The New York Mets could have to pay their slugger almost $200 million in the MLB offseason.
The New York Mets are somehow still in a position to make the postseason, only 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. They aren’t expected to be buyers at the trade deadline, but it’ll be interesting to see if they sell.
Heading into the July deadline, all of the focus has been on slugger Pete Alonso. He’s arguably been the best Mets player over the past few seasons and has embraced the city.
Considering he hits free agency at the end of the year, it’s tough to imagine a team giving up many of their top prospects unless Alonso and agent Scott Boras signal to them that they’re interested in extending.
Boras typically doesn’t do in-season extensions, making the likelihood of the Florida native hitting free agency high.
These are all factors that the front office will have to think about.
However, if they don’t plan on even offering him a new contract in the offseason, there’s no reason for New York to keep him around.
The question for the Mets is how much they’re willing to pay the 29-year-old. He has a solid argument to be the best power hitter in baseball, and that comes with a costly price.
Predicting contracts for the top free agents in the 2024-25 class, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report predicted that Alonso would land a seven-year, $189 million deal.
Alonso may have power in spades, but he’s also a low-average, low-OBP hitter who’s a liability on the basepaths and on defense, where he has minus-20 Outs Above Average. His profile is less Freddie Freeman and more Chris Davis.
“A scary proposition, to be sure, but either one of those comes with a $160 million price tag. That could even be a baseline for Alonso, who’s notably two years younger than Freeman was as a free agent and not as prone to whiffs as Davis was.”
The Chris Davis comparison is a bit unfair to Alonso, as Davis’ situation was one like never before. Nothing has indicated in his six-year career that he’ll be anything like the former power hitter.
$189 million to a first baseman is a ton of money. Matt Olson has an eight-year, $168 million deal, and Freddie Freeman landed a six-year, $162 million contract.
There’s an argument that both of them are better than Alonso, but the ballpark of around $150 million feels fair for the Mets three-time All-Star.
