The New York Mets have announced their World Series aspirations in a big way this offseason, but they still seem like a piece or two short from realizing them.
After landing the most coveted free agent in baseball with a historic $765 million contract for Juan Soto, the Mets locked in a generational slugger for years to come. But their own homegrown power hitter, Pete Alonso, remains on the free agent market and could be headed elsewhere for 2025 and beyond if the Mets don’t make a significant contract offer soon.
It’s unclear just how much it might take to land Alonso, but a new report from the New York Post’s Jon Heyman revealed the annual salary floor he could be after.
“Alonso, the longtime Mets slugger who’s hit more home runs than any National Leaguer since he entered the league in 2019, is surely seeking more than the $23M annual salary in (Prince) Fielder’s stunning late January 2012 deal,” per Heyman.
Heyman seemed to be refuting fellow Major League Baseball insider Bob Nightengale, who recently reported that Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras, was using Fielder’s nine-year, $214 million contract with the Detroit Tigers as a comparison for his client (Nightengale’s report has since been updated).
Alonso seems highly unlikely to earn a nine-year deal from the Mets or any other suitor. But a $23 million annual salary could be in play. Alonso earned $20.5 million to avoid arbitration in the 2024 season and Spotrac projects he could be worth $174 million over six years for his next deal, which works out to $29 million per season.
But at 30 years old, Alonso might have to settle for a relatively short-term deal to return to the Mets.
“But Alonso’s bigger issue is age, not ability (or interest),” Heyman added. “It’s the years — including his years (he recently turned 30, about average for a free agent; Fielder was 27).”
But he’s made four All-Star appearances for the team that drafted him in 2016 and he has hit at least 34 homers in each one of his big-league campaigns except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Even after the Mets added Soto to their order, it would be hard to imagine Alonso suiting up for another franchise. And even if the first baseman demands more than $23 million per year in his next deal, the Mets should be able to offer it, as long as it’s not too much more.
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