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The New York Mets emerged victorious in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. The Mets signed baseball’s top free agent to a massive 15-year, $765 million mega contract. However, New York isn’t done putting together its roster for the 2025 season. And one of the biggest questions surrounding the team is how to handle first base.
Pete Alonso has spent his entire six-year career with the Mets but the 30-year-old first baseman entered free agency for the first time at the end of the 2024 campaign. While it seemed unlikely that New York would re-sign the slugger after a down season, Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns, made his feelings clear.
“We’d love to bring Pete back… Pete’s been a great Met. He had some enormous hits for us, and we’ll see where that goes,” Stearns said, per Anthony DiComo on MLB.com.
New York certainly has a need at first base that it will solve through free agency or a trade. Alonso has a history with the team, collecting 781 hits and 226 home runs in his time with the Mets. He also had one of the franchise’s most memorable moments this past postseason, digging New York out of a 2-0 hole in the ninth inning, hitting a clutch go-ahead home run against the Milwaukee Brewers that sent the Mets to the NLDS.
Mets show interest in re-signing veteran first baseman Pete Alonso
Alonso is not only a fan favorite. His teammates love him and Mets' manager Carlos Mendoza speaks highly of the veteran as well. Mendoza fully supports bringing Alonso back to Queens. “[It would] mean a lot, especially a guy like Pete… Everybody knows what he brings to the table. You know the power, quality at-bats. But his ability to post day in and day out, as a manager, that’s a really good feeling,” Mendoza said, per MLB.com
“This is a homegrown kid… and it was a privilege for me to be able to write his name on the lineup,” he added.
There are, of course, other options at first base in free agency. Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana and Josh Bell are all on the market this offseason. But Alonso is the youngest of the bunch and he’s consistently provided a power bat for New York.
The Yankees are prioritizing Walker over Alonso in their search for a first baseman. While the former Arizona Diamondbacks standout is nearly four years older than Alonso, Walker plays better defense and will likely be the cheaper option.
As for the Mets, they’re keeping their options open in the wake of their enormous free agency splash, which, unsurprisingly, helped their World Series odds. “I’m confident that by Opening Day, we’ll have a starting first baseman,” Stearns said, per MLB.com. Not having one would definitely hurt their World Series odds.
