Pete Alonso may have given the Mets exclusive negotiating rights for a three-year deal that includes opt-outs, but president of baseball operations David Stearns does not appear willing to budge from the predetermined price he is willing to pay for the slugging first baseman.
While Alonso and his agent Scott Boras seemingly gave the Mets the opportunity to offer a mutually beneficial deal, it still appears to be out of Stearns’ comfort zone.
Simply put: If the Mets truly liked the proposition tabled by their long-time first baseman, a deal would have already been done by now.
Instead, they are less than month away from pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training and there still remains no resolution in sight at first base.
SNY’s Andy Martino further confirmed Stearns’ philosophy on Wednesday, reporting that Stearns is “holding the line on both the length and dollars of their short-term offer, which includes an opt-out after the first year.”
Time is understandably running short. It is less than ideal to go into spring training and have such a major question mark looming over the franchise. After all, Alonso would bolster the middle of the lineup behind Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Mark Vientos and inject what has become the annual potential of 40 home runs.
When a decision will be made by Stearns is unknown, but there are backup plans of varying degrees of difficulty to pursue.
The most likely scenario is that Vientos is moved from third base to first and the Mets open up a competition at the hot corner during spring training between the likes of Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio; perhaps even Luisangel Acuna if he is not in the mix for the starting job at second base.
Martino noted that Jesse Winker, who the Mets acquired at the trade deadline and is currently a free agent, is also an option to shift to first base considering the depth chart in the outfield is currently full.
An in-house Alonso replacement could be a bridge option just for the 2025 season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is on track to be a free agent next winter and the Mets, per Martino, checked in on his availability this winter, though they were more exploratory inquiries rather than legitimate negotiations.
