Mets Notes: Bregman, Nimmo, Minter
Infielder Alex Bregman remains unsigned, with his market taking some turns recently. While returning to the Astros once seemed impossible, it now seems that door is open a crack. Other teams are still lurking but it doesn’t seem like the Mets will be jumping in. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports that the Mets are no longer in the running.
The Mets were connected to Bregman earlier this winter but it always seemed like a somewhat less-than-perfect fit since the club has a lot of other options for the infield corners. First baseman Pete Alonso and the club have been in a bit of a staring contest for months and it’s still possible that he comes back to Queens. Even without Alonso, the Mets could have Mark Vientos as their regular first baseman and then have third base open for a competition between Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. Bregman is reportedly willing to move to second base but the Mets have Jeff McNeil there. McNeil can also play the outfield but the Mets have a somewhat crowded mix there.
Bregman is a more established big leaguer than any of the Mets young options but he wouldn’t come cheap. He reportedly has been unwilling to accept a six-year, $156MM offer from the Astros this winter, hoping to get something in the $200MM range. While the Mets might have had some interest in going with a more certain player like Bregman for the 2025 season, signing Bregman would be a larger commitment in terms of dollars and years. He’s about to turn 31 years old and the Baty/Acuña/Mauricio trio are all in the 22-26 range, so perhaps the Mets would rather dedicate their money elsewhere.
It also seems like Alonso is more likely to sign a short-term pact, having pitched a three-year deal to the Mets, while Bregman is still holding out hope for a long-term deal. Considering all those factors, it seems that a reunion with Alonso is probably more likely than pivoting to giving a big deal to Bregman.
Turning to players already on the roster, the club held Amazin’ Day recently, which allowed members of the media to get updates on certain players. Per two reports from Bill Ladson of MLB.com, both outfielder Brandon Nimmo and left-hander A.J. Minter are hoping to be ready before or around Opening Day.
Nimmo, the longtime Met, was playing through plantar fasciitis in his left foot during the latter parts of last year’s schedule. It’s possible that affected his performance, as he slashed .248/.361/.454 in the first half but just .190/.277/.319 in the second, followed by a tepid .220/.328/.280 performance in the postseason. He tells Ladson that he had an injection in his foot after the season and has ramped up to jogging, but has not yet started sprinting. He says he will probably miss some early spring training games but expects to be ready to go by Opening Day.
Getting a healthy season out of Nimmo hasn’t always been easy. Due to various injuries from 2016 to 2021, he only once topped 92 games and maxed out at 140. In 2022 and 2023, he finally showed what he could do with proper health. He got into at least 151 games in both of those campaigns and slashed a combined .274/.365/.450 for a 131 wRC+. Last year, despite the foot injury, he got into 151 contests but his production dipped to .224/.327/.399 and a 109 wRC+.
Nimmo turns 32 in March but his contract runs through 2030, so the club will obviously want to keep him healthy and productive for as long as possible. The fact that he’s trending towards Opening Day readiness is a good sign but the club will probably opt for playing things slow for long-term health if any speed bumps arise.
Minter, 31, was just signed a few days ago. His 2024 season was ended by left hip surgery in August. Regardless, the Mets liked him enough to give him a two-year, $22MM deal with an opt-out after year one. His recovery timeline in the wake of that procedure has been a little murky but he’s hoping to be ready for the start of the season as well.
“The goal is to be ready for Opening Day, hopefully,” Minter said. “With that being said, my hip does feel really good. I’m happy where I am. I don’t want to put a date on it. … The Mets are going to have their protocols. They want me to take it day by day. But for me, personally, my goal is to be ready close to Opening Day.”
Over the past five years, Minter has posted an earned run average of 2.85 over 267 appearances. He has struck out 30.1% of opponents while limiting walks to a 7.8% clip. His contributions were more limited last year due to the hip injury but the Mets are clearly hoping he can be back to his old self once that’s fully in the rear-view mirror.
Mets Owner Steve Cohen Discusses “Exhausting” Pete Alonso Talks
Talks between the Mets and Pete Alonso‘s agents at the Boras Corporation seemingly hit an impasse last week, as reports emerged that the Mets expected Alonso to sign elsewhere after the two sides each rejected the other’s three-year contract offer. Team owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns each addressed the situation at the “Amazin’ Day” fan event this weekend at Citi Field, with Cohen reinforcing the idea that the door isn’t closed on an Alonso reunion, but the chances of an agreement appear diminished.
