Longtime New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso remains a free agent with spring training just a month away.
Alonso’s free agency has taken longer than expected, and to this point, there’s no clear end in sight.
Alonso has always felt like a safe bet to return to the Mets — the only team he’s ever known. However, after the team shelled out $765 million to sign superstar outfielder Juan Soto, it became unclear if Alonso remained in their plans.
To this point, it still sounds like the Mets are the most likely landing spot for Alonso.
While Alonso has regressed over the last few seasons, he’s still a 40-homer threat who would provide great lineup protection for Soto. That’s why The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon ultimately expect him to re-sign with New York.
In a recent article, Rosenthal and Sammon projected Alonso’s next contract with New York. He was predicted to sign a three-year, $93.3 million deal, with deferrals that lower the present-day value.
Why $93.3 million? The history of it, say Rosenthal and Sammon.
“Agents, including Alonso’s representative, (Scott) Boras, routinely try to establish records of some sort in contract negotiations,” Rosenthal and Sammon wrote.
“A $31.1 million average annual value would set a record for a first baseman, beating Miguel Cabrera’s $31 million AAV in his eight-year, $248 million extension with the Detroit Tigers that ran from 2016 to ’23, his ages 33 to 40 seasons.”
