PORT ST. LUCIE — Pete Alonso has a message for Mets proprietor Steve Cohen: “Sorry.”
Cohen took the unprecedented step of speaking about free agent negotiations publicly a number of weeks in the past, characterizing them as “exhausting” to a gaggle of followers and media on the staff’s Amazin’ Day occasion. Not lengthy after, Cohen and baseball ops boss David Stearns went to Tampa to satisfy with the primary baseman and eventually shut a deal.
Alonso is again with the staff that drafted him after lastly inking a two-year, $54 million deal proper earlier than the tip of the offseason. The deal was constructed at a non-public social membership in Tampa, the place the Polar Bear grew up and the place he nonetheless spends his offseasons. For that, he thanks Cohen. The trouble of a drawn out negotiation?
“Well, sorry, Steve,” he mentioned.
A reunion at all times gave the impression to be within the playing cards for Alonso and the Mets. Cohen and Stearns have battled rumors about their dislike of Alonso, sustaining a united entrance of their messaging. Alonso at all times mentioned he wished to return to Queens.
“For me, this was it,” Alonso mentioned Monday at Clover Park. “Throughout the entire offseason, we had the best dialogue from the Mets and like, that was it. For us, this was the best opportunity and I’m just really happy to be back.”
Alonso wasn’t essentially shocked to see that his market had dropped. A perennial MVP candidate till 2023, he’s coming off back-to-back down seasons, he’s a 30-year-old right-handed first baseman and he rejected a qualifying supply, so any staff that signed him would have needed to forfeit a draft decide.
Nonetheless, he hit 80 dwelling runs during the last two years and the Mets had been missing some energy with out him. Alonso offers the Mets a deeper lineup and with Juan Soto now sporting orange and blue, the Mets wanted one other large bopper within the center like Alonso.
“I couldn’t expect something incredibly, mega long because I didn’t have my best year and ’23 didn’t really have my best year last year either,” he mentioned. “So the two years stacked up, I didn’t really play to my potential. There are some positive outcomes there, but I can’t expect a 10-year deal when I didn’t have my best two years in ’23 and ’24. Definitely some positives, I definitely did a lot of cool things in those years. But still, it is what it is.”
Alonso was suffering from some inconsistent swing mechanics final yr and labored within the offseason to tighten them up so he can repeat his swing each time. Protection was additionally an emphasis for him over the winter. For essentially the most half, the Mets haven’t nervous about Alonso’s protection all through his profession, however his -9 OAA in 2024 was the worst of his profession. He did a deep dive, going again and his errors and misplays to right them.
“One area I was really critical of is the decision-making and throwing at first,” he mentioned. “There were a couple throws I forced last year. I think I made six, maybe seven errors and four or five were throwing errors. I probably shouldn’t have thrown them trying to force a play or make a play, as opposed to just feeling it, shutting it down and touching the bag.”
Alonso was by no means removed from the minds of his Mets teammates as a free agent. He skilled with Sean Manaea in Tampa, and after the left-hander signed his personal three-year cope with the Mets, he informed Alonso he wanted to signal too.
“He was like, ‘Dude, come back,’” Alonso said.
Reliever Ryne Stanek did the same after the Mets brought him back for 2025. Brandon Nimmo checked in, Francisco Lindor lobbied the Mets for his return as well and even Soto played a role, telling the Mets he liked the protection Alonso could provide for him in the lineup.
“It feels really good to have their respect and hear them be like, ‘Hey, this guy, he’s not solely an awesome clubhouse man, however he’s a man that may assist us win.’ So to have that help from guys you’ve been round a very long time, it means lots. And if you add the element of individuals prepared to come back down and meet face-to-face like Steve and David did, it means lots.”
The assembly gave Alonso worthwhile perception into how Cohen and Stearns function. The behind-the-scenes facet of baseball operations wasn’t one thing he beforehand paid consideration to, preferring to deal with his personal efficiency. However the lunch negotiation opened a window into one other world, exhibiting him how the staff balances advance planning with the payroll and expertise on the sphere.
Come November, he might need to put that have to good use if he opts out to strive for that elusive long-term contract. He gained’t have the qualifying supply connected, so it could possibly be simpler. He mentioned a multi-year contract with the Mets could be “really awesome.”
However for now, he’s comfortable to be in a spot he considers dwelling, prepared to complete what he began.
“The most fulfilling part is the story continuing,” Alonso mentioned.
