Another day, another superstar-caliber free agent gone from the New York Mets roster.
A day after All-Star reliever Edwin Diaz signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets watched homegrown first baseman Pete Alonso depart for the Baltimore Orioles on a five-year, $155 million contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Alonso, of course, spent his first seven seasons with the Mets. He set the Mets single-season home run record (53) in his rookie season and won NL Rookie of the Year in 2019. The Polar Bear won consecutive Home Run Derbies in 2019 and 2021 — the 2020 All-Star festivities were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alonso had 264 home runs and had an .857 OPS over his seven seasons with the Mets. He slashed .272/.347/.524 with 38 homers, 126 RBIs and an NL-high 41 doubles and played every game for the Mets in 2025.
The Mets Lost Another Free Agent
Mets owner Steve Cohen won free agency in 2024 when he convinced both Juan Soto move across town from the New York Yankees and for Alonso to re-sign on a two-year contract after the first baseman opted out of his deal after the Mets’ NLCS loss to the Dodgers.
Cohen and Co. started hot this year when they locked in reliever Devin Williams — again poaching him from the crosstown-rival Yankees — on a three-year contract.
But the Mets have been flailing since. Of course, Diaz was a massive loss, since the 31-year-old locked down 144 games over his six seasons in Queens. But losing him to the Dodgers, New York’s sudden nemeses, who seem to have no financial restrictions, makes it sting harder.
But you could at least understand Diaz for taking the money and running. Losing Alonso, the face of their franchise and soul of the team, to a smallish-market team that lost 87 games last year is arguably worse.
Losing Pete Alonso Is A Gut Punch To Mets Fans
Alonso has long been both the face and soul of the Mets, who coined the LFGM hashtag on Twitter. He’s been one of most consistent offensive players in the franchise’s history, who broke the Mets all-time home run record last season and ranks third in Mets history in RBIs (712) behind only Mike Piazza and Darryl Strawberry.
So even though he was overshadowed by Soto and Francisco Lindor last season, and many Mets fans undoubtedly could see the writing on the wall, there will be many fans who die more than a little Wednesday.
Losing Alonso was possible after 2024, but the Mets convinced him at the 11th hour to come back. Yet, when he opted out of his two-year, $54 million contract this year, it seemed likely for Alonso to leave, most likely for the Boston Red Sox and the friendly right-handed-hitting confines of Fenway Park.
You could argue the merits of giving a five-year contract to a 31-year-old power hitter with a violent swing — though Alonso has played at least 93 percent of the Mets’ games in every season and hasn’t missed a game since 2023.
But the Mets only won 83 games in 2025 and they are objectively worse now than they were on Oct. 1. Yet, perhaps more alarming, they are devoid of two unique talents and personalities, in Alonso and Diaz, that helped them push the Dodgers better than any other team in the 2024 playoffs.
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