The New York Mets faithful have remained quite adamant they want to see Pete Alonso return to the team. While the Juan Soto sweepstakes was rumored to be in the $600 millions in terms of total value, re-signing Alonso seemed realistic, even if he asked for nearly $200 million.

The Mets signed Soto for a record-breaking $765 million, so signing Alonso for more than $150 million just doesn’t seem too likely.

FanSided’s Michael Brakebill recently predicted the Mets would cut ties with Alonso, opting to sign Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker instead. Walker is projected to sign a three-year, $60 million deal, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

“As much as the Mets need to continue spending to build their team up, they should still proceed with caution regarding long-term deals for certain players,” Brakebill wrote. “With Soto’s monumental contract, landing Walker on a three-year deal instead of five for Alonso is beneficial in not keeping too much money locked up for too long. Even if you are Steve Cohen and don’t care to spend, hurting your team as little as possible is still ideal. Walker hits for a higher average, still has a ton of pop, and plays elite defense at first.”

Walker is going to be much more affordable than Alonso. If the Mets didn’t need to fill holes in the starting rotation, bullpen, and across the field, re-signing Alonso would make a lot more sense. But New York needs to add a big name starter still, which will force the team to pivot away from Alonso and onto Walker.

They could also slide Mark Vientos over to first base full time and add a third baseman.