“We made a significant offer to Pete,” Cohen told fans and media, including The Athletic’s Will Sammon. However, the owner doesn’t “like the structures that are being presented back to us. I think it’s highly asymmetric against us, and I feel strongly about it. I will never say no, you know, there’s always the possibility [of an agreement]. But the reality is we’re moving forward, and as we continue to bring in players, the reality is it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that we already have.”
“And that’s where we are, and I am being brutally honest. I don’t like the negotiations. I don’t like what’s been presented to us. Listen, maybe that changes, and certainly, I’ll always stay flexible. If it stays this way, I think we are going to have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with the existing players that we have.”
The exact specifics of Scott Boras’ offers to the Mets aren’t known, though the concept floated was a three-year contract with at least one opt-out clause, which would allow Alonso to test free agency again likely as early as next offseason. The structure is similar to the deals signed by other Boras clients like Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, and Jordan Montgomery last winter, which saw the players each receive a high average annual value within the framework of those shorter-term contracts.
Reports indicated that the Mets’ countered the Alonso camp’s offer with a three-year deal (presumably still with opt-outs) worth $68-$70MM, which would’ve given Alonso a rough AAV of $23MM. Alonso and his reps rejected that offer and Sammon writes that the Mets then pulled the offer away entirely, leading to the current stalemate between the two sides. According to Sammon, “it’s unknown if the Mets and Alonso have since re-engaged. So whether the door is open under similar or different parameters remains a question.”
While some gamesmanship could certainly have been at play in Cohen’s comments today, the Mets owner didn’t mince words in saying “personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation,” Cohen felt that the talks with Alonso were “worse” than even the “tough” negotiations with Juan Soto that ended in Soto’s record $765MM contract. Ironically, both Soto and Alonso are represented by Boras, though obviously the markets for both sluggers varied greatly.
Even before the offseason began, there was some sense that Alonso (as a power-centric first baseman with slightly declining numbers over the last two seasons) might have to settle for a shorter-term deal with opt outs, so the fact that the talks with the Mets have focused on such contracts isn’t much of a surprise. What isn’t clear, however, is whether Alonso has other suitors willing to offer more years, or at least higher average annual salaries. The Giants, Angels, Red Sox, and Blue Jays have all reportedly shown some interest in Alonso, with Toronto seemingly making the most recent push for the first baseman.
In terms of how the Mets might be looking beyond Alonso, Jesse Winker was re-signed last week, filling another hole on the position-player side. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman wrote yesterday that the Mets asked both Mark Vientos and Brett Baty to start working out at first base, with Baty also getting some reps as a second baseman.
Vientos has some experience at first base already, and he was already locked into a regular spot in New York’s 2025 lineup whether as a third baseman (if Alonso re-signed) or at first (if Alonso left and another first base-only type wasn’t obtained). Baty has played almost exclusively at third base during his 169-game MLB career and in the minors, while spending some time at second base and in left field in the minors. He has never played first base at the professional level, with Baty telling Sammon that he last played the position when he was a high school sophomore.
Nevertheless, Baty views the challenge as “really fun….I’ve always prided myself on being as athletic as I can be. And I think athleticism, you can show it off at any position whether it be first base, second base, third base, the outfield, whatever it is.”
With a .215/.282/.325 slash line over 602 plate appearances at the MLB level, Baty has yet to establish himself over parts of three seasons in the Show, so adding positional flexibility is at least a good way for the former top prospect to help his chances of making the roster. Between Baty, Luisangel Acuna, and Ronny Mauricio, the Mets could let those youngsters compete for playing time at third base, ideally with one stepping up to take on the regular starting job. If none are ready for prime time, the Mets could pursue a corner infielder of some type at the trade deadline, with Vientos perhaps shifting from first to third base depending on who New York might obtain.
Mets, Adbert Alzolay Agree To Two-Year Minor League Deal
The Mets and right-hander Adbert Alzolay have agreed to a two-year minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in August and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.
Alzolay, 30 in March, is not too far removed from being the Cubs’ closer. He broke into the majors as a starter and occasionally flashed some promise but also dealt with notable injury concerns. After missing most of the 2022 season due to a shoulder strain, the Cubs started using him in a primary relief role, which yielded very positive results.
In 2023, Alzolay tossed 64 innings across 58 appearances, allowing 2.67 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 26.5% of batters faced while only giving out walks 5.1% of the time. He took over the ninth inning duties for the Cubs, racking up 22 saves that year.
