acting all “holier than thou” … literally.. you know… because of his Pops and all.
Actually Jesus was drunk or on drugs thru much of the New Testament.
Son, according to the well preserved text itself and even secular accounts, that’s just not the truth.
And didn’t I tell you that you’re grounded indefinitely from Reddit?
I’d have to agree. He used a “miracle” to turn water into wine. Who does that? A wino is who I’ll tell you!! (I’m very envious of that little trick)And Lazarus, I’m not totally convinced he was dead to begin with, maybe dead drunk? That said he might be what the Mets need to stop this exodus.
You’re not a fan of the man, Jesus? Well you’d be an outlier although in company. Not many like tricksters, but slander is common to paint a personal narrative.
Hurt people hurt people, son. Im here when you’re ready to get out of the mess in your mind.
First thing I thought of was the movie Slapshot.
But Dave’s out. Who’s gonna take his place?
Is the answer Jesus?
Another first baseman?
Ohearn
If Phillip Rivers can come out of retirement, so can fellow San Diego legend Eric Hosmer!
Tucker, Bregman, Bellinger, trades, etc. Mets got Cohen money they’ll be okay
It’s still up to the upper management to spend it.
Anyone who has an ounce of faith in Stearns hasn’t been paying attention.
I think you missed when they gave Soto the biggest MLB contract EVER
I think you missed how that was clearly Cohen, and that Stearns would have walked away long before the bidding got to $700m.
Cohen signed Soto, Stearns had nothing to do with that
Cohen is not going anywhere near these guys as all 3 on wrong side of 30 who will command 6-10 yr deals! Not happening
Not many under 30 that are worth 6-10 year deals. Most become available at 29/30/31.
Tucker is 28. Stearns has to make a BIG move soon. Theyve already lost the fan base. Its suicide to do nothing major very soon. We are very impatient when we have no idea what the actual plan is
Suarez is pretty much the only option and he’ll accept a 3 year deal 3/60M gets it done most likely.
Trade for 1B Willson Contreras, then start signing all the free agents.
Everyone knows it will be Vientos. Period. Cheap and under team control for another 3 years. Right up Stearns’ alley.
If they say that at least use a real 1b, bring up Clifford
I think they want Clifford at 1B
“Defense first”
I mean, Vientos ain’t good enough to play 3B defensively and 1B is wide open so it’s perfectly reasonable to give him a shot and see if the bat plays.
I like swaggy v and all but I don’t see him being good enough to play first either. Not as bad as third but I still don’t think it’ll be pretty
If vientos can find the 2024 version of himself it’d be great.
I wonder if Ketel marte could be an option first…
I heard Lucas Duda has never officially retired….
For some reason, I can’t add this, but never mind he’s a hitting coach at a college
Can probably pick up Teo from LA for free and move him to first.
So you want a feeble outfielder to move to 1st where he will handle the ball a lot more? Alonso wasn’t good defensively either but Teo could easily be worse.
Not “easily.” Not when LaBonzo was in the bottom 8th percentile in all of OAA, FRV, Arm, and even baserunning.
Petey’s a stump, easily the worst full-time 1Bman in MLB.
Enjoy the 5.4 fWAR for your $155 million, O’s.
Actually it’s easier to judge 1B with the eye test (if you know what to look for) than it is with half knowledgeable use of stats. The stats at 1B are misleading generally as they focus little on stretching. Sure, range matters and we need stats for that (they can be skewed by making a few nice plays on popups) (arm matters less than any position but is a nice plus if they have a cannon). The majority of plays they can make a difference on are bang bang plays where they stretch (see Freddie Freeman do a split towards the throw). Pete is good at scooping but that is misleading too because he doesn’t stretch much from what Ive seen.
All your points don’t erase the fact that Alonso is obese, has nor range, can’t throw or run. Plumpy can stretch, but each time he does, is a potential injury. Plumpy doesn’t’ dive for a ball, he falls in the balls direction. He is a back injury with every bounce his big body can take.
So you obviously never watched him play is what you’re saying ?
So you’re obviously not a baseball fan, is what you’re saying.
Another “but muh eye test!” imbecile. Did you really not know we count all this stuff?
@Jack
Stop being so disrespectful. What he is saying is that while Alonso might suck as a 1b at least he knows the position as opposed to bringing in a guy who is 2 years older, equally unathletic defensively and has never played the position
Trade Senga, McNeil, Peterson, and Lindor. Reset the tax penalty, lean into a youth movement, and go crazy next off-season!
