Just a few days after New York Mets owner Steve Cohen publicly made it known just how “exhausting” negotiations were with Pete Alonso and his agent, Scott Boras, it appears as though the Queens club has circled back to at least check back in with the slugging first baseman’s camp.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Mets are giving this at least another go, though the progress, or even the contents, of those conversations are a complete unknown.
The Mets are holding a hard line on the type of deal they are willing to give Alonso. Earlier this month, he turned down a three-year, approximately $70 million offer with an opt-out from the team that drafted him. Alonso reportedly told the Mets that he would be willing to sign such a short deal (three years) with them only.
On Saturday, Cohen divulged that the structure of the contract Alonso and Boras wants is the key issue.
“I don’t like the structures that are being presented to us,” Cohen said. “It’s highly asymmetric against us, and I feel strongly about it. I will never say no [Alonso is not coming back]. You know, there’s always a possibility. But the reality is that we’re moving forward. We continue to bring in players, and as we continue to bring in players, the reality is that it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that we already have.”
The continuing spat between the Mets and the Boras/Alonso alliance has continued to suggest that the relationship between franchise and homegrown product is disintegrating. But the climate of Alonso’s market has to ensure that no bridges are burnt because there appears to be no other legitimate suitors at the table with just two weeks remaining until pitchers and catchers report for spring training.
The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team showing legitimate interest, but SNY’s Andy Martino tempered any expectations from the AL East side by saying that the deal Alonso turned down from the Mets is going to be “tough for him to beat with the Blue Jays.”
Other teams like the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels have been loosely linked with Alonso, and of course another team can swoop in at the 12th hour and make a play, but it still appears that the best option for the Polar Bear is a return to the Mets.
It would be mutuallybeneficial, too.
A deal with an opt-out following the 2025 season would allow the 30-year-old to bet on himself one more time with the prospect of hitting the free-agent market after a big season rather than the less-than-inspiring 34-home-run, 88-RBI, and career-low .788 OPS campaign he put up in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Mets would be able to put one of the game’s elite power hitters back in the middle of their lineup and provide the serious punch that is currently lacking behind Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Mark Vientos.