Unfortunately, the injury bug bit him again last year. He made 18 appearances in the first few weeks of 2024 with diminished results. His ERA was 4.67 and he only struck out 17.3% of opponents. The velocity was down on all of his pitches. He landed on the injured list in May due to a right forearm strain. He attempted a rehab assignment in July but that proved to be ill-fated, as he required Tommy John surgery in August.
The Cubs could have retained Alzolay for his recovery period. He was controllable via arbitration for two more seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $2.3MM salary for Alzolay in 2025. Since he’s not going to pitch much this year, he would have been slated for a very similar salary in 2026. That meant that the Cubs could have kept Alzolay through 2026 for less than $5MM but they decided to non-tender him instead.
For the Mets, this is obviously a long play. Alzolay won’t help the team immediately. Given his August surgery and the rough 14-month timeline to return from Tommy John, he could perhaps act as a wild card late in the 2025 season. But even if that doesn’t come to pass, he could factor into the club’s 2026 plans.
Since he is on a minor league deal, his service time clock won’t be moving until he’s added to the roster. He’s currently at four years and 50 days at the moment. Even a late-season return would only allow him to add a few days to that. As such, he’ll finish the 2026 season between five and six years. That means the Mets could then retain him via arbitration for the 2027 season.
Such an outcome would depend on the righty returning to form after his injury absence. His numbers tailed off in the 2024 season but it’s possible that he was already feeling the effects of his injured elbow, even though surgery was still a few months away.
Mets Had Interest In Jurickson Profar Prior To Braves Deal
Outfielder Jurickson Profar landed with the Braves this week on a three-year, $42MM deal. Prior to that signing, he had interest from several clubs. On The Baseball Insiders podcast, Robert Murray lists the Blue Jays, Astros, Royals, Padres and Mets as teams that were in Profar’s market. Those first four club were connected to Profar in previous rumors but the Mets’ interest is new.
The Mets have already made a few tweaks to their outfield mix this winter. One of them was the massive Juan Soto deal, though they also acquired Jose Siri from the Rays. As of now, the group feels a bit crowded. Siri and Tyrone Taylor could share center field and fourth outfield duties while Soto and Brandon Nimmo are clear regulars in the corners. Starling Marte and Jesse Winker are also on the roster and perhaps profile best as designated hitters but both are still capable of playing the outfield somewhat.
Back in December, the Mets reportedly offered Teoscar Hernández a two-year deal, indicating a willingness to add to the outfield. However, that was before Winker was re-signed. The fact that they apparently hung around the Profar market even with Winker on the roster suggests a willingness to continue adding.
Given that the group is already a bit crowded, that would likely have to come with subtraction. Marte has been in trade rumors this winter with the Mets reportedly willing to pay down part of his salary. He is set to make $19.5MM this year in the final season of his four-year contract. No club is going to take on all of that. Marte is now 36 years old and has battled injuries in each of the past two seasons, which has led to declining defensive metrics. His offense was rough in 2023 but bounced back to roughly league average last year.
With Nimmo and Soto set to be in the corners, perhaps the idea was to have Profar be the designated hitter fairly regularly while occasionally taking the field to give Nimmo or Soto a break. Profar’s defensive metrics in left field aren’t strong, with -9 Defensive Runs Saved and -24 Outs Above Average in his career, so perhaps that would have been a good deployment of his bat. Hernández is also not a great defender, so perhaps the thinking was the same there. Nimmo has played lots of center field in his career but his marks up the middle have been declining and he’s about to turn 32, so it seems unlikely that was a strong consideration.
It’s also possible that Profar could have seen some time at first base. That hasn’t been his primary position but he does have 466 career innings there, spread out across various seasons. As has been well documented by now, the Mets and Pete Alonso have been in a staredown of sorts this winter and he remains unsigned.
The Mets seem to have some hesitancy about committing long-term to Alonso when they also want to have opportunities available for guys like Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. Adding Profar was perhaps a bit of a better fit in that regard, since his ability to play the outfield would make him a slightly more versatile part of the roster compared to Alonso.
If the Mets have interest in other outfielders, there isn’t anyone of Profar’s caliber left in free agency. Soto, Profar, Hernández, Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill and others have come off the board this winter. Most of the remaining free agents are role players like Harrison Bader, Randal Grichuk or Mark Canha. If the Mets just want a bat, reuniting with Alonso is one straightforward path, though guys like J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner are out there. Guys like Luis Arráez, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Rhys Hoskins could potentially be available on the trade market.
