DALLAS — With Juan Soto’s decision made, the Mets can now shift their attention to Pete Alonso.
The homegrown slugging first baseman and fan favorite is testing the free agency waters for the first time this year. Alonso has continually said he wants to return to the Mets and the feeling is mutual from the team that drafted and developed him.
“We’d love to bring Pete back and Pete has been a great Met,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday at the winter meetings. “He had some enormous hits for us, and we’ll see where that goes.”
However, it’s difficult to gauge the likelihood of a return for the Polar Bear. The two parties are repeating the same sentiments they’ve repeated for a year now. It doesn’t appear any progress has been made when it comes to Alonso, but now that Soto is off the board and headed to the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million contract, the market should open up for Alonso.
Like Soto, Alonso is also represented by super agent Scott Boras. So is left-hander Sean Manaea, another former Met the club would like to bring back. Boras is expected to speak this week in Dallas, as he always does at the winter meetings, but teams aren’t exactly dealing in specifics this time of year. Boras will have some pithy one-liners and cringey jokes, but he isn’t about to show his hand.
Neither is Stearns.
“I’m not going to characterize discussions about any particular free agent or negotiations with any particular free agent,” Stearns said.
There is one telling clue that feels somewhat significant: the Mets do not currently have plans to move Mark Vientos across the diamond from third base to first.
“Mark did a tremendous job for us at third and we’re very comfortable with him there,” Stearns said. “Certainly, as of now, we see him as our third baseman.”
Of course, the phrase “as of now” does leave the door open for the Mets to change their mind about Vientos and move him to first base. Vientos, who will be 25 on Wednesday, had a breakout season at the plate in 2024 hitting 27 home runs, posting an .837 OPS and a 135 OPS+ (100 is considered league average), which overshadowed the strides he made defensively.
Minus-6 Outs Above Average didn’t exactly earn him a gold glove, but he looked like more of a capable defender than he did during his rookie season in 2023. The Mets credit his work with shortstop Francisco Lindor, veteran infielder Jose Iglesias and infield coach Mike Sarbaugh, but they also credit in-game reps and experience.
“Every time he got to a baseball, the play was made,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “Good arm, really good hands, and just his internal clock got better as the year went on. [We’re] pretty confident that he [can] play third base.”
Again, this all could change if Alonso lands elsewhere, or if the Mets see a trade they like for a third baseman this winter. Two years ago, the Mets nearly signed shortstop Carlos Correa to use him at third base. It’s a good thing they didn’t because they may not have played as deep into October as they did without Vientos and his .998 postseason OPS, but it illustrates how things can change when a coveted player drops into a team’s lap.
It’s still tough to imagine Alonso in any other uniform. He connected with the city in ways few other players do and he was a driving force in the clubhouse and on the field throughout his six seasons in Flushing. The same was said about Brandon Nimmo two years ago and he ended up signing an eight-year contract to remain with the Mets after going through the free agency process. Owner Steve Cohen frequently cites that example when talking about Alonso.
At the moment, it’s unclear what Alonso’s market looks like. He’s shown signs of regression over the last two years, but he sure did show up in the postseason.
We’re about to find out the going rate for a 30-year-old, right-handed hitting first baseman. The Mets have to decide if they’re comfortable with that kind of term and money. The one thing we know is that they can afford whatever that price may be, but the question is, will they want to, or will they look elsewhere to provide lineup protection for Soto?
“I think our ownership has consistently demonstrated that there’s going to be resources when we need them,” Stearns said. “There is the ability for us to make baseball moves when we think that they are there to improve the team, and we’re going to continue to pursue a wide variety of areas to continue to improve our team.”
