Pete Alonso’s second shot at betting on himself appears to be paying dividends.
A year after the New York Mets first baseman’s decision to reject a long-term extension in favor of a more lucrative contract in free agency backfired, Alonso is poised to cash in.
Before his walk year in 2024, Alonso reportedly passed on the Mets’ seven-year, $158 million offer to remain with the team that drafted him through the likely end of his career.
Playing for a new contract, Alonso turned in the worst statistical season of his career, slashing .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs and 88 RBIs. He also struck out an eye-popping 172 times while drawing just 70 walks on the year.
His free agency plans, predictably, suffered. First basemen were signed one-by-one while Alonso waited. The Mets committed 15-years and $765 million to Juan Soto — the largest contract in MLB history — but opted to let the market dictate terms with their first baseman.
After waning interest around the league and a prolonged back-and-forth with the Mets, the two sides finally agreed on Feb. 12 to bring the Polar Bear home on a 2-year, $54 million deal with an opt-out after this season.
Now, given Alonso’s blistering start — one in which the slugger leads the NL in most statistical categories — it’s all but given he will exercise that opt-out at season’s end.
And for good reason.
“Alonso has put himself comfortably into the $100 million category with a shot at $200 million assuming he opts out of his current deal after the season,” Jeff Passan wrote for ESPN.com. “The same issues teams had last winter remain. He’s in his 30s. He plays a position teams don’t prioritize. But it’s impossible to ignore his production and ability to stay on the field as well as his evolution.”
The Polar Bear Is Absolutely Mashing
Alonso has been a productive power hitter since he set the rookie record with 53 home runs in 2019, but the player he’s been thus far in 2025 is on a different level.
He enters Tuesday slashing .349/.469/.674, has driven in 33 runs and hit 9 homers — the latest of which was a prodigious 425-foot blast to left field on Monday that gave the Mets the lead in an eventual 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Perhaps the most impressive stat in Alonso’s early season? He has 25 walks and just 24 strikeouts, seemingly having eliminated the chase issues that plagued him a season ago.
“To be honest, I feel like I’m locked into my mechanics and fully in control of my body right now,” Alonso told reporters after Monday’s win. “If something’s off, I make the adjustment and move on. My pitch-to-pitch adjustments are where they need to be. I’m not perfect, but I feel like I’m myself out there every pitch.”
How Much Is Enough?
As far as specific numbers go, it’s hard to say what Alonso might command — either on the open market or should the Mets opt to extend him during the year.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set an impossible bar earlier this year with his 14-year, $500 million extension, but he’s still just 26-years-old and that contract seems like an anomaly.
Matt Olson’s deal with the division-rival Atlanta Braves might be more of a barometer at 8-years and $168-million. That deal was signed in 2022 when Olson was 28-years-old though, while Alonso will play the entirety of this season as a 30-year-old.
As Passan stated, there are factors that will work against Alonso. The age and position being the most prominent. He isn’t overly athletic and likely won’t compete for any Gold Gloves, but he is terrific at picking low throws and leaving his feet to field ground balls. Throwing the ball has proven to be an issue, though that is probably the least important part of a power-hitting first baseman’s game.
He plays every day, never having missed more than nine games in his career, and seems to relish the bright lights of New York — something that’s proven not true of every player.
He’s a four-time All-Star, two-time Home Run Derby winner and barring injury will almost certainly finish the season as the franchise’s leader in home runs. As of Tuesday, his 235 career homers trail only David Wright (242) and Darryl Strawberry (252).
There was a time late in 2024 when, despite the team’s surprising success, it seemed Alonso’s time in Queens was at an end. But in the deciding Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series he parked a Devin Williams changeup over the right field wall, turning a 2-0, ninth-inning deficit into a 3-2 lead and eventual win.
Alonso changed his narrative with one swing and hasn’t looked back. Good news for the Mets, better news for his wallet.
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