RosterResource projects the club for a $297MM payroll and $293MM competitive balance tax number. Last year, they got those numbers to $336MM and $346MM respectively, so the club could still have some powder dry for a late strike if they are willing to get to similar levels.
Mets Sign A.J. Minter
The Mets announced that they have signed free agent reliever A.J. Minter. It’s reportedly a two-year, $22MM contract. The Bledsoe Agency client can opt out after the first season. The Mets had an opening on the 40-man roster.
Minter, 31, has been a strong performer in recent years. However, there is at least some uncertainty due to his health. He went on the injured list twice in 2024 due to left hip inflammation and eventually underwent surgery in August.
It’s unclear exactly when Minter will be fully healthy again but the surgery doesn’t seem to have hurt his market. He’s been connected to the Blue Jays, Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox over the past couple of months and now has a strong pact with the Mets. Perhaps that indicates clubs aren’t too worried about his recovery from the hip procedure impacting him in 2025.
Just looking at Minter’s results, the robust interest makes plenty of sense. From 2020 to 2024, the lefty made 267 relief appearances, allowing 2.85 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 30.1% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 7.8% clip. He was a key relief arm for Atlanta, who let him earn 16 saves and 92 holds in that time. Even while pitching through the hip problems in 2024, he managed to throw 34 1/3 innings with a 2.62 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate.
Despite the hip surgery, it was fair to expect Minter to be one of the most popular relief arms in this winter’s market. MLBTR predicted him for a two-year, $16MM pact but almost all pitchers have been outearning their projections this winter, with Minter no exception. He gets a $22MM guarantee and also an opt-out, meaning he will have the ability to become a free agent again next winter if he demonstrates his health and has a strong season.
The Mets are a sensible landing spot for Minter, as their bullpen is in a state of flux. At the end of the 2024 season, they saw Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, Drew Smith and Phil Maton become free agents.
The club also came into the winter particularly shorthanded in terms of left-handed relief. Raley was one such member on the 2024 club, though he underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of May, well before he became a free agent. Jake Diekman was released during the season. Josh Walker was traded around the same time. Alex Young was non-tendered at the end of the year.
All of that left the Mets with Danny Young as their only southpaw reliever on the roster, so an addition made plenty of sense. They signed Génesis Cabrera to a minor league deal and have been connected to free agents like Tanner Scott and Tim Hill. Signing either Scott or Hill could still be an option but the lefty contingent of the Mets bullpen now looks much stronger with Minter in it. Per Mike Puma of The New York Post, the Mets are unlikely to continue pursuing Scott with Minter now on board.
For the Mets, perhaps this is yet another move away from their relationship with Pete Alonso. As recently as yesterday morning, it seemed possible that the Mets and Alonso would work something out. But reporting from yesterday afternoon indicated that the Mets didn’t want to have a prolonged staredown with Alonso. Since they had other players on their radar, they planned instead to move on and spread money around to various different players. In the past 24 hours, they have agreed to new deals with Jesse Winker and now Minter.
The deal with Minter pushed the club’s payroll and competitive balance tax number up to $297MM and $293MM respectively, in the eyes of RosterResource. Last year, those numbers were $336MM and $346MM. If they are willing to get to similar levels in 2025, they still have lots of space to work with. That could be enough room to bring back Alonso but the Mets might also look to make further bullpen upgrades.
They are already between the third and four tiers of the CBT, which are $281MM and $301MM this year. As a third-time payor, they will be facing a tax of 95% for any more money they add up to the fourth line and a 110% rate for spending beyond it. Since Steve Cohen became owner of the team, the tax has never really seemed to be any kind of obstacle for the Mets.
Andy Martino of SNY first reported that the Mets had an agreement with Minter. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported the two-year, $22MM guarantee. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first on the opt-out provision.
Jeff Torborg Passes Away
Longtime former big league catcher, manager, and broadcaster Jeff Torborg passed away today at age 83, the White Sox announced. Torborg played for 10 seasons with the Dodgers and Angels from 1964-73, and then managed the Indians, White Sox, Mets, Expos, and Marlins over parts of 11 seasons from 1977-2003.
Torborg was the Dodgers’ backup catcher behind John Roseboro and then Tom Haller during his seven seasons in Chavez Ravine, and this tenure was highlighted by a World Series with Los Angeles’ 1965 championship team. That same season saw Torborg play a big role in one of the most memorable pitching performances in baseball history — Sandy Koufax’s 14-strikeout perfect game against the Cubs on September 9.
