The New York Mets are enjoying the returns of another blockbuster offseason.
The team appears to be the best in baseball after assembling a batting order built around Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso.
But that batting order might have looked vastly different as negotiations to bring Alonso back wore on deep into the offseason. Ultimately, the homegrown slugger agreed on a two-year, $54 million deal that includes a player option after this season, and it’s been a major win for the team.
In his first 25 games, Alonso has slashed .341/.440/.681 with six homers and 26 RBI — numbers that put him on pace for a career-best season. But that torrid start and the player option he received in his new deal mean that the Mets might struggle to retain him beyond this season.
“Signing Pete Alonso to that two-year, $54M deal (plus opt-out) might be the smartest thing the Mets did,” Jon Heyman wrote for the New York Post. “But considering the difficulty the Mets had forging a deal with their beloved slugger in winter, it’s a long shot to extend him in season.”
Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp
If Alonso is able to keep up even a semblance of this start, he will want to test the open market again in free agency, and is likely to receive more interest than he did this past winter. Heyman noted that the Mets would face an obstacle in retaining him on a larger contract, as they will be taxed on any significant deal because they are at an especially high payroll level.
Ultimately, Alonso might be pricing himself out of a long-term Mets deal.
“And Alonso, third in MLB for OPS entering Thursday (1.122), surely will seek $35M-plus after Vladimir Guerrero got $35.7M on his $500M, 14-year deal,” Heyman added. “Alonso, who’ll almost surely opt out to become an unfettered free agent, seems ‘on a mission,’ Mets people say.”
The Mets can be happy that the mission has begun while Alonso is still wearing their uniform. But if it concludes with a big new contract next offseason, that might mean the end of Alonso’s tenure with the team.
More MLB: Dave Dombrowski’s Jeff Hoffman message challenged by league sources
