PORT ST. LUCIE — Pete Alonso’s meeting with Mets officials in Tampa two weeks ago pushed him toward a return with the club, but his desire for a reunion was also stoked elsewhere.
“There were a lot of guys that were keeping in contact with me,” Alonso said Monday, referring to Mets players. “So it just wasn’t that meeting. It’s guys that I shared a locker room with. It just feels really good to have the respect and be like, ‘Hey, this guy is not only a great clubhouse guy, he can help us win.’ To have that support of guys you have been around a long time means a lot.”
Brandon Nimmo, Jesse Winker, Sean Manaea, Francisco Lindor and Ryne Stanek were among the players that provided such reinforcement, according to Alonso, who agreed to a two-year contract worth $54 million (with an opt-out after this season).
It ended what team owner Steve Cohen had previously termed an “exhausting” negotiation.
Alonso on Monday participated in drills on the field with teammates for the first time this spring as the Mets held their initial full-squad workout in camp.
As The Post reported in detail, Cohen and Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns traveled to Tampa earlier this month for a three-hour meeting with Alonso and his agent, Scott Boras, at a social club to which the first baseman belongs.
“I respect that so much and I appreciate that, dealing with people face-to-face like that,” Alonso said. “It was good to kind of hear their perspective and voice mine and here we are, back at it again.”
Alonso, 30, wasn’t helped in free agency by receiving a qualifying offer from the Mets — any other team that signed him would have had to surrender a draft pick.
Alonso was also coming off a season in which he produced a career-low .788 OPS.
His 34 homers were also a career low for a full season.
But Alonso noted his satisfaction in “pushing the market forward” in that his $30 million salary for this season (which includes a $10 million signing bonus) will be the highest for a first baseman.
“I think that’s a win,” Alonso said. “But also I couldn’t expect something incredibly megalong because I didn’t have my best year. In (2023), I didn’t have my best year, either. The two years stacked up, I didn’t really play to my potential.”
Alonso said he doesn’t regret shunning a long-term extension before hitting free agency: The Mets offered $158 million over seven years during the 2023 season, according to The Post’s Joel Sherman.
“Every step of my career, whether it’s high school, college, minor leagues, even through my six [MLB] years, it’s been you bet on yourself whether you have a contract or not,” Alonso said. “You have to fight, you have to play and whether you are on a long-distance contract or not, not playing well isn’t fun.”