Torborg holds a unique place in baseball history as the only catcher who caught no-hitters from both Koufax and Nolan Ryan, as Torborg was behind the plate for the first of Ryan’s record seven career no-nos on May 15, 1973. Torborg also caught Bill Singer’s no-hitter on July 20, 1970, and is one of only 18 catchers to ever catch three different no-hit games.
Over 574 games and 1525 plate appearances, Torborg hit eight home runs with a career slash line of .214/.268/.265. He retired after the 1973 season at the end of a three-year stint with the Angels, and quickly moved into coaching with a job on the Indians’ staff in 1975. This led to Torborg’s first managerial gig, as he was promoted to become Cleveland’s skipper partway through the 1977 season, and he managed the club through the end of the 1979 campaign.
It took a decade for Torborg to become a manager again, as after he spent the next decade on the Yankees’ coaching staff, he was hired as Chicago’s new manager prior to the start of the 1989 season. He won only 69 games in his first year, but after the Sox surged to a 90-win season in 1990, Torborg was named the American League’s Manager of the Year. The White Sox won 87 games in 1991 to finish second in the AL West for the second consecutive season, as Torborg’s Sox were beaten out first by an Athletics team that won three straight AL pennants, and then by the upstart Twins who won the 1991 World Series.
This successful run in Chicago led the Mets to lure Torborg away to become their next manager, with Torborg receiving a hefty four-year, $1.7MM contact. Unfortunately, the 1992 Mets were one of the more infamous teams in franchise history, as the club’s splashy acquisitions of Bobby Bonilla, Bret Saberhagen, and others resulted in only a 72-90 record. After the Mets stumbled again to a 13-25 start in 1993, Torborg was fired with more than two and a half years remaining on his contract.
Torborg returned to the dugout in 2001 as the Expos’ manager, but when then-Expos owner Jeffrey Loria took over as the Marlins’ new owner prior to the 2002 season, Torborg also went to South Florida as the Marlins’ new skipper. Torborg had a 95-105 record in parts of two years with the Marlins, and the 2003 team went on to win the World Series after Jack McKeon stepped in as Torborg’s replacement. Torborg’s overall managerial record was 634-718 over 1352 games with his five clubs.
Both before and after these stints in Montreal and Florida, Torborg worked as a TV and radio broadcaster. He worked for CBS Radio throughout the 1990’s and for Fox in both the 90’s and 2000s, with Torborg calling Braves games in 2006.
MLB Trade Rumors sends our condolences to Torborg’s family, friends, and loved ones.
Tanner Scott Weighing Multiple Offers, Could Sign This Weekend
The market may be heating up for free agency’s top reliever. Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reports that Tanner Scott is weighing multiple multi-year offers and may choose his team by this weekend.
Morosi suggests that the Cubs are among Scott’s top suitors. Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week that the bullpen is “probably the area we’ve been focused on most in free agency.” There’d be no bigger upgrade than Scott, though that’d be an out-of-character move for Hoyer’s front office. The Cubs have not signed a free agent reliever to a multi-year deal or a guarantee above $9MM in more than five years.
Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic writes that while the Cubs do indeed like Scott, they may be reluctant to meet the asking price. Previous reporting has suggested that Scott’s annual salary could approach $20MM on what’d presumably be a three- or four-year contract. Even if the money doesn’t quite get to that level, this would be a major investment. Scott should easily land the top reliever deal of the winter.
The Dodgers have been tied to Scott for months. After landing Roki Sasaki, a back-end reliever is the last box on L.A.’s offseason checklist. The Braves have also shown interest, while the Mets were more recently reported as a suitor. That no longer seems to be the case. New York agreed to terms with A.J. Minter on a two-year, $22MM guarantee this afternoon. Mike Puma of The New York Post reports that the Minter deal means the Mets are expected to drop their run at Scott.
Scott has been one of the best relievers in baseball for two seasons. He fired 78 innings of 2.31 ERA ball for the Marlins in 2023. The 30-year-old southpaw was even better last year. Scott earned his first All-Star nod and combined for a sterling 1.75 earned run average through 72 frames between Miami and the Padres. He averages nearly 97 MPH on his fastball and has punched out at least 28% of opposing hitters in three straight seasons.
Mets Re-Sign Jesse Winker
The Mets officially announced that they’ve re-signed Jesse Winker on a one-year deal. The Excel Sports Management client is reportedly guaranteed $7.5MM (including a $1MM signing bonus) and can earn an additional $1.5MM via incentives.