Makes no sense. The Mets can easily contend in 2026 (well, they could with a different POBO) by signing a #1 SP, Bellinger, trading for Kwan, starting Benge in CF, and using Jett as their MI and backup CFer in place of Acuna.
Add Suarez and Tyler Rogers to the bullpen to go with Williams, Raley, and Minter, add two more MIRPs, and be disappointed if you only win 90.
Have mommy ‘splain to you that most teams make dozens of moves in the offseason, and that the Mets have been running $340 million payrolls.
That’s 5 moves to
^^^this one^^^
Senga can bring back 2 or 3 minor leaguers cos he’s damaged goods after what happened to him in September.
Other than us getting an ace, id like to see us sign Imai. I love any Asian that wants to beat the dodgers, not join em. 😂
Not a bad plan as the Mets missed on most of the players on this continent…
He has a ton of work to do. A very inefficient roster payroll wise. Honestly, moving on from the duo of Nimmo and Alonso should predicate a movement on from McNeil. May as well tear the band aid off.
I am alone on this but I think simply an innings eater like Bassitt would be sufficient until the youngsters come around. A trade would be okay too.
As far as offense, he could spread the money around or make one splash and a few smart signings.
Honestly, even Cohen won’t let Stearns leave them as bridesmaids in everything. Fans expect Bellinger, Imai, Okamoto, etc… It’s how he fills out three (or four) positions, at least two pen slots and maybe a starter.
Best bet might be taking a contract in order to get something else. Starter with a position player (Oakland, Pittsburgh), Position player with a pen arm, etc…
Anyone who thinks Cohen will increase strings for Stearns after last year are kidding themselves. He has a limited string since the backlash is going to impact Cohen.
I don’t think they need to move on from McNeil. With his buyout, he’s on a one year, $17.75 million deal. That’s palatable for a guy who can play OF and 2B. If they *can* find a suitor, great. If not, it’s not a bad thing to carry him. If he’s playing well but they’re not in contention, they can flip him at the deadline and eat money to get a decent prospect in return. If he’s not playing well, oh well. You move on at the end of the year.
He is the central clubhouse issue…ground zero, unfortunately.
You may be right about that. Not being inside of the clubhouse and hearing only rumors, I wouldn’t speculate. Plenty of hotheads on teams that have won.
Not only that but, theyre referencing one post game spat and turned it into a huge feud. Ive personally had enough mcneill
Nimmo released that info to Puma after the trade. Watch some more come out about Soto and Lindor and Mendoza.
Sign Bellinger and Bregman, than the Mets can include Baty in a Skubal deal
Baty and what?
1 of Sproat or Tong, McNeil and Wenninger
That wouldn’t come close to landing Skubal.
I bet it would for one year of skubal
Bellinger would be the 4th ex-Yankee to move to Queens over the last 2 winters. Signing him would be on brand for LOLmets.
Rhys Hoskins, of course.
lmaooo that would certainly be something. McNeil and Hoskins in the same dugout.
Sounds about as contentious as Lindor and Soto in thr same dugout. Or Lindor and McNeil.
Call the Angels about Jorge Soler. Pretty sure they’re willing to let him go for peanuts.
1. Lindor – SS
2. Soler – DH
3. Soto – RF
4. Vientos – 1B
5. Alvarez- C
6. Baty – 3B
7. Semien – 2B
8. Taylor/Benge – CF
9. McNeil – LF
I would expect an upgrade in LF, but even still this line up is decent.
No its not lmao
Get Teoscar from the Dodgers and bat him clean up, drop everyone 1 spot
@SoCalBrave You’re trolling. That lineup’s ridiculous for a team running $340 million payrolls. Soler has had one good year out of his last three, and an 87 OPS+ in 2025 with just 12 HR and pitiful defense.
And you’re batting him #2.
You’ve got three guys likely to be league average hitters or better. That’s it. Everyone else either isn’t likely to be that good or has essentially no chance.
@SoCal Yep. They’d give up Soler for almost nothing to take the cash off the books.
Alvarez is garbage
Belli maybe.
Muck the Fetz!!!
