The New York Mets had a poor season last year, losing in the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets were very close to competing for a World Series title, and now they’re aiming to keep strengthening their roster so they can go over the hump next season.
One of the Mets’ primary priorities this offseason has been to bring back ace first baseman Pete Alonso, who is presently a free agent. Even though the two sides have been negotiating a new arrangement for quite some time, they have yet to reach an agreement. According to Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the two parties now have different financial goals.
“While the sides are said to be making progress on at least the structure of a proposed deal that’s expected to be for three years and include at least one opt out, there was no word by Wednesday that the sides have closed the substantial financial hurdle that’s hung over these high-profile talks regarding the star free-agent first baseman,” reported Sherman as well as Heyman. “And the Mets have let Alonso’s camp know they need a decision — and soon — on whether the two sides can do a deal as they want to make sure to leave themselves enough time and options to pivot elsewhere prior to spring training, The Post has learned.”
The Mets would undoubtedly want to bring back Alonso, who has been one of the best hitters in the MLB for some time. This season, he shown that he is capable of delivering that power at the most important times. Last season, he helped the Mets advance to the NLDS with a massive home run in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Alonso has six seasons of MLB experience, all with the Mets, and has hit 226 home runs. Alonso played in all 162 games for the Mets last season, so he adds a lot of consistency to go with his power at the plate. As a result, the Mets would benefit greatly from finding a way to re-sign the four-time All-Star.
