When asked who would you like to see playing first base for the 2026 New York Mets, most fans would simply state that they should re-sign Pete Alonso, He’s a fan favorite. He’s our Polar Bear Pete. He certainly has delivered in the past and as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Nothing is ever that simple with our beloved Mets. Now that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has signed an extension with Toronto, the price for available free agent first basemen has gone up. While the Mets are still in the mix to hold on to Alonso, what if a big money team like the Dodgers or Red Sox were to throw gazillions of dollars at Pete? What if the Yankees decide that signing Alonso would be the perfect payback for their losing Soto to the Mets? What are the alternatives to the return of Pete Alonso to the NY Mets in 2026? Some of the options are satisfying. Others are, well, not so much.

Satisfying option #1: Munetaka Murakami

Munetaka Murakami is a cornet infielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He has announced that 2025 will be his final season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPR) after which he will look to sign with an MLB team. He will not be classified as an international amateur free agent because he just turned 25 years old and has played more than six seasons in a recognized foreign professional league.

That’s not to say that Murakami won’t be expensive. He broke the record for home runs formally help by Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh with 56 in 2022. He has amassed 241 home runs in eight seasons but will still only be 26 years old next season. As with most power hitters, he strikes out more than you might like. Most teams believe that this is something they can work around.

We will have to wait and see just how Murakami’s statistics in NPR transfer over to MLB, but there is a line of MLB teams with money in their hands, waiting and wanting to find out. The Mets could be included in this group.. He may want to play for a west coast team where he would be a little closer to his home or perhaps play with other Japanese baseball players. We will have to see how this one evolves.

Satisfying option #2: Josh Naylor

Josh Naylor is a first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is presently in his last season of arbitration eligibility, making him a free agent in 2026. He had spent most of his career with Cleveland before being traded to Arizona this year. His position is first base, with the occasional start as a designated hitter. While he might considered as only an average fielder, he’s the type of player who gets paid for his bat, not for his glove.

Josh Naylor made his first All-Star game appearance in 2024, going hitless in his only at bat. His statistics for that season included 31 home runs with 108 RBIs. Over his past three seasons, Naylor has a combined total of 68 home runs and 284 Runs Batted in. Naylor possesses only average speed but he has stolen as many as ten bases in a season, so he could still be considered to be a good fit for being used in a hit and run play or even as the back end of a double steal.

Naylor has shown improvement every season and most scouts who have followed his career consider him to be a budding superstar. No one can ever be sure just how potential will develop into production, but as Josh Naylor enters into free agency in 2026, his ceiling is unlimited. And at a mere 29 years of age, he can go as far as his talent will take him. Could it be for the NY Mets? We’ll have to wait and see.

Unsatisfying Option #1: Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt needs no introduction to New York baseball fans. He is presently patrolling first base for the Yankees with a one year, $12.5 million contract. He is a seven-time All Star, the 2022 National League MVP, and possesses a multitude of Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. Who can forget how he battled the NY Mets’ Jeff McNeil for the 2022 National League batting title right up until the last game of the season. That was great!

Goldschmidt might not quite be Hall of Fame material, but in a career that has lasted 15 years, he has collected 363 home runs, 1190 RBIs, while hitting at a,289 clip. He is one of those players with whom you can say he has done everything but sell hot dogs. In Goldschmidt’s case, that might almost be a fact.

So, what’s the beef? With all of these things going for him, who wouldn’t want to see Paul Goldschmidt playing first base for their team next season? I can only hope that the NY Mets are part of this group. While he has had a fine player career, there is just no getting around that he will be 38 years old when he walks onto the field next season.

I’m sure that he still considers himself as an everyday player. I’m also sure that he will find a team that will try to squeeze one more quality season out him next year. Paul Goldschmidt’s best days are behind him. It’s a fact of life. It happens to everybody. I’d rather see the NY Mets build for the future, not revisit the past. At the same time, I wish Mr. Goldschmidt all the luck in the world. He certainly deserves it.

Unsatisfying Option #2: Ryan Mountcastle

Ryan Mountcastle is the starting first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. Although he has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining, the Oriole has made it clear that he is available as trade material. They want to open up a position for minor league budding star Coby Mayo, a corner infielder with their AAA affiliate Norfolk Tides and the Orioles overall #2 ranked prospect.

Mountcastle had a good beginning to his career with Baltimore. He finished the 2021 season with 33 home runs, 89 RBIs, while finishing sixth in voting for Rookie of the Year. However, since this very auspicious beginning, his power statistics have been constantly in decline. He hit 22 hrs and 85 RBIs in 2022. These numbers fell to 18 hrs and 68 RBIs in 2023. Finally, Mountcastle could muster only 13 hrs with 63 RBIs by 2024. That, along with a lifetime batting average of only .266 is just not enough pop out of a power position like first base.

Someone will probably take a flyer on a former 33 hr guy like Ryan Mountcastle. He still has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining so he’s probably an inexpensive alternative for a team with budget problems. That team should not be the Mets. I’d rather see them give a shot to one of their in-house youngsters with potential like Vientos or Mauricio before trading for a player who very well might be over the hill at only 28 years old.