Probably Vientos or Baty, plus they have Ryan Clifford almost ready
Here is what the Giants should do NOW: Sign Tucker. Sign Dom Smith. Trade Devers to the Mets for what? What do they have that we want? Start the season with Eldredge in Sacramento. Bring him up when he forces the decision. The Giants would have better defense and better balance and the Mets get a big-time name to replace Alonso at first.
“Trade Devers to the Mets for what? What do they have that we want?”
How about nothing? No idea why the Mets would be interested in paying a DH about $250 million over the next eight years. If they wanted that, they would have just made Alonso a substantial offer.
@GiantRob Devers is a 3-4 win DH faking 1B who’s still owed 8/255m. You couldn’t find a team to take him in return for a bag of balls unless you ate $80m-plus.
“Sign Dom Smith.” To do what? He wasn’t worth as much as half a win in 2025, but Buster thought he was a defensive replacement at first, somehow, despite the below average glove.
I feel for you. Until Buster’s gone the Giants are going nowhere. He’ll only be the 100th HOFer who couldn’t figure out what talent is from a GM’s perspective. He not only saved the Red Sox from Devers’ contract, he actually gave up useful talent for the privilege.
I think the Mets should try to trade for Vladimir Guerrero Jr
Dark day for the Mets. Seaveresque. Stearns better have a grand plan in mind. It should include signing Tucker, maybe Bader, trading for Skubal and Rooker anding hoping the youth in the minors make an impact. Btw Alonso was not a bad 1st baseman. Try and find someone who can pick the short throws from the infield. Petie did cash in though but the Orioles. Bummer
Alonso is a terrible first baseman, particularly with men on base.
Mets will sign Bellinger or Tucker for 7-9 years but refuse to give franchise player more than 3 years. The Mets can call Yankees for Stanton anytime
MLB nyy fan
“Franchise player”?
In what universe was Alonso more than the third best position player on Mets after Soto and Lindor?
So DH him.
@SurfriotNY64 “Seaveresque”? “Not a bad 1Bman”?
Worst fielding 1Bman in the game.
But, hey, he was slow and a lousy baserunner, too.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/pete-alonso-6…
One man’s “dark day” is another man’s liberation. This time you didn’t have a well-known tabloid columnist begging the Mets to get rid of their best-loved ballplayer.
I bet Stearns would love to trade Soto for a bunch of inexpensive pieces. But he likes being the highest paid baseball exec.
100% He would love to trade Lindor too. I expect that to happen at the trade deadline.
PETE ALSON SUCKED AT FIRST BASE YOU DON’T THROW OVER HAND TO A PICTURE JUST ASK KEITH HERNANDEZ
Yeah, that Pete Alson really is overrated. Kinda surprised he didn’t sign up with the Giants. He would have paired well with Arson Judge.
Last time I threw overhand to a picture they banned me from the Louvre.
OH BYE THE WAY VEINTOS SUCKS ALSO TRADE HOM
It defies belief that the Mets would keep Vientos into the 2026 season. For what? To roll the dice at DH after (sensibly) letting Alonso walk from 1B, as well?
At some point you have to bring in a couple of guys who can, you know, HIT.
Murakami.
You’re not replacing that power, but you can go another way. Get some pitching.
Maybe Okomoto or Ryan O’hearn. Hearn won’t replace Alonso’s bat but he’s pretty solid. For the bat, sign Bellinger or Tucker. If you were to sign both you could put Soto in the DH but I recall there is a contract stipulation concerning this. Maybe someone could confirm this for me or tell me I must have had a fever dream?
No mention of the Giants’ young firstbaseman blocked by Devers. How about the Mets trade Juan Soto to the Mariners for multiple prospects? Trade Lindor for pitching. Targeting Contreras is a Mets old school move, returning them to league wide scorn
Wilmer Flores had 16 HR and 71 RBI in 419 at bats. He was clutch for the Giants in 2025. And he has plenty of experience at 1B.
Bellinger should be the target now.
Mets lowballed him last year and it cost them this year. They don’t forget about the things that they say about them
I’m a mid beer league softball 1b who hasn’t played baseball in 25 years. I will accept the challenge for league minimum.
There’s a lot of players still out there, not including trades.
Dan Vogelbach is out there and still has his Mets gear.. Bring Sexy Bach!!
I think its win-win for both teams. Mets can prioritize better infield defense, get some of the O from other guys and get a bounce back from Semien. Use the savings towards pitching. Remember they still have Lindor and Soto.
