Pete Alonso is returning to free company, because the Mets first baseman advised the New York Put up’s Mike Puma and different reporters that he gained’t be exercising his participant choice for the 2026 season. Alonso will as a substitute go away his $24MM wage on the desk and head to the open market searching for an extended and extra profitable deal.
The announcement got here simply minutes after the Mets’ season-ending 4-0 loss to the Marlins, which formally eradicated New York from postseason rivalry and put a coda on the membership’s devastating second-half swoon. Given the timing, Alonso’s assertion provides to the sting of a dismal day for Mets followers, but there wasn’t a lot level in Alonso ready just a few extra weeks to make what appeared like an apparent determination. Even courting again to when Alonso signed his two-year, $54MM deal final February, there was little doubt that he can be re-entering free company once more this winter.
Over 709 plate look and a full 162 video games performed, Alonso hit .272/.347/.524 with 38 residence runs. That is the perfect batting common Alonso has posted over his seven Main League seasons, in addition to his second-best slugging proportion. Alonso’s 141 wRC+ is tied for his second-highest profession mark in that class. His 144 wRC+ from his 53-homer rookie yr in 2019 stays his profession peak, however the 141 quantity is properly above the 121 wRC+ Alonso delivered over the 2023-24 seasons.
The “Polar Bear” had a decrease stroll fee in 2025 than in 2024, however he additionally decreased his strikeout fee. His already-strong hard-hit ball fee jumped as much as elite ranges, as his 54.3% hard-hit ball fee ranks within the 96th percentile of all batters. All of it provides as much as a stronger platform yr for Alonso than his free agent journey final yr, when his market by no means appeared to gel and he ended up settling for his short-term take care of New York. Alonso can also be not eligible to obtain a qualifying provide, so groups will not must give up any draft compensation to make a signing.
Some questions will nonetheless linger for potential suitors. Alonso turns 31 in December, and he stays a primary base-only participant whose restricted glovework is rated negatively by public defensive metrics. A number of golf equipment will probably be cautious about making an enormous monetary dedication to a participant in his 30’s who may already be finest suited to DH responsibility, which routinely places some limits on Alonso’s market.
Nonetheless, Alonso’s energy is tough to disregard, and he would supply a right away jolt to any lineup searching for a hitting improve. Agent Scott Boras has a protracted historical past of finally discovering his contracts for his purchasers, even when maybe they first must take a shorter-term, opt-out laden deal like Alonso did final winter as a stop-gap.
Alonso famously turned down a seven-year, $158MM extension provide from the Mets again in 2023 (when Alonso wasn’t represented by Boras), and he has already made $50.5MM over the 2024-25 seasons — a $20.5MM wage in his closing arbitration-eligible yr of 2024, and a $20MM wage and $10MM signing bonus in 2025. In that sense, Alonso must land a five-year, $107.5MM contract this winter to at the least match the cash left on the desk in that extension provide, and a 5/$107.5 deal actually appears possible within the wake of his large 2025 numbers.
Might one other reunion with the Mets be within the offing? Whereas proprietor Steve Cohen is understood to be a giant Alonso fan, he was public about his displeasure with the character of negotiations with Alonso’s camp final offseason, and it seemed for some time like Alonso can be signing elsewhere. Who is aware of if any onerous emotions should still exist, and this winter, it actually appears much less probably that Alonso will probably be prepared to accept a lot under his asking worth. If Cohen or president of baseball operations David Stearns proceed to carry a tough line on their valuation of an Alonso contract, Alonso’s time in Queens may lastly be up.
The Mets’ collapse may work for or towards Alonso’s probabilities of a return. On the one hand, Alonso was clearly not a part of the issue, so Cohen may resolve to throw monetary warning to the wind to deliver again a fan favourite slugger. Alternatively, the Mets may desire to direct their greatest spending in direction of their bigger want of pitching assist, and deal with first base both with a lower-cost acquisition or an inner reply. Mark Vientos seemed like a doable in-house alternative at first base after his breakout 2024 marketing campaign, however Vientos’ lackluster 2025 numbers raised a number of doubts about his viability as a long-term a part of New York’s lineup.
