By now one would hope Pete Alonso has lastly gotten the memo: The Mets by no means wished him again. That’s why they by no means budged off their three-year supply within the $70 million vary to him when he and his agent Scott Boras continued to push, first, for six and five-year offers and at last three years with an annual common worth considerably greater than the $23 million per Mets supply.
Alonso little question at all times hoped the Mets — and significantly Steve Cohen — would come round and acknowledge his worth as a hottest franchise participant and work out a technique to hold him at Citi Discipline. He by no means realized how agency Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and his merry band of analytics minions had been of their perception that motionless nook infielders of their 30s had been a foul long-term funding. When he employed Boras to signify him he most likely thought Boras’ relationship with Cohen, stemming again to the file Max Scherzer contract in 2021, would ultimately consequence within the Mets proprietor superseding Stearns and bowing to the followers’ pleas to deliver him again.
Didn’t occur, even after Cohen and Boras accomplished the file 15-year, $765 million deal for Juan Soto. Cohen is clearly totally on board with Stearns’ philosophy of limiting free agent offers to a few years or fewer (the Soto contract after all being the notable exception). On the signing press convention for one more consumer, Corbin Burnes, in Arizona final week, Boras lamented the shortage of spending by the house owners this offseason. He famous that 24 of the 30 golf equipment presently have payrolls decrease than final 12 months, with the Mets topping the listing at minus $78 million — even with the Soto addition — due to the unloading of the contracts of Scherzer, Justin Verlander, James McCann, Omar Narvaez, Adrian Houser and Jake Diekman.
It’s a bit curious why so few groups are spending cash this winter. The uncertainty over the native TV revenues has so much to do with it, however how do you work perennial contenders just like the Braves, Cardinals, Brewers and Twins not having signed a single free agent? None of them apparently will probably be bidders for Alonso or Boras’ different premier free agent, Alex Bregman, and it could appear, after reaping an ideal storm with 4 of the best income groups — Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays and Pink Sox — all bidding for Soto, his work is reduce out for him.
In Alonso’s case, now that every one the opposite free agent first basemen — Christian Walker, Carlos Santana, Paul Goldschmidt and Josh Bell discovered properties whereas Boras tried to play hardball with the Mets — his choices have dwindled significantly. Two different groups, the Diamondbacks (Josh Naylor) and Nationals (Nathaniel Lowe) crammed their first base vacancies through trades.
I’m informed the Blue Jays, who had been rumored to have curiosity in Alonso, are actually targeted on making an attempt to increase Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Equally, the Pink Sox, one other disenchanted suitor for Soto, have been in talks with Boras about Bregman (for second base) and, for now, are content material to see what Triston Casas can do over a full injury-free season earlier than making a long-term dedication at first base.
A finest wager touchdown spot for Alonso at this level is the Giants, who’ve a necessity for a power-hitting first baseman and the cash to pay for one, though given the way in which the Mets’ negotiations went, his market has seemingly settled at three years, with Boras needing a bidding conflict to get something a lot past $70 million (“If the Mets wouldn’t go beyond that for their own guy, why would we?”). Boras has received the identical downside in making an attempt to reap his desired objective of $200 million for Bregman after turning down a seemingly particularly reasonable six-year, $156 million supply from the Astros.
It’s comprehensible if Stearns & Co. view Alonso as a participant in decline and never value an enormous long-term funding. On the similar time, nevertheless, in the event that they presumably transfer defensively challenged Mark Vientos to first and go together with some mixture of Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio at third it’s a must to ask: Are they actually a greater group now with Soto?
IT’S A MADD, MADD WORLD
With the Corridor of Fame vote to be introduced Tuesday, permit me to play the position of spoiler. The Baseball Writers will elect Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner with Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran getting shut. I’ll be particularly glad for Wagner, an excellent man and a credit score to the sport who’s on his final 12 months on the poll after falling simply brief — with 73.8% — final 12 months.
Initially Revealed: January 18, 2025 at 10:30 AM EST
