New York Mets Make Qualifying Offer Decision on Pete Alonso

The New York Mets have made their qualifying offer decision on franchise cornerstone first baseman Pete Alonso.

Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) celebrates with teammates after the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers game five of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Mets have a number of tough decisions to make this offseason with the contracts of several key players expiring.

One of these said players in reference is franchise cornerstone first baseman Pete Alonso who the Mets opted to extend the one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer to ahead of Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline, as president of baseball operations David Stearns revealed to reporters at GM meetings.

David Stearns confirms the Mets have extended qualifying offers to Pete Alonso, Sean Manaea and Luis Severino pic.twitter.com/n48SPhn731

— SNY (@SNYtv) November 4, 2024

In addition to Alonso, the Mets also extended the QO to starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Luis Severino.

This trio has until November 19 at 5 p.m. to accept or decline the QO. Should any of these stars leave for another team in free agency, the Mets would receive a draft pick from their new club as compensation.

Alonso appears unlikely to accept the QO in order to test the free agent market for the first time in his big-league career.

Despite having a down campaign compared to his normal standards, the 29-year-old still slugged 34 home runs and posted a .788 OPS while having a heroic postseason. Alonso's clutch go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the NL Wild Card round helped the Mets eliminate the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Mets offered Alonso a seven-year, $158 million extension during the 2023 season under former GM Billy Eppler, as Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported. However, Alonso declined the offer and now over a year later will have the opportunity to discover his true value around the league.

Alonso has previously expressed his desire to remain with the Mets. But it sounds like the Mets plan to let him talk to other teams while keeping in touch with the four-time All-Star during the process.

New York is also expected to pursue superstar outfielder Juan Soto this offseason as well. Soto is rumored to be seeking a deal worth $700 million, according to The New York Post's Jon Heyman, which is the record amount Shohei Ohtani received last offseason. That being said, Ohtani's deal has $680 million deferred.