The New York Mets sent shockwaves across the baseball universe with a huge, huge, huge win in MLB free agency. By landing Juan Soto, the National League East franchise got the most-coveted free agent in the market. Of course, luring the Dominican superstar to Queens comes at a massive financial price.

The Mets have committed a dizzying total of $765 million (could go up to $805 million) to secure the services of the 26-year-old now-former New York Yankee. That's not to mention that Soto's deal with the Mets does come with a $75 million bonus to go with a Year 5 option to opt out, which they can void by adding $4 million to every year of the remaining 10 years in his contract. Pretty sweet.

But just because the Mets landed Soto, it doesn't mean they can just put their feet up and relax until the 2025 MLB season comes around. There will always be work to do for their front office, which was already busy with other pursuits before the Soto deal. Indeed, Soto is a tremendous addition to the Mets. At the same time, there are needs New York still needs to address, among which is making a decision on Pete Alonso.

The Mets should re-sign Pete Alonso instead of looking for another first baseman in MLB free agency

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The first baseman is one of the most-loved Mets players ever. He just delivered a memorable moment for the team in the 2024 MLB postseason. Even though New York ultimately failed to advance to the World Series, Alonso's walk-off home run against the Milwaukee Brewers that sent the Mets to the National League Division Series will always be remembered fondly by the club's fans.

Alonso had already declined a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Mets last November. He also turned down a previous offer extension from the team worth $158 million for seven years. With the Mets already committing to pay Soto enough money to fund a space program, the question for them is how much are they still willing to unload to keep Alonso. If not Alonso, they will have to find another quality player to replace what they're going to lose should he go to a different team.

But if it boils down to Alonso and another first baseman free agent, there is a case to be made for the Mets pushing their chips to the middle of the table to retain the long-time Met. Apart from Alonso, other first basemen in the free agent market are the likes of Christian Walker, Carlos Santana, Paul Goldschmidt, Justin Turner, Donovan Solano, and Anthony Rizzo to name a few. All those players are 34 years old or older. The 34-year-old Walker is the best of the lot after posting a 121 OPS+ in 2024. Sure, Walker can still sustain that form, but at his age, he doesn't seem to fit the Mets' timeline with Soto, who will not turn 27 until October 2025.

Alonso, on the other hand, just turned 30 years old last Saturday. While he hasn't posted a season as good (or better) as his 2022 campaign when he hit .271/.352/.518 with 40 home runs, a career-high 131 RBIs and 146 OPS+, Alonso has been an All-Star in each of the last three seasons and can be expected to trend up if he goes back to the Mets and bats in the same order as Soto.