Winker, 31, began the 2024 season with the Nationals. He’d signed a minor league deal after a pair of injury-ruined seasons that saw him undergo both knee and spinal surgeries in the 2022-23 offseason. The injuries that necessitated those surgeries in 2022 contributed to a bleak .219/.344/.344 showing with the Mariners that season, and the lingering effects likely played a role in his tepid .199/.320/.247 showing with the 2023 Brewers.
The 2024 campaign seemingly saw Winker back to full health. He hit .257/.374/.419 in 379 plate appearances with Washington before going to Queens in a deadline trade that sent minor league righty Tyler Stuart back to the Nats. Winker batted a diminished but respectable .243/.318/.365 in 129 turns at the plate down the stretch before catching fire with a .318/.531/.636 slash in 32 October plate appearances.
Winker figures to see the bulk of time at designated hitter for the Mets, who have Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto locked into the outfield corners. Jose Siri, Tyrone Taylor and Starling Marte are also in the outfield mix, with Marte also likely to see time at DH if he’s not traded. The Mets have been exploring potential deals for Marte, who’s owed $19.5MM in the final season of a four-year contract, to no avail.
Winker could see some occasional time in the outfield as well, of course, and he’s likely to be platooned regardless of the role he occupies. He’s a career .276/.379/.463 hitter against righties but just a .210/.324/.338 hitter against fellow southpaws. Winker can work a walk against left-handers, but nearly all of his power comes in advantageous platoon matchups.
The broader and more impactful takeaway from Winker’s reunion with the Mets is that it could spell the end of Pete Alonso‘s time with the club. The Winker agreement is reportedly the beginning of a pivot away from Alonso, whom the Mets feel is likelier to sign elsewhere than in Queens. Their plan moving forward appears to be to spread that would-be Alonso money around to different targets, the first of which is Winker.
With that in mind, it’s possible the Mets could look to external options at first base, but a good portion of that market has been picked over. Sticking in-house, Mark Vientos would likely move from third base to first base, opening the hot corner for a competition between Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. There are more options at third base on the market than at first base — Alex Bregman, a Nolan Arenado trade — but it’s hard to square the idea that the Mets would balk at a long-term deal for Alonso and then make a sizable commitment to older infielders like Bregman (still seeking a long-term deal) or Arenado (34 and owed $64MM over the next three seasons).
The addition of Winker pushes the Mets’ payroll to about $287MM, per RosterResource. Their cash payroll is actually a slight bit higher than their luxury tax ledger, as the Mets’ long-term deals with Edwin Diaz and Kodai Senga are a bit front-loaded and carry 2025 salaries that are higher than the contracts’ respective annual values. New York currently sits about $17MM shy of the top $301MM luxury tier. They’ll pay a 95% tax on any dollars spent up to $301MM and then a 110% tax on any dollars thereafter. Because they’re now exceeding the $241MM threshold by more than $40MM, their top pick in the 2026 draft will drop by ten places (barring additional moves to duck down into and remain in the second penalty tier).
SNY’s Andy Martino first reported that the Mets and Winker had an agreement. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported it was a one-year deal with a guarantee around $8MM and a $1MM signing bonus. The Post’s Joel Sherman had the $7.5MM guarantee and the $1.5MM in bonuses.
Pete Alonso Declined Three-Year Offer From Mets
It appears the Pete Alonso era in Queens is coming to an end. Andy Martino of SNY reported this afternoon that the Mets expect Alonso to sign elsewhere and have begun to turn their attention to other pursuits.
After initially facing a gap on contract length, the sides recently turned their attention to a shorter-term arrangement. Will Sammon of The Athletic wrote this afternoon that Alonso and his representatives at the Boras Corporation pitched the Mets a three-year deal with a high annual salary and one or more opt-out chances. Sammon reports that the team countered with a three-year proposal at a lesser salary which Alonso declined.
Joel Sherman and Dan Martin of The New York Post provide some specifics, reporting that the team’s offer came with an overall guarantee in the $68-70MM range and included opt-outs. Sammon writes that the Mets were open to pushing that guarantee slightly higher, though it seems there was still a significant enough gap compared to Alonso’s asking price (which is not known) for the team to turn its attention elsewhere.
