Ex-Mets GM: Their Pete Alonso strategy is clear | ‘Does (he) have the patience?’
Do the New York Mets even want to re-sign homegrown first baseman Pete Alonso?
With their competition for first base satisfying their needs through signings and trades this offseason, the Mets remain the clearest team with a hole. The likely answer then is that, yes, the Mets want Alonso — at their price, and they’re willing to wait around to make it happen.
Mets ex-general manager Zack Scott has experienced this before and explained the situation Saturday on X before the Washington Nationals traded the Texas Rangers for Nathaniel Lowe on Sunday.
The Alonso/Mets game of chicken continues. Maybe SF and the Nats are in on Pete. Perhaps the Mets prefer a 3B (Bregman signing or Correa trade… $32m x 4 yrs + vesting options; Arenado… meh). As for 1B, a Vlad trade seems highly unlikely. Maybe they trade for one of Yandy Diaz, B. Lowe, N. Lowe, or Arraez as a stopgap.
Warning: This game of chicken can go on for a long time. Our (Boston) JD Martinez negotiation with (Scott) Boras went well into February. I believe we always had the best offer but they wanted $200m and waited to see if we would blink. We held at $110m. Scott has no problem waiting it out. Does Pete have the patience? Does Steve? I’m guessing David does.
As a Scott Boras client, Alonso always was expected to test the market this offseason because competition from other teams was the best way to maximize his earnings. But, as January approaches, Alonso remains a free agent and teams like the New York Yankees (Paul Goldschmidt), Houston Astros (Christian Walker), Arizona Diamondbacks (Josh Naylor) and Nationals (Nathaniel Lowe) have filled first base. Plus, Alonso will cost his acquiring team a draft pick since he was given a qualifying offer.
USA TODAY reported in June that Alonso was seeking at least $200 million, which is higher than the seven-year, $158 million offer Alonso got last season from the previous front office, according to The New York Post.
Alonso, a four-time All-Star and the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year, has spent his entire professional career with the Mets since they drafted him in 2016.
In his six MLB seasons, Alonso has not only become one of the Mets’ all-time sluggers but also MLB‘s. His 226 home runs rank second in baseball behind the Yankees’ Aaron Judge since his 2016 debut — and third in Mets franchise history. His 586 RBIs are first in baseball and sixth all-time in Mets franchise history.
But Alonso, a 30-year-old first baseman, represents the type of player teams don‘t want to pay big money to. Not only has his top-end exit velocities declined, he‘s on the lowest end of the defensive spectrum with limited range, and he does not run well (19th percentile sprint speed). He‘s a one-dimensional power hitter.
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