Pete Alonso is still a slugging first baseman.
Heading toward free agency, the New York Mets star will have a choice to make. So will the Mets, for that matter.
MLB Trade Rumors writer Steve Adams thinks Alonso could get $25 million per year on a four-year deal as a free agent. That's the ballpark of the price the Mets would likely have to match to keep Alonso at Citi Field.
The Polar Bear is a fan favorite. Mets' fans certainly won't want him to go anywhere.
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Here's more of Adams' logic on the situation:
The two-year, $54MM contract Alonso signed last winter paid him $30MM this season with a $24MM player option for the 2026 campaign. If he and the Mets don’t agree to a longer-term deal between now and the time that option decision comes due, he’s a lock to turn it down and head back to the market. Much has been made of Alonso rejecting a seven-year, $158MM extension from the Mets several years ago. He’s already pocketed $50.5MM in salary in two years since turning that down, however, and bringing home another $107.5MM over the next five years doesn’t at all feel out of the question. We saw a 34-year-old Christian Walker land three years and $60MM last winter. He’s a better defender, but Alonso will play 2026 at age 31. A four-year deal worth around $25MM annually or a five-year deal in the $22-23MM range seems plausible.
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That option decision is still on the table, like Adams writes.
But there's no reason right now for Alonso to opt in for a $24 million one-year setup when he can get that much per year over a multi-year contract.
He still isn't that old, either, currently in his age-30 season.
The Mets have gotten clutch moments from Alonso in the postseason already. If he delivers a few more this October, it'll be hard for Steve Cohen to let his star first baseman walk away to anywhere else.
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