The Mets’ proposal was clearly not to Alonso’s liking, which isn’t all that surprising. It’s less than the frontloaded $80MM guarantee which Cody Bellinger landed when he returned to the Cubs on an opt-out laden deal last winter. It now seems as if Alonso will be moving on, though the Mets haven’t pushed all their chips in to an alternative target yet. New York agreed to bring back Jesse Winker on a $7.5MM deal. He’ll slot in at designated hitter and/or as a left-handed bench bat. If Alonso indeed walks, New York will probably move Mark Vientos to first base and allow Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña battle for reps at third base.
The Post’s Jon Heyman writes that the Mets are now “heavily focused” on adding to the bullpen. Sammon tied them to top free agent reliever Tanner Scott last week. Adding a high-leverage arm in front of star closer Edwin Díaz makes sense. A left-hander would be an obvious fit considering Danny Young is the only southpaw in the bullpen at the moment. Scott is far more than a situational matchup option, but he has certainly shown himself capable of attacking the best left-handed hitters in the sport.
The Athletic reported this morning that the Blue Jays were among the teams still engaged with Alonso’s camp. It’s not clear whether those discussions also involve a short-term deal. Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM first reported last week that Alonso’s camp was offering the three-year term with opt-outs to the Mets alone in an effort to stay in Queens. He may still be seeking a longer-term contract from other teams, though it’s not clear whether that kind of proposal will be on the table anywhere.
Mets Reportedly Expect Pete Alonso To Sign Elsewhere
The Mets and Pete Alonso have been in a staredown for a while but it seems the club is blinking. Andy Martino of SNY reports that they now expect him to sign elsewhere, with today’s agreement with Jesse Winker part of a plan to spread money around to various alternatives. Earlier today, Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Alonso’s market was heating up, with the Blue Jays and Mets involved, as well as a third unidentified team.
Alonso and the Mets have clearly had mutual interest in reaching a new deal for a long time, but without the ability to agree on a price point. The club reportedly offered him a seven-year, $158MM extension in the summer of 2023, but a deal didn’t get done. Since then, there have been changes on both sides of the negotiations. The Mets hired David Stearns to replace Billy Eppler atop their baseball operations department in September of 2023, with Alonso then hiring Scott Boras the following month.
During the 2024 season, the sides generally expressed admiration for each other but never seemed to make much effort to get an extension done. Alonso turned down a qualifying offer and became a free agent. Though he was connected to various teams in recent months, he never seemed to get a deal to his liking. Alonso’s camp reportedly pivoted to a short-term deal, pitching the Mets a three-year pact with opt-outs. The Mets seemed to be somewhat amenable to this framework but a gap on the money still prevented a deal from coming together.
In recent weeks, the Mets have also been connected to players like Winker, Anthony Santander, Alex Verdugo, Tanner Scott, Luis Arráez and Tim Hill. They also reportedly offered Teoscar Hernández a two-year deal before he returned to the Dodgers on a three-year pact.
Martino’s report compares the Mets’ current plans to those of the Yankees after missing out on Juan Soto, spreading money around to various players as opposed to one big splash. After Soto went to the Mets, the Yankees gave out deals to Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt, as well as trading for Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger. They could have done some of those moves in conjunction with Soto but perhaps were more aggressive in those areas since they hadn’t tied up their resources with the one mega deal.
The Winker signing alone doesn’t stop the Mets from bringing back Alonso, as the two coexisted on the roster in 2024, with Alonso the regular at first as Winker spent time in the outfield corners and designated hitter slot. But there has been some reporting that the club wants to use some internal options at the corners. Mark Vientos was the regular third baseman last year and had a breakout year at the plate, but with subpar defensive metrics. He could perhaps move over to first, while the Mets use Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña to cover third base.
Perhaps things will change in the coming days but it now seems possible that the Mets are indeed prepared to walk away from Alonso. The earlier reporting from The Athletic indicated the Mets were in talks with various players and didn’t want the stalled Alonso negotiations to get in their way. While Winker doesn’t strictly block the path for Alonso to come back to Queens, it does seem to signal that the Mets are prepared to move on.
If it does indeed come to pass, it will be a surprisingly lackluster end to the Mets-Alonso relationship. He was a homegrown star with some New York roots and come up through the club’s system after being selected in the second round of the 2016 draft. He debuted with a big splash in 2019, hitting 53 home runs and also winning the home run derby. That campaign is now widely viewed as the juiced ball season, but Alonso continued to be a big homer threat in subsequent years.