The Orioles got the middle of the order guy they needed and the club house vet that was missing. I think Alonso will hold up pretty well. 7 years and only missed 24 games. It’s a solid contract for his 31-35 weasons.
They never needed to replace Alonso in the first place. Just give Baty and Vientos room to breathe. It’ll be fine.
Stearns shouldn’t run a little league team. Lets Diaz and Alonso walk. Has done nothing to improve the team this off season. Past years highly suspect. Montas? Joey Wendle? Zach Short? Last years starting debacle?
Trade for Teoscar Hernandez (RF moving Soto to LF),,Bellinger (1b) and Adolis Garcia or E. Suarez (DH) OR make a BIG Trade with the A’s for Soderstrom (1b) and Rooker (RF)
The Mets have had time to work out what they will do when Pete Alonso walks.
Pete leaving is prob a good move for both him and the Mets. Mets clearly need a culture change as they have had to many recent “Mets being Mets” collapses recently. And I think they disrespected Pete last offseason and he was ready to get out. The O’s got a bopper that I think is a natural leader to lead that young but maturing core. It’s time for that youth to put it together and play to the potential they can
DOMINIC SMITH
He did a really nice job for the Giants last year. Lots of big hits and really good defensively.
Easy. Sign Bellinger fir Cf(no draftvpick), sign Bregman for 3b(no draft pick) trade Batty with a rookie pitcher(Sproad) to FL for Alcántara. Sign the pitcher Imai from Japan(no draft pick). Trade McNeil for anything and eat some money. Sign Rodgers for the eight inning and if possible another reliever(maybe Dominguez from Toronto).
We have $$$…just use it.
Let’s go Mets!!!
Not asking for much are you?
It’s a lot, bit that’s what moneyvis for….lol
Rogers is going to sign with the Giants.
Hopefully no…
Do they really need a 1B man? Maybe have two second basemen instead and one can cover 1st? Just a thought…
I’m tired of how NY city sports writers are painting Alonso as this irreplaceable player Alonso is a lifetime .253 hitter. He hit .231 in 2020, .217 in 2023 and .249 in 2024. He does one thing well and that trick is going to fade quickly .He had a good year? He saw more fastballs having Lindor and Soto steal 69 bases. Pete Alonso is not special in any way. Despite being 31 now, Pete has done nothing in spare in order to be on top. Plumpy is obese, has no range, can’t throw and can’t run the bases. Any player who wants to be elite would have come into spring training 25 pounds lighter, but Pete sone of those guys who believe being big is enough. Baltimore just signed another Anthony Rendon type deal. Alonso is one dive, which is just falling down for Alonso, away from a serious back injury. Mark Vientos is a third baseman. He is 50 pounds lighter than plump and has 60 rated arm. People have the nerve to say Alonso is a better first baseman and that Vientos wouldn’t be able to handle. I say imagine Plumpy playing third base? He would embarrass himself. Scouts graded Vientos, Baty and Mauricio a 60 in power. Plumpy got a 55. Vientos hit 27 homers in just over 400 at bats. That would translate into a 35-40 home run season. Vientos had a 13 game stretch, in August, where he hit 8 home runs and drove in 21. Alonso didn’t have a stretch like that all year.. The Mets are going to be fine at first. I am so glad I don’t have to hear or read how Pete Alonso is a top hitter in baseball. In five years, Plumpy will be competing in eating contests. NY sports writers should be ashamed of themselves for glorifying a better hitting Dave Kingman.
Cohen lost $300m (payroll plus financing his purchase, infrastructure…). Stearns has a budget. Cohen is not liking the bad press and likely has informed Stearns this.
Cots has them at $280m already. Everything they spend now until 345 is 150% of face value , plus benefits.
It’s not the fan’s money until they show at the ballpark.
Problem is, Soto sucks up nearly 25% of the first tier penalty budget (when including benefits), add Semien’s 13% and Lindor’s 15%…the rest has to be carefully considered.
Home grown Met Tim Tebow is taking BP and grounders.
Move over Roy Hobbs.
Walker had a bad year, but before that he was terrific at first for the Diamondbacks. Either him or Contreras makes sense. The Astros should keep Walker.
Walker is in the twilight of his career though.
Not trying to stir anything up, just asking a few questions:
What does the club currently think of Kodai Senga? Would they trade him? Do they *want* to trade him?
Would they consider trading Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat, Jack Wenninger, or Jonathan Santucci?
prob polanco
Vientos is the future.