The New York Mets, who are just 3.5 games off of a Wild Card slot, are somehow still in the running to qualify for the postseason. It will be fascinating to watch whether they sell, but near the trade deadline, they aren’t anticipated to be buyers.
Pete Alonso, the slugger, has been the centre of attention leading up to the July deadline. He has embraced the city and is maybe the finest player on the Mets these last several seasons.
It’s difficult to envision a club handing up many of their best prospects given that Alonso enters free agency at the conclusion of the season unless he and his agent, Scott Boras, indicate to them that they’re interested in extending.
Since Boras seldom extends contracts during the season, there is a good chance that the native of Florida will become a free agent.
The front office will need to consider each of these variables.
But there’s little incentive for New York to keep him around if they don’t even intend to offer him a new deal in the summer.
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.
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