The contract Pete Alonso receives this offseason as a free agent will be a revealing litmus test for how teams value one-dimensional first basemen in their 30s.
According to ESPN‘s Kiley McDaniel, there is a sweet spot for where teams view Alonso, the New York Mets’ homegrown slugger, but he may land something quite larger.
But there are plenty of other teams that like Alonso as a player in the $100 million to $125 million range but wouldn’t give him the deals that first basemen Paul Goldschmidt (five years, $130 million) and Freddie Freeman (six years, $162 million) signed recently.
McDaniel speculated in his Wednesday article that Alonso could get at least $137.5 million on a six-year deal because he made $20.5 million last season. Ultimately, he expects him to receive a $26.5 million average annual value for six seasons — $159 million altogether.
Want to bet on sports?
See the best NYC Sports Betting sites
Regardless if the Mets retain Alonso, who has called New York home since he was drafted in 2016, the offer they make (or don‘t make) to him will explain a lot about president of baseball operations David Stearns‘ roster building priorities and how much sway owner Steve Cohen has in the Mets’ construction. Alonso has already turned down a seven-year, $158 offer last season, per reports, under the former front office.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters at the General Manager Meetings in San Antonio that Alonso has come up with agent Scott Boras, though he didn’t indicate how interested the Yankees would be.
In the regular season, Alonso hit 34 home runs with a .240 average and .788 OPS, the lowest of his career. Some of his biggest biggest moments came in the playoffs, where he batted .273 with a .999 OPS and four home runs. He has 226 home runs in his career, a mark that puts him second in the majors beyond the Yankees’ Aaron Judge since he debuted in 2019.
“We hear a lot about the bear market for power-hitting first basemen,” Boras told reporters on Wednesday”. “For Pete’s sake, it’s the Polar opposite.”