Alonso now has 226 home runs over the past six seasons, second only to Aaron Judge in that time. He won another derby title in 2021 and was a staple of the club over their recent history, not having played less than 152 games in any full season.
During that time, the Mets went from a punchline to a powerhouse. While they were previously known for having middling budgets and results, Steve Cohen purchased the club ahead of the 2021 season and made them one of the top spenders in the league. They have made the playoffs in two of the past three years, with Alonso playing the hero last year. He hit four home runs in 13 playoff games just a few months ago, including the series-flipping homer off Williams to get the Mets past the Brewers and out of the Wild Card round.
But his star power in the media and general public seemed to outpace his popularity in today’s analytically-inclined front offices. While the home run power has been real, Alonso’s other contributions have been muted. His walk rates have been decent but not outstanding, he’s not a burner on the basepaths and his defense hasn’t been well regarded. His overall offense has also declined. While he hit .261/.349/.535 for a 137 wRC+ through 2022, he slashed just .229/.324/.480 for a 121 wRC+. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 2.1 wins above replacement last year, a solid but not elite number. There were 119 position players who were at 2.2 fWAR or higher last year.
It therefore seemed possible from the start of the offseason that Alonso would find his offers lacking in free agency. As part of MLBTR’s annual Top 50 list, we considered predicting Alonso for a deal along the lines of the three years and $80MM that Bellinger got from the Cubs last year after he lingered in free agency into February. We backed down from that prediction, putting 5/$125MM on Alonso, but it now appears he may well end up getting something like that deal. It just might be somewhere other than Queens.
It’s a bit of a surprising pivot, as the Mets have not been shy about spending since Cohen bought the team. While Stearns was in Milwaukee, he never spent a lot of money on first basemen, but he never had the resources he now has. Despite the deeper bank account, it still seems as though Stearns would prefer to invest in ways he considers wise. The club also didn’t play at the top of the starting pitching market, not signing guys like Fried or Corbin Burnes, instead taking risks on guys like Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes. Montas is coming off a down year while Holmes will be trying to pivot from the bullpen to the rotation.
All this will seemingly leave Alonso looking elsewhere for his next gig, with Toronto one possibility. The Jays already have a first baseman in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. but it doesn’t appear as though the plan would be to trade him. Per the reporting from The Athletic, the plan would be for Guerrero and Alonso to share first base and DH, with Guerrero occasionally crossing the diamond to play third base. Though the article from The Athletic says the Jays would “prefer” to hang onto Guerrero, Rosenthal made an appearance on Foul Territory and more emphatically shot down the possibility of Guerrero being traded.
Though the fit would be a bit awkward, the Jays could use the power. Toronto’s offense was close to league average last year, but a lot of that was thanks to having a walk rate that was bested by only six other teams. In the home run department, they were actually one the worst clubs, ahead of just the Marlins, Rays, Nationals and White Sox.
They don’t really have a strict designated hitter, which perhaps provides a path for Alonso and Guerrero to share a lineup. Justin Turner was their primary DH for the first half of last year but he was traded to the Mariners at the deadline. It would make it a bit harder for the club to rest someone like George Springer, but it seems the Jays have some openness to it regardless. Guerrero taking the hot corner could allow greater flexibility, though he only has 104 innings there over the past five seasons. Most of that came late last year as the Jays were playing out the string on a lost season. It’s unclear how much willingness they have to put Guerrero there in meaningful games.
Financially, it seems the club still has powder dry. They reportedly had a strong offer on the table for Burnes as of a few weeks ago, before he signed with the Diamondbacks. Since then, they signed Jeff Hoffman to a three-year, $33MM deal, but that is surely well shy of what they were willing to pay Burnes.
It’s theoretically possible that signing Alonso could give the Jays some cover for the event they can’t sign Guerrero, an impending free agent, to an extension. But it seems highly likely that Alonso will be securing a deal with the ability to opt out after 2025, meaning he would only stick around for 2026 if he has a down year. They would likely prefer to have Guerrero locked up long term, since he’s significantly younger than Alonso, while seeing Pete walk away earlier.
There are surely other clubs in the mix as well. Alonso has been connected to the Giants, Red Sox and Angels in recent weeks. Teams like the Tigers, Athletics and Mariners make sense as speculative fits. Since Alonso rejected a QO, the Mets will receive a draft pick after the fourth round if he signs elsewhere. The penalty for the signing club will depend on their revenue-sharing status and whether they paid the competitive balance tax last year. Perhaps we will have clarity soon as the staring contest with the Mets appears to be ending.