Mets' First Base Target Signs With Yankees; Will They Retain Pete Alonso?

Another New York Mets' first base target has signed with a team. Will they ultimately retain franchise cornerstone Pete Alonso?

Sep 1, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (46) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

For the second straight day, another first base option for the New York Mets has come off the board.

First, it was Christian Walker signing a three-year, $60 million deal with the Houston Astros on Friday. Now on Saturday, the cross-town rival New York Yankees inked Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5 million contract.

But these were short-term stopgap candidates for the Mets. The Mets were engaged in talks with Goldschmidt before he ultimately chose the Bronx.

Their franchise cornerstone first baseman Pete Alonso is still a free agent and it now looks increasingly likely that he will return to Queens.

Despite a slow moving market for Alonso, both sides have previously made it clear that they're interested in staying together.

The Mets already landed superstar outfielder Juan Soto to a record-setting 15-year, $765 million deal earlier in the month. However, the team is in need of at least one more impact bat, and re-signing Alonso as that missing piece in the middle of the order makes too much sense.

Both Alonso and Soto are also represented by super agent Scott Boras and Boras Corporation.

Per multiple reports, there has been hesitance from other teams about signing a 30-year-old power-hitting first baseman to a long-term deal. But Alonso means a lot to the Mets' franchise and has a chance to be their all-time home run leader given he is only 26 homers shy of tying Darryl Strawberry's 252.

Alonso is a homegrown star that has hit the second-most homers (226) in baseball since making his MLB debut back in 2019. He has made the All-Star team four times in his five full big-league seasons (2020 was a shortened Covid campaign), which have all come with the Mets.

The Mets stole the show of the offseason with their signing of Soto, and retaining Alonso would create added buzz and enhance their immediate odds as World Series contenders.

Alonso turned down a seven-year, $158 million contract extension from the Mets back in the 2023 regular season, which would have bought out his final year of arbitration. That being said, Alonso had different representation at the time and former Mets GM Billy Eppler made the offer.

With Walker and Goldschmidt no longer out there, the Mets have limited options at the first base position. They could either sign third baseman Alex Bregman and move Mark Vientos to first or bring in an aging veteran like Carlos Santana. The Mets may also explore the trade market for a Yandy Diaz, Nathaniel Lowe or Josh Naylor to man first base.

Should the Mets choose a one-year stopgap, they could then go after star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero in free agency next year if he doesn't sign an extension with the Toronto Blue Jays. But there will be heavy competition for Guerrero next winter.

At this point in time, Alonso should be the Mets' Plan A at first base and it makes too much sense for the two sides to stick together in 2025 and beyond.