Who are the New York Mets competing with at this point for Pete Alonso?
So far this winter, the Mets have made Alonso their clear number-three priority. They went after Juan Soto and pulled off the historic $765 million signing, then finalized a three-year reunion with starting pitcher Sean Manaea on Monday.
However, the first base market has dwindled in the last week, and Alonso is still available. The New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, and Cleveland Guardians have all landed new first basemen.
There’s one team who looks like the last remaining threat to the Mets’ chances of bringing back Alonso, though, and it’s the team that always needs offense no matter what year it is: the Seattle Mariners.
Recently, Zach Pressnell of Newsweek put a figure to the odds that the Mariners could pull off a heist. He gave Seattle nearly a one-in-five shot at landing Alonso this winter.
“Could the Mariners actually steal Alonso from the Mets?” Pressnell said. “The answer to that question is a very surprising yes. It is possible, but it’s not likely. For the Mariners to steal Alonso, they would need to offer him well over $150 million.”
“As of Monday, I would say it’s an 80 percent chance Alonso returns to the Mets, 19 percent chance the Mariners steal him, and a one percent chance he bolts to a dark horse team.”
Seattle, which finished the 2024 season 83-79 after holding a 10-game lead at one point in the American League West, has not had a player hit 40 home runs since Nelson Cruz in 2016. Alonso has done that three times in his six-year career.
Ultimately, the Mets are likely to be more comfortable shelling out the $150 million Pressnell suggests as a target for Alonso than the penny-pinching Mariners. But until Alonso puts pen to paper back at Citi Field, there’s still room for doubt.
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