Inside The Mets

Insider Sees Path and Price for Mets to Re-Sign Pete Alonso

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal got honest about what he knows about Pete Alonso's contract negotiations with the New York Mets.

Grant Young

Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of game five of the NLCS during the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of game five of the NLCS during the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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There has been much speculation about whether the New York Mets will end up re-signing slugger Pete Alonso to a new contract this offseason.

The New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman relayed his stance about a potential Mets and Alonso reunion during his live show with Bleacher Report on January 1 when he said, "Are the Mets willing to give five years for Pete Alonso? I do think the years are the hangup right now on the Pete Alonso situation.

"They're going to figure out the money in terms of dollars per year, but it is the years that we are talking about," he added.

The Athletic's baseball insider Ken Rosenthal echoed this sentiment during his January 2 appearance on Foul Territory TV.

"Years seem to be the problem," Rosenthal said regarding the Mets' negotiations with Alonso. "And David Stearns... is a guy that we have seen certainly does not like to go long-term with pitchers. And position players entering their thirties, he seems to have the same opinion on.

"And you can understand it. In Alonso's case, he's not the most athletic guy, he's someone that in a couple years might be more of a DH," Rosenthal continued. "What we've seen from Stearns is he loves younger guys. He loves Soto, he wanted [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, those were the younger free agents in the last two classes. Alonso doesn't really fit that."

Rosenthal later added, "The way I see this playing out... would be short-term, high dollars. So say three years, $90 million. That has been out there as a possibility. That's a lot of money... [Alonso] could also get an opt-out maybe, and try again to hit the market.

"He is someone who is established there, he has proven himself there, and while yes, he's not a perfect player (no one is), he should be a New York Met," Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal's take makes it seem even more likely that Alonso is returning to New York. But for how long, and for how much money?

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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