The 2025 Winter Meetings were a disaster for the New York Mets. First, they lost closer Edwin Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. If that wasn’t bad enough, they lost first baseman Pete Alonso to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
That went as badly as it could have for the president of baseball operations, David Stearns. Those losses leave a lot of people asking, ‘Where do the Mets go now?’ Before the Winter Meetings, they signed relief pitcher Devin Williams from the rival New York Yankees. If he ends up closing, that would be risky, as he was removed from that role by Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
As far as first base options go, and Alonso replacements, Tim Healey of the Boston Globe has linked the Mets to another former Yankees player as a potential replacement.
Mets Linked to Yankees Free Agent Paul Goldschmidt
Healey reported that the Mets had an internal discussion about signing Goldschmidt and also using Jeff McNeil there as well. If that ends up happening, what a downgrade that would be in Queens.
“The Mets always seemed lukewarm at best about bringing back Pete Alonso this offseason,” Healey wrote on X. “One first-base solution they’ve floated internally: a platoon of Jeff McNeil (who plays everywhere) and free agent Paul Goldschmidt.”
Those seem like a reach in replacing a $155 million first baseman. That won’t move the needle. John Denton of MLB.com reported a better solution: Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals.
“A Cardinals club in the beginning stages of a full-on rebuild left Orlando on Wednesday without a trade being made, but it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of trying. With the Cardinals already fielding several calls about Donovan and Romero, they were queried by the Mets with interest in Contreras, per a source, after first baseman Pete Alonso left for the Orioles in free agency,” Denton wrote.
Contreras had the better numbers in 2025, slashing .257/.344/.447 with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. He struck out a career-high 142 times and had a 2.6 WAR, but at this point, the options are thin for the New York Mets. Goldschmidt slashed .274/.328/.403 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs for the Yankees.
Cardinals Trade Might Be Mets’ Best Option
Whether it was a reluctance to give Alonso the number of years he desired or the money, losing their All-Star first baseman is going to be a big topic in New York for a while. The writing was on the wall that something like this was coming.
As for replacements, the Mets will have to get creative. Contreras would need to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Mets, something Denton hinted that he would do. St. Louis and Chaim Bloom being aggressive in trying to move veterans just might save Stearns and New York’s front office in replacing Alonso.
“Bloom knows that he must be similarly aggressive in St. Louis by using the talent in place to build a brighter future. Donovan and Romero are almost certain to move on based on the widespread interest. Contreras is expected to waive his no-trade clause to play in New York. Bloom must avoid getting stuck awaiting a perfect trade — a common knock from Red Sox fans — and execute deals to collect prospects for the rebuild,” wrote Denton.
The Mets are stuck in a tough spot. The Philadelphia Phillies are still the cream of the crop in the division. New York has lost their top two free agents. Replacing Alonso’s numbers is going to be nearly impossible. They have a lot of work to do over the next two-plus months before spring training begins in February.
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