What they're saying about Pete Alonso

After helping the New York Mets reach the National League Championship Series, many expect Florida Gators great Pete Alonso to test free agency when it opens five days after the World Series ends. Alonso, a first baseman, batted .240 with 34 home runs and 88 runs batted in — not his best season by any stretch. But he did come up very big at times in the playoffs. What will Alonso do? What will the Mets do? Here’s what media outlets are saying about the player affectionately known as “Polar Bear.”

–Michael Sakuraba, SI.com (FULL STORY): On Tuesday’s Baseball Night in New York (BNNY) segment on SNY, former Mets GM Jim Duquette had a surprisingly tepid reaction to bringing back Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea this offseason. In the segment called “The Rating Game”, the panel was asked to rate their level of priority for re-signing the two stars. Duquette provided a rather lukewarm score of 6 out of 10 for offering Alonso a new contract.

“I’d rather have him than not”, Duquette said regarding Alonso. “But he didn’t have a great year and you know you’re going to have to chase a lot of money. For me, I’m not chasing the money; there are other good first basemen like Christian Walker who would be an excellent fit and be better defensively.”

Alonso finished the season with a slash line of .240/.329/.459, all of which are below his career averages of .249/.339/.514. 

What could Pete Alonso do at Fenway Park as his home stadium?

–Justin Leger, NBCSportsBoston: (FULL STORY): Alonso is on the shortlist of players to appear in all 162 games this season. His clutch postseason moments may have convinced the Mets to pay him this winter. But if New York moves on from its All-Star slugger, Boston should at least look into the possibility of signing him as a DH/first baseman with a swing tailor-made for Fenway Park. Alonso has hit at least 34 homers in every season except the abbreviated 2020 campaign.

–ERIK BEASTON, Bleacher Report (FULL STORY): It is not particularly surprising that a return is not a slam dunk for Alonso. Despite being a fan-favorite, he had a statistically down year, with his 34 home runs his fewest since the 2020 COVID-shortened season and it was not until the playoffs that he had truly meaningful blasts that shifted the course of high-stakes games. But they were high-stakes homers, particularly in the case of Game 3 against the Brewers, where he obliterated a ball from one of the premier closers in the game, Devin Williams, to advance the Mets to the NLDS. After years of fans questioning whether he could perform up to the moment in a playoff game, he answered with a resounding “yes” and helped guide the team to the penultimate series of the year. That has to be taken into consideration, likely will, and (owner Steve Cohen) will quite probably have his hands in whatever negotiations are to be had with the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star Home Run Derby champ. He could end up elsewhere, but a reunion feels most likely.

Pete Alonso’s agent is well-known in baseball

–Mike Puma, New York Post (FULL STORY): It’s clear (Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns) won’t just be handing a blank check to Alonso, who last offseason hired Scott Boras as his agent.

“There is no magic formula,” Stearns said. “There is no equation that spits out what all of that is for us. There is judgment involved. There’s evaluating the market involved and then we’ll see how this process goes throughout the offseason.”

But free agency also often pays for past performance and not future results. Stearns faces the task of trying to determine whether it makes sense to lock in Alonso, who was paid $20.5 million this season in his final year of arbitration eligibility.

Could he return to the Mets?

–Jimmy Hascup, NJ.com (FULL STORY): What will Alonso’s future hold? SNY Mets play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen gave his early opinion on what will happen on the post-game show after the Game 6 loss in the NL Championship Series.

“This is what I know: I know that Pete Alonso would like to stay with the Mets,” Cohen said. “I know that the Mets would like to keep Pete Alonso. I know that Scott Boras is an agent who likes to get top dollar in the market, and I‘m sure Pete Alonso would like to get top dollar in the market. How it plays out is anybody’s guess.

“My gut feeling is that there’s a better than even chance that Pete Alonso remains a New York Met.”