Barring a reunion with Alonso, what are the Mets' first-base options?

NEW YORK -- The trouble, of course, with moving on from Pete Alonso is that it’s awfully difficult to replace Pete Alonso.

Since Alonso broke into the league in 2019, only Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber have hit more home runs than the Mets' first baseman, who’s averaged 41 per season over his six full campaigns. Even limiting the sample size to the past three years, Alonso ranks sixth in the Majors in homers and third in RBIs. He hasn’t missed a game since 2023. And while it’s true that Alonso grades out poorly as a defender, many around the team believe he’s better than modern metrics indicate, mainly because of his glovework around the bag.

• Alonso to opt out of contract, re-enter free agency

In short, Alonso is clearly one of the best first basemen in baseball. In a vacuum, it’s easy to recommend moving on from him. In reality, for several reasons, the situation is fraught.

Free agency is thin

Outside of Alonso, the best first baseman on the open market will be Josh Naylor, a 28-year-old who hit .295/.353/.462 during the regular season and was stellar for the Mariners in October. Widely praised for his makeup, Naylor is also a solid defender who has produced positive outs above average totals at first base every year since he began playing the position in 2020. Alonso, by contrast, has only registered a positive OAA total once in his career, back in 2021. His defense is unlikely to improve in his 30s.

Still, for all of Naylor’s strengths, he is clearly an inferior hitter to Alonso. His career OPS is 80 points lower. Alonso’s worst career league-adjusted OPS+ total of 122 is close to Naylor’s career high of 130. Replacing Alonso with Naylor would make the Mets a worse offensive team, full stop.

Beyond Naylor, the next-best option is 32-year-old Ryan O’Hearn, whose career high in homers is 17.

But two more intriguing solutions do exist: One is 25-year-old Munetaka Murakami, who produced a 1.051 OPS this year in Nippon Professional Baseball. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns flew to Japan in August in part to scout Murakami, who hit a walk-off homer while he was present. Murakami will be posted this winter and represents one of the most realistic potential Alonso replacements out there.

The other is Cody Bellinger, a veteran outfielder who has moonlighted at first base in recent seasons. It probably doesn’t make sense for the Mets to break up with Alonso only to pursue another expensive player in Bellinger, who as a left-handed hitter doesn’t fit as neatly into the top half of New York’s lineup. But if nothing else, Bellinger’s presence on the free-agent market could give the Mets a bit of additional leverage.

The trade market is uncertain

Because teams rarely declare their intentions the way free agents do, it’s impossible to determine precisely who might be available for trade. However, it’s not impossible to guess.

Christian Walker, who was a popular pick to replace Alonso in Flushing last offseason, could almost certainly be had, but that’s because he’s coming off a down year for the Astros. So is Ryan Mountcastle, who may be squeezed out of an everyday role in Baltimore.

The Mets and Rays discussed a deal involving Yandy Díaz leading up to the Trade Deadline, according to a person with knowledge of the talks, even though Díaz would have been limited to third base and DH with Alonso around. In recent years, Díaz has mostly played first for the Rays, albeit not at a high level. That’s a problem for a team looking to improve its defense. Plus, if Díaz becomes available, the Mets would also have to compete against smaller-market teams drawn to his relatively low $12 million salary.

Internal answers are complicated

A year ago, Mark Vientos profiled as a realistic Alonso replacement as a 24-year-old coming off a 27-homer season and standout playoff run. But Vientos didn’t come close to replicating that success in 2025, making it difficult for the Mets to trust him as a long-term solution at first. Unlike Alonso, Vientos also isn’t even a natural first baseman. He probably wouldn’t be a defensive upgrade.

On the farm, No. 8 prospect Ryan Clifford had a good-but-not-great season in the upper Minors, batting .219 following a promotion to Triple-A. No. 6 prospect Jacob Reimer enjoyed a better year, but he’s more of a third baseman and has just 61 games of experience above High-A ball. Neither is a realistic Opening Day solution.

Alternative solutions may not be pragmatic

Looking well outside the box, one purely speculative possibility would be asking Juan Soto, a below-average defensive right fielder, to move to first base. That would theoretically free the Mets to shift their position player search from first base to the outfield, where more plentiful solutions exist. (There will be nine free-agent outfielders who posted higher WAR totals than Naylor in 2025, led by Kyle Tucker at 8.7.)

Just don’t count on it. Such an experiment would not only require Soto’s buy-in, but also a leap of faith by the Mets that he could make such a transition.

The simplest solution? That would be simply re-signing Alonso, a modern franchise icon who fits the organization’s Alonso-sized hole better than anyone. Time will tell how realistic a reunion turns out to be.