After Public Complaints, Mets Are Back In On Pete Alonso

We're just a few days away from February, and first baseman Pete Alonso is somehow still a free agent. 

Alonso, who's been 31% better than league average as a hitter in his career, has been one of the most popular players on the New York Mets since his debut in 2019. The Mets still need a first baseman, are hoping to compete for a World Series, and routinely run the highest payroll in baseball.

Sounds like a perfect fit, right? Not exactly.

Mets owner Steve Cohen was refreshingly honest about the Alonso negotiations at a recent fan fest event held at Citi Field last week, saying that it's been "exhausting" trying to re-sign the 30-year-old slugger.

"Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation," Cohen said. "I mean, [Juan Soto's negotiation] was tough. This is worse. A lot of it is, we've made a significant offer. I don't like the structures that are being presented back to us. I think it's highly asymmetric against us, and I feel strongly about it."

While the candor is always appreciated, it did little to stop the "We want Pete" chants reverberating around the room. And a few days later, it seems like both sides have come back to the table.

Pete Alonso-Mets Reunion Back On The Table

New York Post reporter Jon Heyman said on Tuesday night that after those public comments and fan reactions, Steve Cohen is back in conversation with Alonso's representatives. 

"No more than 48 hours after publicly lamenting the seemingly endless saga (and helping quell the boos after baseball president David Stearns told fans how wonderful their prospects are), Cohen was back in conversation with Alonso’s camp," Heyman wrote.

"Truly, it’s hard to know what to make of the ongoing saga involving the National League’s top home run hitter since he came into the league and one of the most prolific in the history of the franchise. But from my drama-free distance, it feels like Alonso desperately hopes to return while the Mets could go either way."

First it seemed like the Toronto Blue Jays had the momentum with Alonso, now it sounds like a return to New York might be the most likely outcome. 

Either way, Alonso isn't going to get the deal many assumed he would after hitting 53 home runs in 2019 and 46 in 2023. Teams are loathe to hand out long-term, high-dollar deals to aging first basemen with questionable defensive skills. And Alonso doesn't bring much else to the table offensively besides his power. 

Still, he would make the Mets lineup for 2025 that much deeper along with Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos. While pushing the Mets payroll likely up to the Dodgers "ruining baseball" level. Though naturally, they won't be criticized for it.

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Ian Miller is a former award watching high school actor, author, and long suffering Dodgers fan. He spends most of his time golfing, traveling, reading about World War I history, and trying to get the remote back from his dog.